Common Core State Standard L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
06/23/2025
Elon Musk's Starship rocket blows up in ‘major anomaly’
SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded into a dramatic fireball during testing in Texas last week, the latest in a series of setbacks for billionaire Elon Musk’s Mars rocket program. The company attributed it to a "major anomaly." The spacecraft, touted as a potential vehicle for a trip to Mars, experienced “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during test flights earlier this year..One flight rained debris across the Caribbean Sea, and another spacecraft broke apart over the Indian Ocean.
■Class discussion: Why does SpaceX use terms like "major anomaly” or “rapid unscheduled disassembly” to describe its rockets exploding into flames? Are they fooling anyone? Launching people or vehicles into space is dangerous. What have we learned from the many rocket and space disasters? Why are wealthy tourists willing to pay thousands or millions of dollars to spend a brief time in space or at the bottom of the ocean? How can analyzing space, air, marine, and road disasters save lives?
