A prototype SpaceX rocket exploded on landing on Tuesday after a test flight, images from the company showed.
This is the second such explosion, as the last prototype suffered a similar fate in December 2020.
“We’ve had another excellent flight,” said a SpaceX spokesperson of the live test flight.
“We just need to do some work on the landing,” he added.
The founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, remained unusually quiet on social media after announcing late Monday that he would be “off Twitter for a while.”
The steel rocket named SN9 was approved for takeoff from Boca Chica, Texas, by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which previously delayed authorization after determining that SpaceX’s latest launch would meet the conditions. of his license.
The missile launched smoothly and gradually shut down its engines when it reached an altitude of 10 kilometers, then performed a series of test maneuvers in a horizontal position.
When the missile attempted to return to a vertical position to land, the problems started and footage showed it was arriving too fast and at a bad angle.
It landed in a deafening crash and burst into flames and a cloud of dust, but the fire did not spread.