Washington (AFP)
After three unsuccessful attempts, SpaceX's new Starship rocket prototype crashed yet again on Tuesday during a test, company founder Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter.
“Something big has happened,” as it came downhill, he tweeted.
"We should know what it was once we can look at the pieces later today," Musk said, adding jokingly, "At least the crater is in the right place!"
The SN11 rocket was launched from South Texas around 1:00 p.m. GMT, and began its 10 km ascent, experiencing problems with video transmission.
During his descent, the video was interrupted.
“We lost the clock at T plus 5 minutes and 49 seconds,” SpaceX commentator John Insprucker said, referring to the time since take off.
“Looks like we've had another exciting test of the Number 11 Starship,” he added dryly.
It was the 4th prototype to take off, and attempt to return to the ground for a smooth vertical landing.
SN8 and SN9 were launched in December and January respectively, but crashed and exploded, while SN10 on March 3 managed to land, but also exploded a few minutes later.
Despite these failures, according to experts, SpaceX is accumulating valuable data that will allow it to accelerate the development of its space program.
Eventually, SpaceX plans to combine its Starship spacecraft with its Super Heavy rocket, in order to create a completely reusable machine.
The final version of the rocket will rise to 120 meters in height and will be able to carry a cargo of 100 tons in Earth orbit, thus granting it the title of the most powerful launch vehicle ever.
© 2021 AFP