{"id":692,"date":"2025-06-21T00:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T00:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/692\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T00:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T00:05:08","slug":"what-this-means-for-the-future-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/692\/","title":{"rendered":"What this means for the future \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>SpaceX&#8217;s Starship spacecraft exploded while on the test stand Wednesday night.<\/li>\n<li>Starship is integral to NASA&#8217;s plans to return astronauts to the moon.<\/li>\n<li>Starship is the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">SpaceX\u2019s Starship spacecraft exploded ahead of an engine test on Wednesday night, causing a large fireball that could be seen for miles. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">This week\u2019s explosion is another setback for Elon Musk\u2019s company and his aspirations of sending people to Mars. This is the fourth time this year SpaceX has lost a Starship spacecraft, which is also essential for NASA\u2019s future plans. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a look at what happened Wednesday and what Starship\u2019s future looks like. <\/p>\n<p>What is Starship? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">SpaceX\u2019s Starship is the world\u2019s largest and most powerful rocket, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2025\/06\/19\/starship-spacex-explosion-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2025\/06\/19\/starship-spacex-explosion-musk\/\">The Washington Post<\/a>. When fully stacked it stands around 400 feet tall. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">It is composed of two stages, a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot spacecraft which would hold the crew and cargo, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today.<\/a> The Super Heavy booster has 33 of Space X\u2019s Raptor engines and the spacecraft has six. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Starship is being developed as a fully reusable transportation system. This means the rocket and spacecraft will be able to return to the ground for additional missions. In the coming years Starship is intended to carry cargo and humans to the moon and outside of earth\u2019s orbit. <\/p>\n<p>What happened on Wednesday? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In a post on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971\">X<\/a> late Wednesday night, SpaceX said that the explosion occurred at about 11 p.m. Central time while Starship was on the test stand at its Brownsville, Texas Starbase. The explosion could be seen for miles. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The spacecraft blew up on the test stand prior to being mounted on top of the booster, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today. <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Ahead of the engine test, the company had cleared personnel from around the site for safety reasons and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971\">the post<\/a> said \u201call personnel are safe and accounted for.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">SpaceX is \u201cactively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpaceX\/status\/1935572705941880971\">the post continued.<\/a> \u201cThere are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: SpaceX\u2019s Starship 36 just EXPLODED in a massive fireball in Texas &#8211; the blast was so violent it shook homes for miles.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DlDDlZIV81\">pic.twitter.com\/DlDDlZIV81<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CalltoActivism\/status\/1935665887563993559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Following the explosion, Musk posted on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935638560276926914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935638560276926914%7Ctwgr%5Eb73c46a45e49d7044c0aa612e0466223dd7f77b8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeseretnews.arcpublishing.com%2Fcomposer%2Fstory%2Fv2%2Fedit%2FX35KR7KMXFESZK3LMXGA2SZTEA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935638560276926914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935638560276926914%7Ctwgr%5Eb73c46a45e49d7044c0aa612e0466223dd7f77b8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeseretnews.arcpublishing.com%2Fcomposer%2Fstory%2Fv2%2Fedit%2FX35KR7KMXFESZK3LMXGA2SZTEA\">X <\/a> early Thursday saying \u201cJust a scratch,\u201d seemingly joking about the incident that completely destroyed the vehicle. <\/p>\n<p>Why did Starship explode? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">SpaceX test-fires the engines on the spacecraft before attaching it to the Super Heavy rocket, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today.<\/a> In this case, the vehicle had undergone a single-engine fire earlier in the week and the company was preparing to test all six engines when it exploded. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The incident completely destroyed the spacecraft and started multiple fires that caused damage in the area surrounding the test stand. The mishap was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/updates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/updates\/\">referred to by SpaceX<\/a> as \u201ca sudden energetic event.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The company is investigating the incident. In a post on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935660973827952675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935660973827952675%7Ctwgr%5E466646b649d0432c16acaa3c17eccd6cf19d8fe4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2025%2F06%2F20%2Fstarship-rocket-explodes-spacex%2F84283198007%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935660973827952675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935660973827952675%7Ctwgr%5E466646b649d0432c16acaa3c17eccd6cf19d8fe4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2025%2F06%2F20%2Fstarship-rocket-explodes-spacex%2F84283198007%2F\">X<\/a>, Musk said that preliminary data suggests that a pressurized tank failed at the top of the rocket. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Preliminary data suggests that a nitrogen COPV in the payload bay failed below its proof pressure. <\/p>\n<p>If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935660973827952675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cIf further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935660973827952675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935660973827952675%7Ctwgr%5E466646b649d0432c16acaa3c17eccd6cf19d8fe4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2025%2F06%2F20%2Fstarship-rocket-explodes-spacex%2F84283198007%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1935660973827952675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1935660973827952675%7Ctwgr%5E466646b649d0432c16acaa3c17eccd6cf19d8fe4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2025%2F06%2F20%2Fstarship-rocket-explodes-spacex%2F84283198007%2F\">Musk added. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>What are the plans for SpaceX\u2019s Mars mission?<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The development of Starship is a crucial part of Musk\u2019s ambitious dream of sending the first humans to Mars, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LXPBC3QWV5CRJDFUVSQORQNOLE.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. | Susan Walsh, Associated Press <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In a video shared by SpaceX at the end of May, Musk told his employees that he still believes its possible to send the first uncrewed Starship to the planet by the end of 2026. He also envisions that human expeditions to Mars aboard Starship could follow in the years after. <\/p>\n<p>How many times has Starship exploded?<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">On May 27, SpaceX\u2019s Starship spun out of control halfway through a flight before achieving some of its most important testing goals, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/science\/spacex-starship-rocket-explodes-setback-musks-mars-mission-2025-06-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/science\/spacex-starship-rocket-explodes-setback-musks-mars-mission-2025-06-19\/\">Reuters.<\/a> That test did make it further than two previous attempts earlier this year that ended in explosions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">During both flight attempts in January and March the Starship exploded within minutes, sending fiery debris across the sky in Caribbean countries and Florida. These explosions disrupted air traffic. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">But not all flight attempts have failed. During three tests in 2024 between June and November, the spacecraft flew halfway around the world before reentering the atmosphere and splashing into the Indian Ocean as planned, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s next for Starship testing? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">While Musk is still confident in dreams for Mars, Starship still has a long way to go in development before it can take humans to the moon or Mars, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today. <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Starship does not just need to be able to fly safely without exploding, it also has to be capable of refueling in orbit. This would be an especially difficult maneuver that has never been accomplished before. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The company is planning to increase its number of Starship launches after receiving approval to a conduct 25 flight tests a year. In 2024 just four Starship test missions were conducted, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2025\/06\/20\/starship-rocket-explodes-spacex\/84283198007\/\">USA Today. <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">After the most recent launch in May, Musk stated that the next three test flights would happen in quicker succession, with a launch taking place every three to four weeks. <\/p>\n<p>Why do Starship and SpaceX matter to NASA? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The Starship is central to NASA\u2019s plans to take astronauts to the moon again, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2025\/06\/19\/starship-spacex-explosion-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2025\/06\/19\/starship-spacex-explosion-musk\/\">The Washington Post.<\/a> The agency has awarded $4 billion worth of contracts to SpaceX for Starship\u2019s development.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PUVOFAHSEZBUZKC3CICQQA3FIE.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Artemis II crew members, from left, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, stand together at NASA&#8217;s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in front of an Orion crew module on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. On Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, NASA said astronauts will have to wait until 2025 before flying to the moon and another few years before landing on it. | Kim Shiflett, NASA via the Associated Press <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In order to get astronauts to the moon, the plan is to have Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule board the Starship while in orbit which would take them to the moon. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Wednesday\u2019s explosion comes as Musk ended his time in Washington leading the Department of Government Efficiency. After President Donald Trump and Musk clashed earlier this month, the president threatened to cancel all federal contracts with Musk\u2019s companies, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2025\/06\/19\/starship-spacex-explosion-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2025\/06\/19\/starship-spacex-explosion-musk\/\">The Washington Post. <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In retaliation Musk said he would cut off NASA\u2019s access to SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft which is the agency\u2019s only way to fly its astronauts to the International Space Station. Musk later recanted his threat, but it caused concerns for both NASA and the Pentagon, which also relies on SpaceX for a variety of crucial missions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Following Musk\u2019s threat, U.S. officials reached out to SpaceX\u2019s competitors urging them to expedite their efforts so the government won\u2019t have to rely just on SpaceX. <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SpaceX&#8217;s Starship spacecraft exploded while on the test stand Wednesday night. Starship is integral to NASA&#8217;s plans to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[974,159,783,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-news-feed-national","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-space","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114718436483584118","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}