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LiveScience
LiveScience
Harry Baker

'Catastrophic' SpaceX Starship explosion tore a hole in the atmosphere last year in 1st-of-its-kind event, Russian scientists reveal

A photo of starship launching in the distance with massive plume of smoke.

The high-altitude explosion of one of SpaceX's supersized Starship rockets last year temporarily ripped a hole in the upper atmosphere, a new study from Russian scientists shows. It is the first time this type of atmospheric disturbance has been created by a human-caused explosion, the researchers say.

On Nov. 18, 2023, SpaceX launched its superheavy Starship rocket — the largest and most powerful rocket ever built — for the second time ever from SpaceX's Starbase test and manufacturing facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

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