SpaceX Starship SN10 Explodes on Launch Pad Eight Minutes After Landing Written 4 March 2021
Starship SN10 High-Altitude Flight Test explodes. | Credit: Falk Yvz; YouTube
CBS News reports that an unpiloted SpaceX prototype launched from Texas on Wednesday and climbed to an altitude of six miles before tipping “over on its side as planned” and plunging “back to Earth in a high-altitude swan dive, flipping back vertical and then successfully landing near the launch pad.” The launch marked the company’s “third high-altitude Starship test flight and its first successful landing.” However, approximately eight minutes after the prototype – SN10 – touched down, it “blew up, showering the pad with flaming debris.” Despite the mishap, “the successful landing marked a major milestone for SpaceX founder Elon Musk in his drive to develop a fully reusable heavy lift rocket, even as it showed the risks that come with an aggressive test program.”
Full Story (CBS News)