SN9 explodes into flames on landing on Feb. 2.
The SN9 interstellar spacecraft, an early prototype of the rocket that U.S. Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) hopes will carry the first humans to Mars, made its first high-altitude test flight on Tuesday (2), hovering for a while after flying 6 miles (about 10 kilometers) in the air before performing a flip maneuver on descent, only to an explosion near the launch pad during landing. The exact cause of the explosion is not yet known.
According to CNN, the rocket’s three engines were ignited, shut down and then re-ignited for the landing test as planned, but the rocket exploded when it returned to the launch pad. It exploded.
SpaceX engineer John Insprucker said Tuesday on the company’s live broadcast that most of the test flights “looked very good,” allowing engineers to gather data to help improve the design of the Starship throughout the flight. We’ve demonstrated the ability to transition engines to landing propulsion fuel tanks, and subsonic re-entry looks very good and stable … we just need to work a little bit on the landing,” he said.
The SN9 Starship lifts off from the Boca Chica launch site in Texas on Feb. 2.
The SN9 interstellar spacecraft lifts off from the Boca Chica launch base in Texas on Feb. 2.
The SN9 Starship was scheduled to launch last weekend from a test facility in South Texas and was fully fueled last Thursday (Jan. 28). However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that it ordered the SpaceX rocket to stop the launch test so as not to ‘compromise public safety’. The agency said SpaceX’s tests had been stalled after the company violated a public safety agreement with federal regulators during its last test launch.
However, the Federal Aviation Administration late Monday (1) reinstated authorization for SpaceX to launch a prototype space rocket. The agency said Tuesday that they had concluded this week that SpaceX had taken ‘corrective action’ and was now complying with public safety rules. The agency did not disclose the exact nature of the public safety issues involved or what specific corrective actions were taken.
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, had publicly slammed the Federal Aviation Administration on Twitter last week. On Tuesday morning, he tweeted that he would shut down Twitter for a while.
Separately, reports indicate that SpaceX has assembled a prototype of another Starship, the SN10, but it is unclear when the company will attempt to test the launch of the new rocket.
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