China News Service, April 7th. According to a report by the Russian Satellite Network on the 7th, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said recently that the company's next-generation heavy-duty launch vehicle "Xingzhou" prototype SN11 The cause of the explosion in the test flight at the end of March was a methane leak.
According to reports, Musk wrote on social media: "A little methane leak caused the No. 2 engine to explode and burned some of the electronic equipment on the plane. We do everything possible to troubleshoot."
On March 3, local time, SpaceX's next-generation heavy-duty launch vehicle "Xingzhou" SN10 conducted a test flight in Texas, USA. The rocket exploded a few minutes after landing.
In addition, a new "Xingzhou" SN15 prototype was ready to be launched on the launch pad on the NASASpaceFlight.com website.
Earlier, Musk said, SN15 has made great improvements in structure, software and engine design.
Since December 2020, SpaceX has performed four "Xingzhou" prototype flight test missions.
In the previous three missions, "Xingzhou" SN8 and SN9 exploded during landing, and SN10 finished landing but then exploded.
SpaceX is developing a transportation system consisting of a fully reusable super-heavy launch vehicle and interstellar spacecraft.
This system can transport satellites, crew, and cargo to low Earth orbit and the moon and Mars.