Rocket explodes at SpaceX factory during test

A booster rocket developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for his next-generation Starship spacecraft burst into flames during a ground test on Monday in Texas, causing a likely setback to Musk’s goal of launching the Starship into orbit this year.

“Yes, it’s actually not good. The team is assessing the damage,” Musk said on Twitter after the early-evening explosion of the Super Heavy Booster 7 prototype, as seen in a live stream recorded by NASA Spaceflight.

There was no immediate indication of injuries.

The explosion, which enveloped the rocket’s base in a ball of flame and heavy smoke and appeared to shake the video camera, was specific to the engine’s start-up test, Musk said Tuesday.

“In the future, we will not be doing a test start with all 33 engines at once,” he said on Twitter.

The thruster remained upright, bolted to a test gantry afterwards.

The failure came in the midst of a one-day static fire test campaign in Boca Chica, Texas, of the booster, equipped with an array of 33 Raptor engines for use in an upcoming unmanned orbital test flight that SpaceX hoped to launch later. this year.

SpaceX’s complete Starship, which will be 120 meters tall when coupled with its super-heavy first-stage thruster, is the company’s next-generation launch vehicle at the heart of Musk’s ambitions to make human space travel more accessible and routine.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Monday’s explosion.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also did not immediately respond when asked whether it would investigate the explosion.

In late 2020 and early 2021, SpaceX lost four prototypes of the starship itself in a series of high-altitude test launches when return landing attempts ended in explosions. The Starship prototype finally made a safe landing in May 2021.