(Reuters) – The third time seemed to be the charm for Elon Musk’s Starship rocket – until it wasn’t.
SpaceX’s latest heavy-duty launch vehicle prototype flew flawlessly into the air in a high-altitude test Wednesday from Boca Chica, Texas, then flew back to Earth to achieve the first upright landing for a spaceship model.
But the victory was short-lived. The spacecraft shifted slightly to the side as an automated fire extinguishing system aimed a stream of water at flames still burning at the base of the rocket, blowing itself apart about eight minutes after landing.
It was the third landing attempt to end in a fireball after an otherwise successful test flight for the Starship, developed by SpaceX to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the Moon and Mars.
For Musk, the billionaire SpaceX founder who also runs electric carmaker Tesla Inc, the outcome was mixed news.
The Starship SN10 was much closer to achieving secure vertical touchdown than two previous models – SN8 in December and SN9 in February. In a tweet responding to subdued congratulations from an admirer of his work, Musk replied, “RIP SN10, honorable discharge.”
SpaceX’s video feed on the company’s YouTube channel was cut short shortly after landing. But separate feeds from fans streamed across the same social media platform showed an explosion that suddenly erupted at the base of the rocket, ejecting the SN10 into the air before it crashed to the ground and burst into flames.
The complete Starship rocket, which will be 120 meters high in combination with its super-heavy first-stage booster, is SpaceX’s next-generation fully reusable launch vehicle – the center of Musk’s ambitions to make human space travel more affordable. and routine.
A first orbital Starship flight is scheduled for the end of the year. Musk has said he plans to fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon on the spaceship in 2023.
Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Joe Shaw in Washington; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell