SpaceX Starship Booster Explodes During Testing in Texas
Boca Chica, Texas – A booster for SpaceX’s next-generation Starship spacecraft exploded during testing at the company’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday, November 21, 2025. SpaceX confirmed the incident, stating that no personnel were injured as the area had been cleared prior to the test.
The booster, designated as the first major component of Starship version three (V3), was undergoing testing as part of SpaceX’s progress program aimed at creating a larger, more powerful, and more reliable launch system. Starship V3 is designed to be capable of docking with other Starships in earth orbit – a critical capability for SpaceX’s ambitions to reach the Moon and Mars. This explosion marks a setback for the program as it transitions from the V2 design, which completed its final flight in October 2025.
“The teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause,” SpaceX wrote Friday.
The incident’s impact on SpaceX’s testing schedule remains unclear,but any significant delays could jeopardize the company’s overall timeline for lunar and Martian missions. SpaceX has been targeting a busy 2026,including demonstrating in-orbit fuel transfer between a Starship and a “tanker” version of the rocket. This capability is a prerequisite for NASA‘s approval of crewed missions to the Moon, currently targeted for 2028.
The explosion comes at a time of increasing scrutiny from NASA. Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy recently criticized SpaceX’s pace of progress on the Moon mission and has indicated a potential willingness to consider awarding the contract to Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space venture.
Blue Origin is actively developing its own heavy-lift rocket,New Glenn. The company successfully launched New Glenn for a second time last week, delivering its first commercial payload for NASA and achieving a accomplished booster landing. On November 20, 2025, Blue Origin unveiled a larger variant of New Glenn designed to directly compete with Starship.
This story has been updated with new information from SpaceX.
