The third time was almost the charm.
SpaceX’s latest prototype rocket landed in one piece on Wednesday – following two recent test flights that ended in huge explosions.
But minutes after chopping the touchdown, the test rocket was blown into a huge fireball.
The starship serial number 10, or (SN10), flew from Boca Chica, Texas at about 6:15 pm, when the first afternoon flight attempt was terminated.
The steel rocket landed at an altitude of 10 kilometers or about 32,800 feet, before turning to a horizontal “belly flop” position and executing a series of complex mid-air moves.
It then came straight down, leading to a soft landing at about 6:21 p.m.
Starship bent slightly after standing on the landing pad, and flames came out from below, causing some commentators to wonder if it would fall over or fly away.
The same happened during the company’s last two high-altitude test flights, when rockets failed to stop the landing and exploded in a massive fireball.
While the latest rocket thwarted the landing, a blast later caused it to jump back earlier. Shattering in flames.
Explosion is possible due to leakage in propellant tank.
A SpaceX engineer describing the company’s livestream, John Inspucker, said the test flight still achieved what it was meant to do.
“The main point of today’s test flight, Inspuker said, was to collect data on controlling the vehicle when re-entering the vehicle.” “And we succeeded in doing so.”
The prototype was developed by CEO Elon Musk’s space company in the hope that they would one day take humans to the moon and Mars.
Musk said he was “highly confident” that the spacecraft would reach orbit “several times” and would be safe for human transport by 2023.
He did not immediately comment on Wednesday’s test flight.
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