SpaceX Starship Lift-Off Creates Dirty Surprise For Texas Town

SpaceX’s Starship launch on Thursday reportedly rained down ash-like dust on the residents of Port Isabel, Texas — situated over five miles from the launch site.

What Happened: Following the launch of the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s Starship on Thursday, residents of Port Isabel, Texas, were taken aback when ash-like dust and debris started raining down on them, reported Business Insider.

The city government’s Facebook update reportedly said that officials were aware of the debris and attributed it to Starship's launch.

“Cameron County Emergency Management Division has confirmed that the dust that fell this morning in Port Isabel was sand and soil from near the Space X launch site that was lofted into the air by the force of lift-off,” stated an update on the city government’s Facebook page.

In another update later, the city government stated, “We have received one report so far of property damage that is possibly attributable to SpaceX.”

According to a representative from Derry Elementary School in Port Isabel, following the rocket launch, ash-like particles covered vehicles in the vicinity. “Inside the school, we didn’t get anything. It was just the outside,” the representative told Insider.

On Thursday morning, SpaceX’s Starship, touted to be "the biggest rocket ever," launched on its historic first test flight from Texas. But before stage separation, the rocket exploded mid-air. 

Shortly after, SpaceX tweeted that "Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation.”

As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 20, 2023

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Photo courtesy: Official SpaceX Photos On Flickr