A spectacular video on Reddit shows the debris of the destroyed SpaceX “Starship” craft raining down over Florida. As a result of the debris, air traffic was disrupted at four Florida airports for safety reasons. The incident once again raises questions of the sense of Elon Musk‘s SpaceX program, not least given Musk’s recent cost-cutting crusade as head of DOGE.
The remarkable video shows multiple pieces of debris streaking through the Florida sky. Like a series of comets, the fiery debris flashes and glows brightly as it burns through the atmosphere. The debris was once the SpaceX Starship launched from Boca Chica, Texas. The craft broke up soon after launch.
As a result of the debris, flights were halted at four Florida airports: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando. Although the disruption was apparently limited, it’s still remarkable that a private space flight can cause such an issue.
Of course, it’s not the first time SpaceX crafts have suffered catastrophic failures soon after launch. In January, the seventh iteration of the Starship craft exploded minutes after takeoff, scattering debris over the Turks and Caicos’ beaches. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries, but it feels like only a matter of time before debris causes significant damage or harm.
As a number of Redditors have pointed out, it would be one thing if all this test data was contributing to NASA’s space program. The fact that only Elon Musk and SpaceX will benefit, however, makes it more galling. One commenter lamented how, “all of this knowledge will be gated behind a private company.” Another bemoaned how Musk will “face absolutely zero repercussions” for the incident. There’s also the issue of how much money is being funnelled into the SpaceX program. “Wonderful use of my taxes,” one Redditor put it dryly.
Other commenters saw the funny side. “Everyone at SpaceX needs to write down five things they did this week,” one user quipped. The comment refers to Elon Musk’s insistence that federal employees detail what they’ve done each week or face dismissal. An amusing response suggested one item on the list: “1. Blew up another spaceship.”
Although it’s worth seeing the funny side, particularly with current events, questions remain over SpaceX’s program. Surely there are only so many flights that can experience catastrophic failure before someone is hurt by the falling debris. The January Starship explosion was under investigation, but apparently isn’t anymore. It remains to be seen what comes of the investigation into this spectacular SpaceX failure, if anything.
