Airplane Passengers Caught Elon’s Starship 8 Explosion On Tape From The Sky

A commercial airline passenger captured the dramatic moment Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship 8 exploded mid-flight and fell apart, scattering debris across the sky. The footage, taken at 30,000 feet, shows fiery shards tumbling through the atmosphere after the spacecraft lost contact with ground control. The March 6 test flight had initially been going as planned, reaching an altitude of nearly 90 miles before the failure occurred.

SpaceX later confirmed that an “energetic event” in the aft section of the Starship caused multiple Raptor engines to fail, leading to a loss of attitude control and eventual disintegration. The debris forced air traffic controllers to reroute flights over Florida, though no injuries were reported. Some social media users expressed shock at how close the wreckage appeared to the commercial flight, calling it a “terrifying sight” to witness firsthand.

Despite the explosion, SpaceX remains committed to improving Starship’s reliability, as the rocket is intended for future Moon and Mars missions. NASA has already booked Starship for upcoming lunar landings, and Musk has repeatedly emphasized that failures are part of the learning process. The company is now reviewing data from the failed flight to identify necessary design improvements.

With Starship’s mixed track record—only half of its eight test flights have been successful—concerns continue to grow over safety and engineering challenges. As SpaceX pushes forward with its ambitious plans, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the risks involved in advancing space travel.