SpaceX rocket explosion disrupts regional air travel

A spectacle unfolded on the evening of January 16 when a SpaceX Starship rocket broke apart after lift-off, scattering fiery debris across the skies in the Caribbean.

Several Caribbean countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, experienced flight delays, while residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) were treated to a "light show" that was both breathtaking and alarming.

SpaceX's Starship 7 took off from Texas, US on January 16 at 4.37 pm (Texas time), 6.37 pm (TT time) and 5.37 pm (TCI time) and was expected to orbit Earth before successfully falling into the Indian Ocean.

Eight and a half minutes into the flight, the Starship's rocket booster successfully separated. However, SpaceX lost touch with the spacecraft and a fire began in the rocket's back section, causing the explosion.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said preliminary findings suggested a fuel leak led to a build-up of pressure in the cavity above the engine firewall, ultimately causing the rocket's failure.

In TT, a statement from Caribbean Airlines on January 16 said three flights were affected after air space closures.

They were BW 550, which was originally scheduled to leave Piarco at 5.55 pm on January 16; BW 551, scheduled to leave JFK at 12.10 am on January 17; and BW 526, which was set to Piarco for Guyana at 3.35 pm on January 16.

These flights eventually left their respective airports between 10 pm on January 16 and 3.50 am on January 17.

Newsday contacted Hayden Newton, general manager of the Airports Authority, for a comment . Asked if he had time to answer a few questions, he said, "I am running an airport and I have no time to answer any questions."

He then hung up.

Newsday also contacted retired director general of the TT Civil Aviation Authority and Newsday columnist Ramesh Lutchmedial to discuss the incident and gain insight into the procedures followed when events of this nature occur.

He said different protocols were used in different situations.

"Air traffic control in the US and in Texas would be aware of the explosion. They would then declare the area a no-fly zone to mitigate damages to aircraft and people's lives."

Lutchmedial said different protocols were used in other extreme cases.

"It is similar to areas where you have an active volcano. If a volcano is acting up, with volcanic dust, it can affect the aircraft, and they will also declare the area that is at risk a no-fly zone.

"Likewise, if you have a war – like in Russia-Ukraine – there are certain areas where a no-fly zone for civilian aircraft is issued, as it can be mistaken for a hostile aircraft."

When asked if anything like a spacecraft explosion had affected the region before, Lutchmedial referred to the space shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts and scattered debris across an area from Texas to southern Louisiana.

Minor damage to TCI, investigation launched

Roughly an hour after the rocket's explosion, SpaceX addressed the incident on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter, and also owned by Musk), saying, "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn and today's flight will help us improve Starship's reliability."

A TCI Weather Information statement on social media said the rocket caused a "series of sonic booms," when it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.

The TCI Weekly News said moments after the rocket began plummeting to Earth, residents ran for cover from falling debris.

The newspaper also reported that many flights over the Caribbean Sea were diverted, including three from American Airlines and two from Delta.

TCI's The Sun published an exclusive interview with Tariq Malik, the editor in chief of Space.com – an online publication focused on space exploration, astronomy, sky-watching and entertainment.

He explained that the Starship was an upgraded version of previous editions.

"It had redesigned flaps and 25 per cent more fuel on board. This ship was carrying ten dummy satellites to be deployed on the test, but those were lost, too.

"The giant first-stage super-heavy booster, which successfully separated from the ship vehicle during launch, successfully returned to Earth and SpaceX captured it with the giant metal 'chopstick' arms of its Mechazilla launch pad structure at the Starbase facility.”

A statement from the TCI government on January 17 confirmed the country had experienced minor effects from the failed SpaceX launch.

"There are no reported injuries and reports of only minimal damage to property at this time."

The statement said officials held a meeting with the relevant stakeholders from the UK, including the UK Space Agency, which were supporting the post-incident response.

"(This) includes technical expertise on the handling of debris, health and safety risks, protocols and procedures.

"The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch have been notified and discussions are ongoing with the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) who will liaise with SpaceX."

The TCI government warned the population that space objects can sometimes contain hazardous material, telling those who came across it: "Do not touch the object; make a note of the location (island and exact co-ordinates) of the object and the time (including any maritime observations of debris); if possible take a photograph of the object (without touching it) alongside another object for scale; and to notify the authorities by sending the details to nationalsecurity@gov.tc with the subject title Space X debris."

The statement also said an active investigation was taking place, led by the US FAA in liaison with UK and TCI counterparts.

On January 17, the FAA ordered SpaceX to investigate what went wrong.