The world’s most powerful space rocket ever built exploded shortly after takeoff on Thursday. Spectators cheered as the SpaceX rocket launched in the US state of Texas but several minutes later, it erupted into a fireball above the Earth’s surface.
According to initial reports, the rocket’s boosters failed to separate, systems failed and subsequently exploded. One speculated that many of the rockets’ engines had failed to successfully fire, or had been shut off by technicians. Despite the catastrophic failure, Elon Musk was upbeat, thanking the SpaceX team for “an exciting test launch of Starship.”
As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 20, 2023
The rocket was both the tallest and most powerful ever launched. Furthermore, it is designed to be fully reusable after launch. The purpose of the test flight was primarily to gather flight data to help improve future models. Musk has said that a new one will be launched in a few months.
Elon Musk’s Starship rocket experienced an explosion after successfully launching for the first time ever
pic.twitter.com/giBGfszTQi — Dexerto (@Dexerto) April 20, 2023
“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary,” SpaceX said.
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This new variant of the super heavy-lift launch vehicle could well be the future of space travel. The new rocket could potentially be fuelled in orbit, allowing spacecraft to reach the Moon or Mars.
