SpaceX Starship Explodes in Boca Chica Amidst Ground Test—Flight 10 Setback Due to Ship 36 Failure

A massive explosion happened last Wednesday night over at SpaceX's Boca Chica testing facility in Starbase involving their now-destroyed Ship 36 upper stage for the Starship program. This specific machine was intended to be the rocket that the company would use for the tenth test flight of the Starship program, planned for the coming weeks or months.

Earlier this week, SpaceX had already conducted a test on one of Ship 36's Raptor engines, and the company was preparing to test all six of its engines when the explosion occurred, destroying the entire rocket.

SpaceX Starship Explodes in Boca Chica Ahead of Test

An update from SpaceX details the recent mishap that took place in the Massey's Testing Center found in the southwest end of Starbase, Texas when Ship 36 exploded before the supposed static fire test of the rocket. The explosion happened at around 11 p.m. Central Time on June 18 as the company was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant to its six engines for the static fire test.

SpaceX's website confirmed the complete loss of Ship 36, and this recent explosion also resulted in the damage of nearby areas around the stand where the rocket was in place. This explosion also led to several fires on the site, but the company confirmed that it was clear of its personnel.

The company revealed that once the site is already safe to approach, it will investigate to find out what caused the explosion and mishap. LabPadre Space and NASASpaceFlight's live stream of the supposed static fire were able to document the blast.

Flight 10 Setback: Ship 36's Failure in Ground Test

Because of this explosion, SpaceX is facing another setback to the company's test launches, particularly the upcoming Flight 10.

Ship 36 was supposedly the upper-stage rocket that it would use for the Flight 10 test mission, but it is now lost.

As of writing, there are still no updates from SpaceX on what caused the explosion, and how soon it could replace Ship 36 for Flight 10's testing.

SpaceX and Its Major Setbacks in 2025

SpaceX closed the year 2024 with significant developments and advancements to the Starship program, and it gave the company something to look forward to this year as it could have possibly advanced the program. However, the company's Flight 7, which took place early in the year, saw an explosion of the upper-stage Ship, but it did not discourage the company from proceeding with more missions after it.

Almost two months later, SpaceX proceeded with launching Flight 8, and as the two rockets separated, the upper stage attempted to venture into orbit but was lost in its climb, ending the mission prematurely.

Flight 9 followed last May, and for the third time, SpaceX did not see any luck or success as the upper-stage rocket. While it went farther than ever before, it exploded in its attempt to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

The good thing about all of these missions is how SpaceX has already demonstrated its capabilities to keep the first-stage rocket intact, with the Super Heavy Booster returning and being caught by Mechazilla.

The only time that SpaceX's Super Heavy Booster ended up destroyed was during Flight 9, particularly as it reused Flight 7's heavy-lift rocket in the mission, but this was not considered a setback by the company.