The giant explosion that destroyed a SpaceX Starship vehicle on the test stand this week was likely caused by the failure of a pressurized nitrogen tank, the company said.

A SpaceX Starship exploded at the company's Starbase launch site in Texas Wednesday night, bursting into a massive fireball. Video shows the explosion, which SpaceX said occurred as the Starship was preparing for an engine test firing.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suggested on X that a high-pressure nitrogen tank failure was behind the explosion of the company's massive Starship rocket.