SpaceX’s latest prototype exploded into a massive fireball on Tuesday during a test flight that landed – with a similar fate as a previous test rocket.
The steel Starship prototype Serial Number 9 (SN9) went up in flames at the end of an otherwise successful high-altitude test from Boca Chica, Texas, according to beautiful footage of the crash. “We had a great flight again,” SpaceX broadcaster said during the online broadcast. “We just have to work on the landing a little bit now.”
The rocket launched around 3:30 p.m., flying as high as 10 kilometers, or about 32,800 feet, before turning to a horizontal “belly flop” position and performing a series of maneuvers.
It then tried to land upright, but according to the footage it appeared to get in too quickly and at a bad angle.
The flight ended in a deafening accident and caused a fiery explosion that created a cloud of dust and flames.
The blast was similar to one in December, when the company’s SN8 rocket was destroyed.
Both are prototypes being developed by space company CEO Elon Musk in the hope that one day they will transport humans on missions to the moon and Mars.
Musk was not characteristic shut up on Twitter during Tuesday’s flight, after announcing the night before that he was taking a breather from the social media platform.
The tech billionaire tweeted during the December flight, saying, among other things, that the mission was largely a success despite the landing.
SpaceX did not immediately comment.
Both are prototypes being developed by CEO Elon Musk’s space company in hopes of sending humans on missions to the moon and Mars.