Elon Musk, SpaceX have an exploding rocket ship problem

While Tesla prepares for the upcoming robotaxi launch, another Elon Musk company is facing new problems as a highly anticipated event approaches.

SpaceX has been in full focus recently as the company looks toward its next rocket launch. Musk’s space exploration and technology venture has encountered numerous challenges so far this year, prompting some questions about its future.

💵💰Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter💰💵

The company entered 2025 with its sights set on reaching new milestones and sending more rockets into space. However, only a few months later, multiple test flights have resulted in rockets exploding, the effects of which have been felt by people on the ground.

This trend has sparked concern from regulators as SpaceX continues its quest to send up more rockets. However, a recent incident has posed new problems for Musk and his company.

SpaceX just received another strike against it at a critical time

Musk’s grand ambitions to help usher in a new era of space travel and exploration are well known. Over the past few years, SpaceX emerged as a leader in the space tech market, becoming the most valuable privately held company in December 2024.

Related: Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans raise major red flags for regulators

As noted, though, this year has seen the company experience several key setbacks, in the form of rockets exploding in mid-air during test flights in January and March 2025. These failed launches resulted in flights out of Orlando, Florida, being grounded due to falling debris from the rockets.

On Tuesday. May 27, SpaceX sent up a Starship rocket as part of its ninth flight test, as many people watched closely, some in awe and some with concern. The fears of the latter group would quickly prove astute, though, as the rocket spiraled out of control before reaching mid-flight.

“When SpaceX’s Starship thundered off the South Texas launchpad late Tuesday, employees cheered the world’s largest and most powerful rocket’s ability to surpass the previous two flawed missions,” Bloomberg reports. “But halfway into the flight, the stainless-steel rocket exploded after leaking propellant and spinning out of control.”

In a statement released following the launch, SpaceX touted the success of its Super Heavy booster, the first stage of the rocket’s launch system. The company stated that the “Starship’s ninth flight test marked a major milestone for reuse with the first flight-proven Super Heavy booster launching from Starbase.”

However, it proved unable to touch down smoothly and ended up slamming into the Gulf of Mexico in pieces. Shortly thereafter, the spacecraft began spiraling out of control. Musk posted on X afterward that fuel leaks had “caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase.”

More Elon Musk News:

• Microsoft has good news for Elon Musk, bad news for Sam Altman
• Elon Musk makes unexpected promise after major tech meltdown
• Elon Musk faces growing legal Twitter/X problem

That said, he failed to address several other problematic elements from the failed launch, including the fact that the rocket’s doors did not open to deploy dummy satellites. This was described as a “crucial test of the company’s ability to deploy upgraded satellites,” which was intended to upgrade the internet unit of SpaceX subsidiary Starlink.

Musk faces key questions in the wake of this SpaceX setback

In his X update, Musk attempted to frame SpaceX’s latest launch as an overall success, despite the clear problems. He described it as a “big improvement over the last flight,” highlighting that the Starship rocket had arrived at the scheduled ship engine cutoff, and noting that SpaceX had good data to review.

Related: Veteran analyst revamps Rocket Lab stock price target

While he may not be overly concerned with the launch’s results, it doesn’t change the fact that SpaceX has had three launches end badly in 2025 this far. The combination of an overall smooth launch but an uncontrolled re-entry isn’t likely to inspire confidence in the company’s chances of safely sending rockets to Mars, something on which Musk is highly focused.

“This was a high-stakes test for Starship, and SpaceX faltered,” states industrial and transportation columnist Thomas Black. “Although SpaceX has turned the space industry on its head by reducing drastically the costs of launches with its smaller Falcon 9 reusable rocket, the company is still in startup mode with Starship.”

If Musk plans to continue his quest to help colonize Mars, SpaceX will likely need to start demonstrating progress on the safety front soon. As TheStreet reports, regulators have made it clear that they have concerns about the company, which may only intensify after the most recent launch.

Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast

#Elon #Musk #SpaceX #exploding #rocket #ship #problem