SpaceX SN10 Starship explodes after successful landing [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• SpaceX’s Starship rocket SN10 exploded minutes after making a successful landing following a high-altitude test flight on Wednesday at Boca Chica, Texas.
• SN10 was the third vehicle prototype that blasted in recent months as the company perfects the Starship model.
• SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk aims to use the Starship as a vehicle to bring humans to space.

SpaceX’s latest powered vehicle prototype flew impressively into the sky and had a great touchdown, only to explode shortly after landing.

The high-altitude test launch on Wednesday at Boca Chica, Texas. It was the third time that a SpaceX rocket prototype ended up blasting after exhibiting a good test flight.

Built by Elon Musk’s billion-dollar company, the starship aims to transport humans and 100 tons of cargo on future travels to both the moon and Mars.

Musk said that the result was a bitter-sweet ending.

Still, the latest Starship named SN10 made a safer and better vertical landing versus the past models (SN8 in December and SN9 in February) which also exploded.

In a response to a discreet congratulations from one Twitter user, Musk responded by saying, “RIP SN10, honorable discharge.”

Moments after the successful landing, SpaceX already cut off its live video feed on its YouTube channel. Several fans, however, continued to stream using separate feeds on the video platform, showing fires developed beneath the ship’s base. Moments later, a blast erupted which sent the SN10 into the air due to the explosion’s impact as the area was covered in massive flames.

Standing at approximately 394-feet (120 meters), Tesla’s ground-breaking Starship rocket would be the company’s next-generation reusable launch vehicle. It would serve as the answer to Musk’s ultimate goal of making space travel more affordable and routinary.

The company is planning to launch its first orbital Starship flight by the end of 2021. And two years from now, Musk expressed his bid to bring Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon.

Source: AOL.com