SpaceX’s Starship prototype exploded in South Texas on Wednesday just minutes after making a successful landing following a high-altitude flight test.
Space X’s SN10, a prototype ofElon Musk’s envisioned Mars ship, took off around 5:15 p.m. CT with no passengers onboard and soared about six miles (10 kilometers) in the air over the Texas landscape and the Gulf of Mexico, according tomultipleoutlets.
After successfully flipping upright in the air for the “belly flop” reentry maneuver before returning to a vertical orientation, the 150-foot tall ship touched down on the landing pad intact.
“We’ve had a successful soft touch down on the landing pad,” SpaceX engineer John Insprucker declared during alivestream of the event. “That’s capping a beautiful test flight of Starship 10.”
But just minutes after the livestream ended, Starship exploded and was tossed into the air, before slamming back down on the ground in flames.
The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined.
Musk reacted to the explosion on Twitter,writing, “RIP SN10, honorable discharge.”
“SpaceX team is doing great work!” he added. “One day, the true measure of success will be that Starship flights are commonplace.”
Prior to the explosion, Insprucker said that other prototypes are already in production and the next, SN11, will be ready to roll out for another test flight “in the near future,” according toCNN.
SpaceX previously sent two prototypes, SN8 and SN9, into the air in Texas back in December and February, respectively. While both ships completed development objectives prior to takeoff, they both exploded on impact as they attempted to land.
All of the last three flights lasted six and a half minutes,The Guardianreported.
source: people.com
