Elon Musk’s Spaceship is canceled: Massive rock explosion at SpaceX Base: Engineers shake the blast, sending shockwaves through the space industry. Hopes for Mars mission up in smoke as fiery catastrophe unfolds. What caused the disaster? The extraordinary failure that could forever change the course of space exploration!
On June 19, the upper deck of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft operated by tech billionaire Elon Musk exploded violently, shortly before conducting engine tests at the Starbase Facility (Texas, USA).
SpaceX’s Starship Spacecraft esplode durante i test – Video: Times News
According to CBS News on June 19, the explosion completely destroyed the rocket and is considered a major setback for the super-heavyweight spacecraft that billionaire Musk insists will become a key vehicle for SpaceX’s future.
Video provided by LabPadre, SpaceX’s activity monitoring unit, recorded the Starship rocket suddenly exploding into a giant fireball at 11 p.m. local time on June 18, about 10 to 15 minutes before the engine test was due to begin.
The video shows what appear to have been two explosions: the first near the rocket’s nose and the second shortly afterward on the port side of the hull, with flames and debris shooting out violently. The test pad nearly disappeared in a fireball rising into the night, resembling a bomb explosion.
At the time of the explosion, the vessel was filled with liquid oxygen and some methane – two flammable fuels.
“Starship was preparing for its tenth test flight when it encountered a serious issue at the test pad at Starbase. There was no loss of life and all employees were safe. We are coordinating with local authorities to ensure the safety of the test area and its surroundings,” SpaceX posted a statement on social media.
The detonated missile, codenamed Ship 36, is scheduled for launch later this month along with its giant super-heavy booster stage in its tenth integrated, unmanned test flight. The Hotfire test is a routine pre-launch test to evaluate performance and technical upgrades.
The spacecraft’s upper deck exploded at the Starbase Facility (Texas, USA) – Photo: CBS News
Since April 2023, SpaceX has conducted nine test flights of this giant rocket. The first three flights were not complete failures, the next three were partially successful, and two of the last three exploded mid-flight.
The closest flight on May 27 achieved its intended trajectory, but lost control and exploded upon re-entering the atmosphere.
This explosion is considered a major step backwards, especially in the context that the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) expects SpaceX to soon complete the Starship variant to land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole within the next 2-3 years.
To execute that mission, SpaceX must conduct 10-20 launches to refuel the lander in Earth orbit, perfecting extremely complex technologies such as automatic cryogenic fuel transfer and heat storage for the fuel in space.
At 123 meters tall, the Starship is currently the largest and most powerful spacecraft complex in the world, playing a key role in billionaire Musk’s long-term vision to put humans on Mars.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket test-fired for the ninth time, failing after 30 minutes of liftoff.
On the morning of May 28 (Vietnam time), billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company launched its ninth Starship rocket test, but lost control and failed after more than 30 minutes of liftoff.
