MIAMI, Florida – SpaceX‘s Starship Flight 8 exploded during its test launch from Boca Chica, Texas, at 6:30 PM ET (3:30 PM PST), causing delays at Florida airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted flights to Miami International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, Palm Beach International, and Orlando International airports around 7:00 PM ET (4:00 PM PST) due to debris from the explosion. The ground stops ended by 8:00 PM ET (5:00 PM PST).
Departures from Miami and Fort Lauderdale were delayed by an average of 45 minutes. Some flights were rerouted.
The Starship upper stage disintegrated over the Atlantic near Florida, while the Super Heavy booster returned to Texas.
“Starship continued its ascent to its planned trajectory. Prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines. This in turn led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship. Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff,” SpaceX stated in a release.
“Starship flew within a designated launch corridor to safeguard the public both on the ground, on water, and in the air. Following the anomaly, SpaceX teams immediately began coordination with the FAA, ATO (air traffic control) and other safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses.”
Fiery.debris was visible from South Florida, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.
This was the second Starship failure in 2025 affecting Florida flights, following a similar incident on January 16. Air traffic returned to normal by late Thursday.
