> Science SpaceX suffered a major setback on Wednesday as the first stage of its Starship rocket exploded during static fire test. The test was being carried out at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas with the upper stage called Ship 36 anchored to the ground. ANOMALY! Just before Ship 36 was set to Static Fire, it blew up at SpaceX Masseys! Live on X and YT:https://t.co/GPjZIX1Zyd pic.twitter.com/CfZhDeSGae — NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) June 19, 2025 The Ship was seen venting out cryogenic fuel and seconds later turns into a fireball followed by a loud boom. Commentators at NASA Spaceflight were left speechless over the incident which has clearly reduced the probability of Starship launching this month. 60 FPS Half-Speed replay of Ship 36s RUD tonight @NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/AH8lL5wtUz — Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto) June 19, 2025 Rocket scientist Scott Manley said in a post on X that the explosion originated at the front section of the fuel tank. "We see a cloud of cryogenics escaping for a moment before it ignites," he posted. "You can see the separation of the forward tank and escaping methane appears to generate an impulse that crushes the top of the lower tank leading to propellent mixing and ignition," he said referring to the video. Looking at a few frames from @dwisecinema and you can see the separation of the forward tank and escaping methane appears to generate an impulse that crushes the top of the lower tank leading to propellent mixing and ignition. pic.twitter.com/1wzPvfE5hP — Scott Manley (@DJSnM) June 19, 2025 Another expert Tim Dodd - the YouTuber Everyday astronaut - pointed out that the explosion happened in the upper half of Starship where the tanks are located. "This is very not good. Lots of ground equipment, infrastructure and of course, the ship… hopefully everyone is ok (they should be since it’s always cleared out prior to testing)," Dodd posted.