Dramatic Footage Shows Rocket Debris Falling to Earth After SpaceX Starship Explosion

After an enormous SpaceX rocket exploded shortly after it launched from Texas yesterday, the falling debris created a spectacular show captured by citizens on the ground.

SpaceX’s eighth test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, did not go to plan after the vehicle’s upper stage ran into difficulties and exploded over the Atlantic Ocean.

Chunks of spaceship rained down and it put on an incredible display for people stationed in The Bahamas. One X user known only as GeneDoctor captured a remarkable display as they were anchored off Hog Cay in the Ragged Islands, Bahamas.

Astronaut Don Pettit saw the Starship 8 breakup in the upper atmosphere and watched it fall back to Earth from his vantage point on the International Space Station.

Stephanie Waldek was also in The Bahamas and tells Space.com that she was on the Caribbean island for a family vacation.

“I had followed online the failure of Starship Flight 8, and within a few minutes, I spotted the debris streaking across the sky,” Waldek tells Space.com.

“I didn’t even think about being beneath the trajectory of the rocket! Fortunately, I knew exactly what we were looking at following Flight 7’s RUD [rapid unscheduled disassembly], and I quickly explained to those around me that we weren’t under attack, nor was the rocket crewed.”

“The light show was completely silent — we didn’t hear anything. But the reflection on the water from the burning debris was quite pretty,” she adds.

It wasn’t just in the Bahamas where the rocket debris was visible: on Florida’s Space Coast photographer Trevor Mahlmann also caught the aftermath of the explosion.

The explosion is bad news for SpaceX which suffered the same fate on Starship Flight 7. The company is already investigating the cause of this most recent mishap.

“During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost. Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” SpaceX says in a statement on X.

“We will review the data from today’s flight test to better understand the root cause. As always, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will offer additional lessons to improve Starship’s reliability.”

Image credits: @genedoctor