Video: SpaceX’s Super Heavy rocket crashes into ocean, explodes

SpaceX’s ambitious sixth test flight of its Starship system encountered an unexpected outcome on Wednesday morning as the Super Heavy booster failed to return to catching arms and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico and was seen exploding.
The launch, which took place at 3:30 am ISR from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, initially proceeded as planned with a successful liftoff and stage separation.
However, the booster experienced an issue during its return sequence, resulting in a controlled water landing instead of the intended aerial capture.
Super Heavy performed flawlessly during ascent, but encountered an anomaly during the return sequence, the team announced on the livestream. SpaceX will be reviewing the data to improve future attempts.
Despite this setback, the flight achieved several significant milestones.

The Starship upper stage successfully separated from the Super Heavy booster and continued its suborbital journey.
The Starship upper stage went on to complete its planned trajectory, conducting heat shield experiments before making a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean approximately 65 minutes after launch. This marks the second consecutive successful water landing for the Starship vehicle.
SpaceX engineers are now analyzing the flight data to identify the cause of the booster’s deviation from its intended landing profile. The company remains committed to its rapid iteration approach, with plans to incorporate lessons learned into future test flights.
As SpaceX continues to refine the Starship system, the space industry watches closely, recognising the potential impact of this fully reusable launch vehicle on future space exploration and transportation.