Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket blows up
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship Rocket Explodes Moments After Launch
On Thursday, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship, took off from Texas in a test flight with the hope of being the first step toward a human journey to Mars. However, it blew up within minutes of launch, leaving behind a trail of smoke and debris.
Launch and Explosion
The Starship rocket system had a cancelled launch earlier this week because of a pressurization issue. However, it took off at 8:33 am local time on Thursday. After gathering speed, it started to spin at altitude before exploding about four minutes after leaving the ground.
Possible Causes of the Explosion
The rocket system’s two sections, the booster and cruise vessel, were unable to separate correctly after takeoff, possibly causing the spacecraft to fail. It was not immediately clear whether the rocket exploded spontaneously or if the Flight Termination System was activated, a failsafe that destroys the spacecraft to prevent it from veering too far off course.
SpaceX’s Reaction
Despite the rocket’s disintegration, employees at SpaceX cheered, and the company said that the test flight aimed to gather data regardless of whether the full mission was achieved. SpaceX had previously warned that the chances of success were low.
The First “Fully Stacked” Trial
The uncrewed sub-orbital test marked the first “fully stacked” trial, in which the Starship cruise vessel, designed to carry up to 100 astronauts, was placed on top of the Super Heavy booster rocket, whose 33 Raptor engines provided the immense thrust needed.
Details of the SpaceX Starship Rocket
The mammoth spacecraft is almost as long as three passenger jets and stands 10 meters taller than the Saturn V rocket that sent humans to the moon in 1969. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, gained the necessary approval from the Federal Aviation Administration last week for the launch to go ahead.
