Orlando International Airport flights were temporarily grounded Thursday after a failed launch by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The Federal Aviation Administration, an agency that has seen several hundreds of firings as a target of the Trump administration’s mass federal layoffs, declared a ground stop at MCO Thursday evening. According to a post on X, the airport attributed the ground stop to “space launch debris” in the area.
In another post shared 14 minutes later, MCO wrote the ground stop had been lifted and normal operations had resumed.
Departures from South Florida airports — like Miami International, Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Palm Beach International — were also affected, with some still running behind as late as 9 p.m., the FAA reported
The ground stop declaration came just after SpaceX launched its largest rocket, Starship, on its eighth test flight from its base in Boca Chica, Texas.
Just minutes after launch, the ship spun out of control, exploded and lost contact with SpaceX mission control, according to ABC News. Debris from the rocket landed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was unmanned.
“During Starship’s ascent burn, the vehicle experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly and contact was lost,” SpaceX said in a post on X.
The FAA said it is requiring SpaceX to conduct an investigation into the incident.
SpaceX said it “will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests,” late Thursday.
The mishap comes less than two months after a Jan. 16 test flight of Starship exploded over the Atlantic just minutes after launch.
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This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2025.
