SpaceX’s super rocket exploded after few minutes after launch on Thursday. The 500-foot-tall Starship, is the world’s most powerful rocket.
SpaceX founder, Elon Musk was excited about the success of the launch tweeted, “Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months.”
However, his hopes were dashed as it failed in midair a few minutes after leaving the launch pad.
Thursday’s failed launch is the second time the rocket launch will be failing in one week.
The first launch on Monday, came to a halt after a problem with a valve created pressurization issues for the rocket.
The massive rocket took off just minutes after the launch window opened on Thursday at 8:28 a.m. local time (9:28 a.m. ET) at the company’s flight test facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
It is intended to assist humans in journey to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
“With a test such as this, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship,” SpaceX said.
Starship is made up of two stages: a 230-foot-tall “Super Heavy” Starship first stage powered by 33 methane-burning Raptor engines, and a bullet-shaped, 160-foot-tall Starship second stage with six Raptors of its own, as well as steerable fins at the nose and tail to control the ship during atmospheric re-entry from space.
However, during the initial test flight, SpaceX will not attempt to recover either stage.
Instead, the first stage is projected to fly itself 20 miles or so from Boca Chica to a “hard” landing in the Gulf of Mexico, where it will simply sink.
After a virtually round-the-world ballistic flight, the Starship is expected to crash into the Pacific Ocean around 150 miles north of Hawaii.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, dampened expectations in a Twitter Spaces call to his subscribers on Sunday night.
“I would just like to set expectations low,” he said.
“If we get far enough away from the launch pad before something goes wrong, then I think I would consider that to be a success. Just don’t blow up the launch pad!”