Florida airports on ground stop due to space debris from Starship launch

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — SpaceX lost contact with its Starship during its eighth test flight Thursday.

The test flight was originally set for Monday, but it was delayed due to last-minute problems.

After the launch’s failure, the Federal Aviation Administration announced ground stops for Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, and Palm Beach International Airport due to space debrris. The advisory was set to last until 8 p.m. EDT.

The test flight came after the seventh attempt caused the Starship to come apart during the test, going down over the Caribbean.

The eight test followed the same trajectory as the previous flight to target the previous objectives the seventh attempt failed to achieve.

Several upgrades were made to make the Starship more reliable, but it ended up failing again.

Tampa Bay residents in Madeira Beach and Tampa reported seeing the explosion in the sky.