SpaceX official announcements or press releases detailing the primary cause of the explosion

SpaceX Catches Booster for Second Time, but Starship Flight 7 Explodes over Caribbean

Jan 17, 2025, 05:08 AM

On January 16, 2025, SpaceX successfully caught its Super Heavy booster with Mechazilla for the second time during the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket, known as Starship Flight 7. The launch took place at 4:37 PM CST from Starbase in Southern Texas. The booster was caught by the launch tower's robotic arms, called 'chopsticks', demonstrating progress in reusable rocket technology. However, approximately eight minutes after liftoff, the upper stage of the Starship spacecraft broke apart over the Caribbean. Debris was observed re-entering the atmosphere over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Dominican Republic, creating a spectacular display in the sky. The failure led to the diversion of airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to avoid falling debris. SpaceX officials stated that the spacecraft was destroyed following the booster catch. Preliminary reports suggest that a fuel leak, possibly of liquid oxygen or fuel, may have caused the anomaly. This setback highlights the challenges faced in the development of the Starship system.