SpaceX launched the Starship megarocket this Saturday in southern Texas, USA, but lost the booster and the spacecraft in two explosions that occurred minutes after the start of the launch, Elon Musk’s company announced.
The booster sent the rocket into space, but communication was lost eight minutes after liftoff and SpaceX declared the launch a failure.
According to SpaceX officials, the ship’s self-destruct system apparently exploded over the Gulf of Mexico. Still, the company describes the day as “incredibly successful,” despite the “rapid and unscheduled disassembly of both the booster and spacecraft.”
The flight came to an end when the ship’s engines were about to start to put it on a trajectory around the world.
Earlier, about three minutes into the flight, the booster also exploded, but by that time its work was over.
Despite the failure, the flight of about eight minutes lasted twice as long as the first launch attempt, on April 20, when the 120-meter-high Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, took off for the first time.
At that point, several engines failed and SpaceX deliberately blew up the rocket after four minutes.
The North American aviation regulator (FAA) then opened an investigation, before finally giving the green light to a second flight on Wednesday, after Elon Musk’s company made dozens of improvements to the propeller and its 33 engines, as well as on the launch pad.
The SpaceX project, billionaire Elon Musk’s company, is being closely followed by NASA, which relies on this ship for its return missions to the Moon.
Source: TSF
