The prototype Mars rocket for SpaceX’s futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship broke apart just before touchdown on Tuesday, marking the company’s futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship’s third failed landing.
A camera on the rocket froze about six minutes into the test flight, and dense fog in South Texas obscured views of the ruptured rocket. In other video, debris was falling and explosions could be heard.
“At the very least, the crater is in the right place!” Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, expressed his thoughts on Twitter.
“should know what it was once we can examine the bits later today,” Musk said shortly after the landing engine firings. He also stated that one of the three engines had issues during the ascent.
Since December, this was the fourth full-scale stainless steel model to be launched to a height of more than 6 miles (10 kilometers). The previous three went off at the same time or soon after touchdown. The prototype has a height of 164 feet (50 metres).
“Another exciting test, as we say,” SpaceX launch commentator John Insprucker said as the webcast came to a close.
Hundreds of design changes have been made to a newer version of the rocket, according to Musk.
“Hopefully, one of those improvements will address this issue,” he said.
SpaceX Plans To Use Starship For Transportation
SpaceX plans to use the Starship to transport astronauts and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. Musk stated earlier this month that SpaceX will land Starships on Mars “well before 2030.” He did, however, mention that “making Mars Base Alpha self-sustaining is a really difficult threshold.”
Musk has given the launch and landing site near the Mexican border in the southeast corner of Texas the name Starbase. A few hours after the disaster, he urged people to relocate to the area, saying on Twitter that he plans to hire tens of thousands of people over the next year or two — engineers, technicians, builders, and workers of all kinds. He also stated that he would donate millions to the local school district and the nearby city of Brownsville.
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