SpaceX’s Starship Disintegrates Again, Causing Major Commercial Flight Delays

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opted to halt flights to several airports in Florida on Thursday night after SpaceX’s Starship upper stage disintegrated, raining debris over the coast. The botched test flight disrupted airports in Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, as well as Philadelphia, in a worrying trend of SpaceX rockets hogging airspace. SpaceX’s Starship rocket lifted off on Thursday, March 6 around 6:30 p.m. ET from Boca Chica, Texas for its eighth test flight. Things went smoothly for the rocket’s Super Heavy 232-foot-tall (71-meter) booster, which gently made its way back to Earth to be caught by the 400-foot-tall Mechazilla tower in its giant, metal arms. The rocket’s upper stage, however, suffered another major failure, spinning uncontrollably before breaking apart a few moments after launch. “During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost,” SpaceX wrote on X. “Our team immediately began ... Read full article.