
A SpaceX launch test went awry on Thursday when the company’s Starship dramatically exploded on the craft’s eighth test flight.
"Space launch debris" led the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily halt flights at four of Florida’s busiest airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Orlando on Thursday. The FAA announced that it was “requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation” in a Thursday night statement. The agency, a target of SpaceX owner Elon Musk's federal government-slashing DOGE, will keep SpaceX Starship flights grounded until the investigation wraps.