Air traffic controllers rush to divert aircraft after Elon Musk's
rocket explodes
Flights across the Caribbean were hastily diverted on Thursday
following the explosion of a rocket built by Elon Musk's company,
SpaceX. The chaos was revealed in flight tracking data and audio
exchanges between pilots and air traffic control, as reviewed by NPR.
Audio from LiveATC.net showed confusion in the moments after the giant
Starship rocket exploded.
"Just got a major streak going from at least 60 miles with all these
different colors," one unidentified pilot told air traffic controllers
on the ground in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "It looked like it was coming
towards us ... just letting you know."
...
...
SpaceX is currently investigating the precise cause of the explosion,
but telemetry data from the launch showed that several rocket engines
on Starship shut down unexpectedly as it ascended into space. In a
statement on the company's website, it was noted that "Initial data
indicates a fire developed in the aft section of the ship, leading to
a rapid unscheduled disassembly."
Around the same time, bystander videos taken from cruise ships and
resorts across the Caribbean showed what appeared to be a large
explosion in the sky, followed by a spray of brightly colored shooting
stars. The debris appeared to pass directly over the Turks and Caicos, startling vacationers.
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/17/nx-s1-5266013/elon-musk-rocket-exploded
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