Washington (AFP)

A prototype rocket from the US aerospace company SpaceX crashed on Tuesday on landing during a test flight from the Texas coast, according to images released by the company.

Another prototype of the future Starship rocket had suffered the same fate in December.

He had managed to take off before crashing into a large ball of fire.

"We still had an excellent flight," however said a SpaceX specialist commenting on the test flight, broadcast live.

"We just need to work a bit on the landing," he added.

The whimsical billionaire Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has not commented on the event on social networks.

He had announced earlier in the morning his decision to step away from Twitter for a while.

His account has nearly 45 million subscribers.

After a standoff with the US Federal Aviation Administration, the Starship SN9 prototype was cleared to fly on Tuesday.

The craft took off at 2.30 p.m. local time to reach an altitude of 10 kilometers.

He then gradually shut down his engines and performed a series of horizontal maneuvers.

It was when the rocket tried to regain an upright position that it crashed.

- Mars objective -

These tests are taking place in a near-deserted area leased by SpaceX in the far south of Texas, near the border with Mexico and on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico - an area empty enough for an accident or explosion. does not cause damage or cause victims.

The Starship rocket will consist of a manned spaceship and a first stage, called Super Heavy, equipped with 37 engines instead of 9, all measuring 120 meters in height, and capable of carrying 100 tonnes in orbit around the Earth.

Elon Musk imagines one day launching several of these ships to conquer Mars.

But initially, the rocket, if it became operational, could prove useful for closer trips, especially to the Moon, where NASA wants to restore a lasting presence from 2024.

Starship is also the vehicle with which Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is supposed to go around the moon, in theory in 2023, a trip at the confidential price.

© 2021 AFP