The world’s largest rocket ever built exploded within minutes of the test launch. The rocket’s maker, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, hopes the rocket will be the first step in a human journey to Mars.
To implement that step, the 120-meter-long rocket called Starship took off at 8:33 a.m. Texas time on Thursday.
The rocket exploded about four minutes after liftoff during a test launch. It started spinning at the same altitude before the explosion.
Initially everything seemed fine, but the rocket exploded before it goes into orbit. As a result of this explosion, the rocket turned into smoke in the air.
It is believed that the two parts of the rocket system – the booster and the cruise ship – failed to separate after takeoff. It was not immediately clear whether its explosion was spontaneous or the flight termination system was activated.
SpaceX had previously warned that the rocket’s chances of a successful launch were slim. The aim of this test flight was to collect data. SpaceX employees cheered even after the rocket separated.
SpaceX said in a statement on Twitter, referring to the explosion, that the excitement of the test flight was not enough. The Starship quickly experienced undetermined isolation before breaking apart.
Earlier this week, a test launch of the rocket was canceled.
It was the first test launch of an unmanned Starship cruise vehicle. It was designed to carry 100 astronauts. Which was placed on top of the super heavy booster rocket. 33 Raptor engines were used to achieve speed.
About the size of three passenger jets, the spacecraft was 10 meters taller than a Saturn V rocket. This Saturn V sent man to the moon in 1969.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk received the necessary approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration last week. He congratulated the SpaceX crew after the test launch, despite the explosion.
