A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded on Wednesday night (June 18), sending a dramatic fireball into the sky. So far, no reports from the company have cited any injuries to employees or local residents. As social media users, Elon Musk reacted to footage of the explosion on his X platform, formerly Twitter.
Related: Wayment! Elon Musk hits back after throwing major shade at President Donald Trump on social media
More details on the SpaceX explosion in Texas
In response to the rocket incident, the company said the Starship “experienced a major anomaly” around 11 p.m. when the rocket was on the test stand. It was preparing for its 10th flight test at Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site located on the southern tip of Texas.
“A clear safety zone around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX said in a statement on social media platform X.
Additionally, the statement said that the Starbase team is “actively working” to ensure the safety of the test site and the surrounding area. However, it also noted no risks to residents of nearby communities. Still, SpaceX is asking individuals not to attempt to approach the area while safety operations continue.
On Wednesday, June 18th, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Starship preparing for its tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly during a test stand at Starbase. A clear safety area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for…
— SpaceX (@spacex) June 19, 2025
SpaceX CEO Reacts Like This To Test Failure
Meanwhile, Elon Musk racked up 13,000 reactions on x when he tweeted “Just a scratch” following the explosion.
Another account that shares spaceflight, rocketry and technology content responded to Elon with the phrase, but included photos of Elon posing in what appear to be different explosions and test failures. It’s unclear if any of the images depict Elon at the site of Wednesday’s incident. Again, the SpaceX CEO casually responded, “Room for improvement.” in quotes.
“Room for improvement”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2025
Other Starship-related incidents
Wednesday’s explosion marked the latest in a series of incidents involving Starship rockets. On Jan. 16, one of the massive rockets broke apart in what the company called an “unscheduled rapid disassembly.” That incident sent trails of flaming debris flying near the Caribbean. Two months later, during a March 6 test flight, SpaceX lost contact with another Starship as the spacecraft separated. The debris could be seen streaming over Florida.
Then, on March 27, one of the 403-foot Starship rockets launched from the southern tip of Texas tumbled out of control and broke apart.
SpaceX had hoped to launch a series of simulated satellites after liftoff, but that plan was scrapped when the door wasn’t opened all the way. The spacecraft began spinning and made an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. At the time, Elon Musk called the launch “a huge improvement” over the previous two demos. Musk also promised a much faster launch cadence moving forward, with a Starship going up every three to four weeks for the next three flights.
Associated Press staff contributed to this report via the AP Newsroom.
What do you think colleagues?
