SpaceX’s Starship rocket explodes upon touch down [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The Starship prototype of Elon Musk’s SpaceX company exploded on Wednesday shortly upon landing in its rocket facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
• Musk said that the blast occurred because of the low fuel header tank pressure, resulting in high “touchdown velocity and RUD.”
• SpaceX made an initial attempt to launch the rocket prototype but did not push through after its Raptor engines malfunctioned.

During a live test flight at SpaceX rocket facility in Boca Chica, Texas on Wednesday, the company’s Starship prototype exploded as it tries to make a safe landing following a successful test launch.

Developed by billionaire businessman Elon Musk through his private space company, the Starship prototype ━ a 16-story-tall rocket to be used for the heavy-lift launch vehicle ━ accidentally blasted shortly prior to descending to land.

The self-guided ship was making a controlled landing as it attempted to make a touch down on a pad. Using three newly developed Raptor engines for the first time, SpaceX targeted to reach a 41,000 feet altitude. The company did not confirm whether the Starship was able to achieve its target elevation.

Responding to the rocket’s explosion, Musk said on his Twitter post that the “fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD” while congratulating the team for a successful launch and getting “all the data” they needed.

With a height of 394-feet (120 meters), SpaceX Starship rocket would be the company’s forthcoming sustainable launch vehicle that is set to become Musk’s instrument of bringing people to space and make space travel more habitual.

About $135 million was allocated by NASA to fund SpaceX’s Starship. Other competing rocket vehicles include billionaire mogul Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company and Dynetics by Leidos company.

The said companies are bidding for NASA’s Artemis program to build moon landers. The scheme aims to conduct human lunar explorations in the upcoming decade.

The company made an initial attempt to kickstart the rocket on Tuesday, but it made an automatic abort after having last-minute issues with its Raptor engines.

Source: AOL.com