SpaceX Starship Explodes on Launchpad Ahead of Static Fire Tests

The next launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket is unlikely to go ahead as planned, as during testing procedures ahead of a 10th planned launch of the next-generation rocket, it dramatically exploded. The huge fireball that followed showcases a dramatic setback for SpaceX, which has faced repeat issues with Starship over its last few test runs. Each of them has suffered some form of catastrophic error, which typically leads to rapid unscheduled disassembly, though most of those at least made it off the launchpad.

The Ship 36 rocket was planned for Starship's impending 10th launch and was undergoing static fire tests at a secondary site away from the main launch pad on the evening of June 18, when something went dramatically wrong. In a split second, the rocket was there and then it wasn't, with a huge fireball swallowing up everything in the vicinity.

SpaceX has confirmed that ...