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

A new study from Russian scientists claims that the unexpected detonation of SpaceX's Starship rocket during a test flight in November 2023 tore an "ionospheric hole" in the upper atmosphere. It is the first time this type of hole has been created by a human-caused explosion.

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. Multiple satellites and international ground-based stations observed the disturbance, which lasted for 30 to 40 minutes before the affected part of the ionosphere fully recovered, the researchers wrote. Any of the rocket's fuel not immediately burned up in the explosion "might have reinforced the depletion and extended its duration," they added — but it was not the primary cause of the hole.

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