SpaceX Mars rocket prototype explodes during test flight

Austin, Texas (CNN Business)An experimental SpaceX rocket exploded at the end of a high-altitude test flight Tuesday, but heavy fog at the site left even SpaceX at least publicly uncertain about exactly what caused the explosion.

31-03-2021 05:03

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk did confirm the explosion on Twitter, though, saying "At least the crater is in the right place!"

All three of SpaceX's previous launches of prototypes for this model of rocket crash landed or exploded shortly after landing.

SpaceX engineer John Insprucker, who hosted a webcast of the test launch, said the rocket, known as SN11, had a normal ascent and that all appeared to be well before on-board cameras lost signal and the vehicle was subsumed by fog moments before landing. Insprucker said the company will share updates on social media once SpaceX engineers are able to check out the landing site. The area surrounding the vehicle must be cleared before liftoff for safety reasons.

Insprucker said the company is not expecting to recover video footage. "Don't wait for landing," he advised webcast viewers.

Independent video streamers that recorded the flight did not capture the last stretch of the flight either due to fog, but NASASpaceflight — a media site — reported that one of the outlet's cameras may have been struck by debris from the rocket. Footage of the launch pad showed SN11 was nowhere in sight after the rocket's descent.

SN11 is an early iteration of Starship, the vehicle that Musk envisions will one day carry the first humans to Mars. It's also the fourth prototype that SpaceX has launched on a high-altitude test flight as the company works to hash out how the massive vehicle will safely land upright after returning to Earth.