SpaceX Starship Explodes While Landing On Mars In Latest Test
SpaceX has performed the latest high-altitude flight test of its Mars-bound Starship spacecraft, resulting in a huge explosion upon landing.
The Starship SN9 prototype launched from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas on Tuesday, reaching a height of roughly 10km before belly flopping back to Earth.
The rocket reached a height of roughly 10km in what was only the second major high-altitude flight of a Starship craft, during which it managed to achieve both lift-off and a controlled descent.
In spite of its good performance, the prototype failed to stick the landing, which involved performing a complex flip manoeuvre. The rocket has large fins at the nose and tail to help maintain orientation as it returns to Earth, but it failed to right itself properly and ended up crashing on the landing pad.
The rocket proceeded to burst into flames, bringing the test flight to an end after six-and-a-half minutes.
Commenting on the scene, SpaceX launch commentator John Insprucker said, ‘We’ve just got to work on that landing a little bit. Reminder – this is a test flight.’
The crash comes two months after the previous Starship test flight, which achieved a slightly higher altitude but ended in an equally explosive crash-landing.
