Watch: Big Explosion Rocks Elon Musk's SpaceX Base During Starship Testing, Know What Happened Next

SpaceX Starship explosion: Viral video captured fireball at Elon Musk's Texas base during test. No injuries reported.

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A SpaceX Starship prototype numbered Ship 36 exploded in a dramatic fireball late one night in an engine test at the company's Starbase facility in Texas, local officials and SpaceX confirmed Thursday. The explosion, recorded in live video, came shortly after midnight Wednesday, June 18, with no one injured.

The incident occurred during a standard static fire test, a process of prime importance to confirm engine dependability for the Starship's next tenth flight test. SpaceX indicated a "major anomaly" in a statement published on X and observed, "On Wednesday, June 18 at around 11 p.m. CT, the Starship under preparation for the tenth flight test suffered a catastrophic failure on a test stand at Starbase."

BREAKING: SpaceX Starship explodes during static fire test pic.twitter.com/ChTSKp3KIO

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SpaceX, which was established by Elon Musk, made it clear that a safety zone was in place, and all the people were safe. "Our Starbase team is currently working to close the test site and the surrounding area in cooperation with local authorities. There are no risks to nearby residents, and we request that people stay away from the area," added the company.

The Cameron County Precinct 1 constable's office verified the explosion in a Facebook post, indicating that Ship 36 "experienced a catastrophic failure and exploded" around shortly after 11 p.m. "Emergency procedures were immediately initiated, and an investigation is ongoing to identify the cause," the post said.

The blast, the second stationary test fire of this prototype, is also expected to set back SpaceX's timeline for the Starship program, which is geared towards facilitating lunar and Martian missions. The cause is being investigated by authorities and SpaceX with no threat as of yet to nearby communities.