Report: SpaceX Waited to Alert FAA About Starship Explosion

Explosions during Starship test flights in January and March created air travel disruptions and diversions.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

SpaceX’s Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster stand nearly 400 feet tall when stacked and are designed to be reusable. [Credit: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

A January SpaceX Starship explosion reportedly created "potential extreme safety risk" to air travel due to a 15-minute delay in SpaceX notifying the FAA, with some air traffic controllers learning of the incident from pilots.
SpaceX has denied the report, stating that no aircraft were put at risk and any debris was contained within pre-coordinated response areas.
Amidst a rapidly increasing number of commercial space launches, the FAA has adjusted safety protocols (e.g., expanding hazard areas) for subsequent Starship flights, though an FAA panel revisiting debris risks was unexpectedly suspended.
SpaceX plans a significantly higher cadence of more powerful V3 Starship launches from 2026, necessitating continuous efforts to integrate spaceflight more efficiently and safely into the national airspace.

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After SpaceX’s gargantuan Starship rocket exploded and disrupted air travel during a January test flight, the company was reportedly slow to inform the FAA.

Starship had separated from its Super Heavy booster and was ascending on its seventh suborbital test flight when it experienced what SpaceX called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” sending hunks of debris cascading through the airspace below. Citing FAA documents, The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that the FAA activated debris response areas—predetermined zones that are cleared of aircraft when unplanned spaceflight debris could endanger them—about four minutes after flight data stopped coming in.