SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded in a giant fireball during a routine test in Texas on Wednesday night (June 18).

The Starship 36 rocket was performing a static burn test at Elon Musk’s Starbase test site at around 11pm local time when the nose section suddenly exploded – shocking video shows the screen briefly flashing white.

As the light faded, a giant fireball erupted from the ground, thick black smoke rising high into the night sky.

The nose of the Starship suddenly exploded – creating a giant fireball. Photo: NASA

The static burn test is a pre-flight preparation step in which the rocket engine is started while the vehicle is still firmly secured on the launch pad – meaning the rocket was not scheduled to launch on Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred.

In a statement, SpaceX said the rocket experienced “a critical failure during testing at Starbase.”

“The area around the test site was maintained secure throughout the operation and all personnel were safe and contained,” the company said.

Thick plumes of black smoke were seen rising into the night sky on Wednesday evening (June 18). Photo: NASA

“The Starbase team is actively working with local authorities to ensure the safety of the test site and surrounding area,” the company added, noting that “there is no danger to residents in the surrounding communities, and we ask that people stay away from the area while safety work continues.”

However, according to ValleyCentral, locals reported that the loud explosion caused windows to shake and dishes to rattle.

Firefighters were quickly dispatched to the scene, while the city of Port Isabel informed residents that SpaceX “experienced an issue with the spacecraft during testing at its facility” and is currently monitoring the situation, according to KRGV.

The city also noted that “there may be impacts that people feel or hear,” and shared a link for people to report any damage.

Shocking video from SpaceX’s Starbase facility shows Starship seemingly attempting to lift off during a static burn test on Wednesday. Photo: NASA

Wednesday night’s terrifying images come just weeks after another model of the 403-foot-tall (about 123m) rocket exploded over the Indian Ocean in an accident.

During that event, the rocket launched to deploy eight Starlink simulation satellites and test the vehicle’s atmospheric re-entry system by removing 100 heat shields, according to Fox News.

Although the initial launch and ascent went smoothly, the Super Heavy booster suffered a catastrophic failure when the engines were re-ignited for a landing in the ocean.

SpaceX confirmed the loss of the booster but said the failure was expected due to the extreme test conditions.

Earlier last month, another static burn test on the Starship 35 prototype suffered a similar fate when an unidentified object flew out of the “fire trench” — a deep trench beneath the launch pad designed to disperse flames generated by the engines.

The rocket has also suffered two consecutive failed test flights this year, both of which exploded in mid-air.

Despite the setbacks to Elon Musk’s dream of colonizing other planets, SpaceX has emphasized the value of recent test flights.

“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship reliability as SpaceX moves toward the goal of interplanetary life,” the company said in a statement.

SpaceX has previously said it remains committed to rapid development and iterative testing – despite the explosions.

“Developmental testing is by definition unpredictable,” the company writes on its website. “But by putting hardware into flight environments as often as possible, we can learn quickly and make design changes while working toward making Starship a fully reusable, rapidly relaunchable vehicle.”

Musk still has high hopes for Starship as the main vehicle for both NASA’s Artemis 3 and 4 missions – part of NASA’s plan to return humans to the Moon – scheduled for 2027–2028. The rocket is also expected to play a role in launching the Starlab private space station, which is set to replace the International Space Station (ISS) when it is decommissioned after 2030.

More importantly, Starship is also central to Musk’s and President Donald Trump’s grand ambitions to colonize Mars, with plans to transport Optimus robots to the Red Planet by late 2026. Musk said in March: “If those landings go well, human missions to Mars could begin as early as 2029, although 2031 is more likely.”