SpaceX Starship Prototype Rocket Explodes on Landing After Test Launch

SpaceX Starship Prototype Rocket Explodes on Landing After Test Launch
The SpaceX Starship SN9 prototype rocket explodes after descending from a test flight in a still image from video in Boca Chica, Texas, on Feb. 2, 2021. SpaceX/Social Media via Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

A SpaceX Starship prototype rocket exploded on landing after an otherwise successful high-altitude experimental launch from Boca Chica, Texas, on Tuesday, in a repeat of an accident that destroyed a previous test rocket.

The Starship SN9 that blew up on its final descent, like the SN8 before it, was a prototype for the heavy-lift rocket being developed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s private space company to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.