Latest Starship Explosion Trashes Poor Caribbean Island, Leaving The Locals To Clean It Up

JALOPNIK: A Space X test flight went spectacularly wrong last month when the Starship craft exploded in the skies above the Caribbean. The explosion littered the sky with debris and looked fresh from a Michael Bay film, but the fallout has been less glamorous for the residents of one tropical island nation who have been left clearing up the space junk that now litters their beaches.

At the time of the explosion, the debris that covered the sky forced flights in the area to delay or divert for safety, and now the impact of the test on Caribbean locals is becoming clear. On the British islands of Turks and Caicos, residents are clearing up spacecraft chunks and other debris that has turned up near homes, businesses and beaches, reports Futurism.

Residents of the archipelago, which comprises around 40 islands, report finding fallen wires, tiles from the Starship craft and all manner of space junk in the days following the explosion. Now, the nation is calling on Space X “to come pick this up,” as Futurism reports:

“I’m into the launches and what Musk is doing,” Amos Lucker, the owner of a Providenciales car rental service, told CNN, “but I think he should be liable for the cleanup, too.”

After the test flight explosion, SpaceX implored people to report debris and not to touch or pick up any pieces because they may be hazardous. According to Kaine, the Providenciales resident, that statement didn’t make its way to her until after she’d already begun cleaning up fragments.

Attempting to do the right thing, the woman called SpaceX’s hotline to report what she’d found. The company took a week to respond, she says, ultimately saying that it would be days before anyone could come check it out — and as of CNN’s press time, Kaine still had more than 200 pounds of Starship pieces stored in her garage.

SpaceX has met with representatives from Turks and Caicos, including the nation’s disaster management team and UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, reports local news outlet the Sun. The outlet reported that the only advice to come out of the meeting was that residents should wear gloves when collecting SpaceX’s junk. Helpful, I know.