SpaceX explosion: watch the Starship SN8 rocket meet fiery end

SpaceX
(Image credit: SpaceX)

Update: The SpaceX rocket explosion video is now embedded below, and we've updated this news story to include both quotes both SpaceX and tweets from Elon Musk.  

The SpaceX Starship SN8 high-altitude flight test was a success during the first few minutes of the liftoff live stream, but it couldn't stick the landing, exploding in spectacular fashion upon impact with the landing site.

You can watch the fiery SpaceX Starship explosion video below. The rocket begins its ultimate descent five minutes after liftoff (if you want to fast-forward). In between and also right at the end, you can observe a green flame coming from the engines.

The suborbital flight of this prototype rocket was designed to test a number of objectives, including how the three Raptor engines performed, aerodynamic entry capabilities of the vehicle (including the body flaps) and how it managed propellant transition, according to SpaceX. It wasn't bound for space or carrying a valuable payload.

Even before the twice-delayed liftoff on Wednesday, December 9, SpaceX noted that Starship SN8 would "attempt to perform a landing flip maneuver, which would be a first for a vehicle of this size." SpaceX founder Elon Musk gave the entire test flight a 1 in 3 chance of fully succeeding.

SpaceX also mentioned in the description of the live stream liftoff video that "a test such as this, success is not measured by completion of specific objectives but rather how much we can learn as a whole." This was written before the explosion.

It went on to say that today's Starship test "will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship." Musk, in a post-launch and explosion tweet went on to back up this tone, saying the data meant to be collected was indeed a success. 

Cue SpaceX Starship SN9.

Update: Musk followed up his tweet, confirming that the Starship 'SN8 did great' despite the fiery explosion upon its landing attempt.

Matt Swider
Latest in Tech
Apple iPhone 16e
Which affordable phone wins the mid-range race: the iPhone 16e, Nothing 3a, or Samsung Galaxy A56? Our latest podcast tells all
The Apple MacBook Air next to the Dyson Supersonic R and new AMD GPU
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from the best tech at MWC to Apple's new iPads and MacBooks
A triptych image featuring the Bose Solo Soundbar 2, Nothing Phone 3a Pro and the Panasonic Lumix S1R II.
5 trailblazing tech reviews of the week: Nothing's stylish, affordable flagship and why you should buy AMD's new graphics card over Nvidia's
The best tech of MWC 2025 examples, including the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, the Nubia Flip 2, and the Lenovo Solar PC
Best of MWC 2025: the 10 top tech launches we tried on the show floor
Toy Fair 2025 Primal Hatch
The 7 best toys we saw at Toy Fair 2025, from a Lego boat to a hatching, robotic dinosaur
ICYMI
ICYMI: the 7 biggest tech stories of the week, from a next-gen Alexa to the new iPhone 16e
Latest in News
Google Chromecast 2
Chromecasts are still broken – but Google tells fuming owners not to factory reset their devices
Garmin Instinct 3 next to the Apple Watch Ultra 2
New figures claim the smartwatch market just shrunk for the first time ever, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is to blame
Hitman: World of Assassination on PSVR 2.
Hitman: World of Assassination hits PSVR 2 soon, finally giving you a reason to dust off your headset
Hector Ayala sitting on a bed as he wears his White Tiger costume in Daredevil: Born Again season 1
Daredevil: Born Again episode 3's shocking final scene is a big misdirect, and I've got the evidence to back it up
A stressed employee looking over some graphs
UK workers are spending more than one day per week tracking down information
Vision Pro Metallica
Apple Vision Pro goes off to never never land with Metallica concert footage