Video: This is how the prototype of the SpaceX spacecraft exploded on a landing.
The aircraft was conducting a test flight at about 12 kilometers above sea level.
On Wednesday the Starship project of SpaceX, Elon Musk's space exploration company, suffered a severe blow on Wednesday when the prototype SN8 spacecraft exploded when it was subjected to an unscheduled disassembly test.
The explosion can be seen towards the end of the video:
Watch Starship high-altitude test live → https://t.co/Hs5C53qBxb https://t.co/sEMe4firi6
- SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 9, 2020
The aircraft, which was unmanned, was attempting to land after a suborbital flight test at 12 kilometers above sea level.
Musk had already said that "a lot of things had to go right" for the test to be successful. However, he congratulated the Space X team for the other positive results the test returned.
Fuel header tank pressure was low during landing burn, causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD, but we got all the data we needed! Congrats SpaceX team hell yeah !!
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2020
"The fuel tank pressure was low during the landing, which caused the landing speed to be high," Musk's tweet reads in Spanish.
SpaceX had also posted on its website that even if an explosion occurred, "it would not necessarily be a failure for the flight."
