Starship 36 exploded during a static-fire test at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at around 23:00 local time (LT) on June 18, 2025, destroying the prototype and delaying upcoming missions.
SpaceX’s ninth Starship test flight on May 27, 2025, resulted in the failure of both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage. A propellant leak and uncontrolled spin led to the upper stage’s destruction during re-entry, while the booster was lost during its landing attempt.
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft concluded the CRS-32 commercial resupply mission with a sonic boom and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oceanside, California, at 01:44 EDT (05:44 UTC) on May 25, 2025. The spacecraft returned approximately 3 040 kg (6 700 pounds) of cargo from the International Space Station, including scientific experiments and crew supplies.
The newly launched Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) mission will advance our understanding of how gravity affects the passage of time. By comparing highly accurate clocks aboard the International Space Station with those on Earth, ACES aims to test key concepts in Einstein’s theory of relativity and explore fundamental physics.
PUNCH and SPHEREx were successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 20:10 LT (03:10 UTC on March 12, 2025) from Space Launch Complex 4 East on March 11. SPHEREx will conduct an all-sky infrared survey of the universe, while PUNCH will track the Sun’s corona as it transitions into the solar wind.
The uncrewed SpaceX Starship exploded mid-flight on Thursday, March 6, 2025, after lifting off from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas at 17:30 CST (23:30 UTC). The Super Heavy booster successfully executed a return and mid-air catch, but the Starship upper stage was lost in a spectacular explosion, causing temporary air traffic disruptions.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage made an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere over Europe on February 19, 2025, creating a bright display across the night sky before debris impacted multiple locations in Poland.
Starlink satellites are re-entering Earth’s atmosphere at an increasing rate, with 120 burning up in January 2025 alone. This has created nightly artificial meteor showers and raised concerns about aluminum oxide accumulation in the atmosphere.
Debris from SpaceX’s Starship scattered over the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, January 16, 2025, after the spacecraft broke apart mid-flight. SpaceX conducted its 7th Starship test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, at 17:00 LT (22:00 UTC) on January 16, 2025.
A long march 2FÂ rocket topped with the Shenzhou 19 crew spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 19, 2024, at 4:27 p.m. EDT ( 20:27 UTC), rising into a night sky above the spaceport.
