How Many Times Has SpaceX's Starship Exploded?

The SpaceX Starship is an incredible piece of technology that Elon Musk debuted to the public back in 2019. This two-stage launch vehicle consisting of a Super Heavy booster and Starship craft, is part of the company's reusable launch development platform. With a payload capacity of between 100 and 150 tons, SpaceX plans for Starship to carry upwards of 100 people on interplanetary flights in the future.

This fully reusable craft has been developed to be caught upon its return to Earth following missions, providing quick turnaround times without the need for extensive refurbishment or repair. With all of this comes an incredible amount of technology that requires immense and extreme testing. As of August 26, 2025, Starship has seen 10 test flights to examine its capabilities, with SpaceX having no set number on how many test flights it will launch.

Each launch seeks to provide more data on Starship, with failures still moving the program forward. This is due to the fact that SpaceX designed failures into the platform's development process because of the company's philosophy of failing fast and learning faster. This means that with every explosion that destroys Starship, SpaceX is learning how to make it better. But just how many times has Starship suffered catastrophic failure during a mission?

Since 2023, SpaceX has launched its Starship space vehicle 10 times. Each of these flights have provided valuable feedback, with six missions ending in the destruction of the craft. Starship flight test 1 — its maiden flight — ended minutes after launch when several engines failed to engage prior to liftoff. With a lack of power, maximum thrust was not achieved, leading to Starship tumbling out of control. The ship's built-in termination system then took over and destroyed Starship minutes into the flight.

In November of the same year, SpaceX launched Starship flight test 2 with the launch being successful and all engines firing. Starship achieved stage separation reaching an altitude of 93 miles before a fire broke out in the vehicles aft section. SpaceX stated that the fire was caused by liquid oxygen that was being vented during the end of the burn of Starship's upper stage.

SpaceX would then follow this up with Starship flight test 3 in early 2024. Improving on previous efforts with several changes, flight test 3 completed all stages and reached its planned orbital velocity before ending in a blaze of glory. After completing several in-flight tests, reentry was initiated over the Indian Ocean. Failure occurred due to an off-nominal entry after its roll rotation exceeded nominal levels. SpaceX stated that clogged valves were the cause for the loss of roll control, leading to the crafts failure.

The company would see a number of successes, with the launch of flight test 5 being powerful enough to damage nearby homes. This success would change with Starship flight test 7 in January of 2025. After launching and separating from the Super Heavy booster, Starship would suffer a propellant leak in its aft section near one of its engines. This leak would trigger a number of fires that led to loss of communication during flight and its destruction.

SpaceX would make adjustments to its Starship craft before launching test flight 8 in March of 2025. Starship would complete a successful launch and separation sequence, before suffering an explosion in aft of the vehicle. Starship would then lose several engines, leading to a loss of attitude control and to the ship's eventual destruction.

Starship would suffer its most recent failure during flight test 9 in May of 2025, with both the Super Heavy booster and Starship module being destroyed. The space vehicle would suffer a fuel leak, leading it to spin out of control and being destroyed during reentry. SpaceX has suffered more failures than it has seen success with Starship. But this only serves to show how difficult it can be to reach for the stars, and SpaceX isn't giving up anytime soon with more launches planned in the coming years.