Claim: A video shows the rocket by SpaceX creating a hole in the ionosphere, proving the Quran right as a verse in the Quran says: “And we have made the sky a roof withheld still they turn away from its signs” (21:32)
Fact: The video actually shows the second SpaceX test-flight of their two-stage rocket, Starship. It shows the rocket exploding a few minutes after lift-off and does not show a hole being created in the ionosphere by the rocket.
On 29 August 2024, a profile called ‘halal_researcher’ shared a video on Instagram. The video claims to show the rocket by SpaceX creating a hole in the ionosphere, proving the Quran right as a verse in the Quran says: “And we have made the sky a roof withheld still they turn away from its signs” (21:32)
In the caption of the video, the social media user claims, “This Rocket Is By Space Company ” Space X ” By Elon Musk . It puncture and made a hole in ionosphere while it was going in space”
Fact or Fiction?
Reverse image search of the keyframes from this video led Soch Fact Check to this video published by the YouTube channel Forbes Breaking News, with the title “WATCH: Shocking Moment When SpaceX’s Second Starship Flight Test Results In Explosion.” At the 2 minute 37 seconds mark, the image that was being attributed to a hole in the ionosphere begins to appear in the video.
The description of the YouTube post clearly states that this shows the second test flight for SpaceX’s large, two-stage Starship rocket which resulted in an explosion on 18 November 2023. The spacecraft was lost just a few minutes after liftoff.
The Scientific American also published an article titled “SpaceX Starship’s Second Flight Was an Explosive Milestone”. It states that the second test flight led to an investigation since the flight ended just eight minutes after the rocket was launched, with the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” of Starship’s upper stage.
According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the liquid oxygen venting triggered a fire and explosion of the Starship.
In February 2024, the investigation on SpaceX’s second test-flight was concluded and the Federal Aviation Administration highlighted seven corrective actions for the Super Heavy booster that these rockets deployed.
Virality
This video has received 8.5 million views on Instagram.
The same video was also published here on Facebook by an account holder with the same username, it was watched more than 8,000 times and received more than 300 interactions.
Conclusion: The SpaceX rocket did not punch a hole in the ionosphere, it exploded.
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Background image in cover photo: Axios
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