SpaceX launched the ‘Starship’ mega-rocket in South Texas, US, last Saturday, but lost the propellant and the spacecraft in two explosions that occurred minutes after the launch began, Elon Musk’s company announced.
The booster sent the rocket into space, but communications were 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.
The flight came to an end as the ship’s engines were about to fire to put it on orbit around the world.
Earlier, about three minutes into the flight, the thruster also exploded, but at that time its work was completed.
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-long ‘Starship’, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, took off for the first time. play.
At the time, several engines failed and SpaceX deliberately exploded the rocket after four minutes.
The North American aviation regulator (FAA) then opened an investigation before finally giving the green light for a second flight on Wednesday after Elon Musk’s company made dozens of improvements to the propellant and its 33 engines, as well as to the launch pad.
The project of SpaceX, the company of multi-millionaire Elon Musk, is closely followed by NASA, which depends on this spacecraft for its return missions to the moon.
Source: DN
