This SpaceX video frame grab image shows a stabilized SpaceX's Starship SN8 rocket prototype
Credit: AFP
The Raptor engines reignited for braking and the rocket tilted back upright. Upon touching down, however, the rocketship became engulfed in flames and ruptured, parts scattering.
Mr Musk remained upbeat, despite the fiery ending.
In a tweet immediately following the accident, he said the rocket’s "fuel header tank pressure was low" during descent, "causing touchdown velocity to be high."
He added that SpaceX had obtained "all the data we needed" from the test., adding: "Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah!!"
Mars, here we come!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2020
The entire flight — as dramatic and flashy as it gets, even by SpaceX standards — lasted just over six minutes and 40 minutes.
SpaceX broadcast the sunset demo live on its website; repeated delays over the past week and a last-second engine abort Tuesday heightened the excitement among space fans.
"Awesome test. Congratulations Starship team!" read a scroll across the screen.
This SpaceX video frame grab image shows SpaceX's Starship SN8 rocket prototype exploding right next to its landing pad at the company's Boca Chica, Texas facility
Credit: AFP
Mr Musk kept expectations low going into this first high-altitude attempt by Starship, cautioning earlier this week there was "probably" 1-in-3 chance of complete success.
Two lower, shorter test flights earlier this year from Boca Chica, Texas — a quiet coastal village before SpaceX moved in — used more rudimentary versions of Starship.
Essentially cylindrical cans with cone tops and single Raptor engines, these early vehicles reached altitudes of 490 feet.
An even earlier model, the short and squat Starhopper, made a tiny tethered hop in 2019, followed by two increasingly higher climbs.
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