SpaceX rocket explosion rained brown debris on nearby parks, town

April 21 (UPI) -- Even as SpaceX said its Starship "flight termination system" worked as designed, Thursday's spectacular launch failure in Texas also revealed another potential issue with the program locally: explosive debris.

The SpaceX rocket launch explosion rained debris over a wide area, shaking homes and covering nearby Port Isabel with brown grime for miles.

Rob Nixon of San Benito, who watched the launch from Port Isabel, told Texas Public Radio the rocket's impact was felt for miles.

"I wasn't expecting to collect raining particulates today," he said. "And my wife's classroom in Los Fresnos vibrated 20 miles away."

Port Isabel spokeswoman Valerie Bates told The New York Times that most of the city was covered with a thick, granular sand that landed on everything.

"It was truly terrifying," said Sharon Almaguer. She was home with her 80-year-old mother when her brick house shook from the rocket explosion.

The Cameron County Emergency Management Division confirmed the debris was sand and soil from the SpaceX launch.

Even before Thursday's launch, concerns were expressed about the effect a failure could have on the local environment.

Previous explosions at Starbase in Boca Chica have created large debris fields that have affected nearby Brazos Island State Park and Boca Chica State Park. When the Starship's upper stage exploded in 2021, debris was scattered across 700 acres of nearby parkland, SpaceX officials have said.

Thursday's spray of debris and fallout was so severe that Boca Chica Beach and a section of a state highway were closed until Friday.

A weather.com video captured the large huge debris plume as it engulfed an unoccupied van near the launch pad.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the Starship hours after the Texas test launch ended in the explosion of the rocket.