China News Agency, Houston, February 2nd. On the 2nd, SpaceX's new-generation heavy-duty launch vehicle "Xingzhou" SN9 flew in Texas, USA, and exploded during landing.
On February 2, local time, SpaceX's "Starship" prototype rocket used for manned voyages in space conducted its latest test flight above 10,000 meters and exploded several seconds before it touched the ground. Blast into a fireball.
CNN reported that the test flight was carried out at the company’s "Xingzhou" R&D and test base in Boca Chica, southern Texas.
The company said in the test flight live broadcast that the "Xingzhou" SN9 lifted off smoothly after launch and reached an altitude of 6 miles, which is below the target altitude of 7.7 miles.
The rocket jittered violently during the return phase and exploded when landing.
This is the second test flight failure of this series of rockets. On December 9, 2020, the test flight of "Xingzhou" SN8 also exploded during landing.
The "Xingzhou" heavy launch vehicle is more powerful than SpaceX's existing "Falcon 9" and "Falcon Heavy" launch vehicles.
According to the company's official website, this new type of recyclable rocket is designed to send people and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, and Mars, with a rocket load capacity of more than 100 tons per class.
On February 2, local time, SpaceX's "Starship" prototype rocket used for manned voyages in space conducted its latest test flight above 10,000 meters and exploded several seconds before it touched the ground. Blast into a fireball.
It is worth mentioning that, according to the report of the technology media "The Verge" website, SpaceX originally planned to conduct this test last week, but was "stopped" by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), saying it "may affect public safety." .
The FAA is responsible for overseeing US airspace and issuing permits for rocket launches.
On the morning of the 2nd, the FAA stated in a statement that in order to comply with public safety rules, SpaceX took measures to correct some of its practices and now approves the test flight of SN9.
The FAA also confirmed in the statement that SpaceX violated a public safety agreement reached with the FAA during the SN8 test flight.
SpaceX CEO Musk publicly accused the FAA on social media Twitter last week.
On the 2nd, Musk said on the social media that he "will leave Twitter for a while."
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