June 27, 2025 The explosion of a Starship upper stage caused heavy damage at SpaceX’s Massey test site, where Starship engines are hot-fired. Credit: Jordan Guidry/WhatAboutIt/YouTube.com It has been a tough year for SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy program, which capped a trio of aborted flight tests with a ground failure that lit up the night skies over Boca Chica Beach in Texas with the catastrophic explosion of the Starship next in line to fly. Flight 10 is on indefinite hold... Irene Klotz Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International. Seemingly Unrelated Technical Issues Keep Stymieing SpaceX’s Starship is available to both Aviation Week & Space Technology and AWIN subscribers. Subscribe now to read this content, plus receive critical analysis into emerging trends, technological advancements, operational best practices and continuous updates to policy, requirements and budgets. Already a subscriber to AW&ST or AWIN? Log in with your existing email and password.