SpaceX's Futuristic Starship Prototype Blasts off on Landing After Test Flight, Elon Musk Tweets 'Mars Here We Come' Despite Catastrophic End
A prototype of SpaceX's futuristic Starship rocket blasted off from south Texas on Wednesday in the program's most ambitious test flight to date. Despite the catastrophic end, SpaceX founder Tesla's Elon Musk tweeted just minutes after the flight, "Mars, here we come!!"
New York, December 10: A prototype of SpaceX's futuristic Starship rocket blasted off from south Texas on Wednesday in the program's most ambitious test flight to date. According to an AFP report, the 160-foot-tall prototype hit the ground going faster than expected and exploded, which also destroyed the un-piloted test vehicle.
But the company line was upbeat as a Livestream of the launch displayed the on-screen message "AWESOME TEST. CONGRATS STARSHIP TEAM!" "Mars, here we come!!" SpaceX founder Tesla's Elon Musk tweeted just minutes after the flight, explaining that a too-fast landing speed was to blame for the crash. SpaceX's Delta 4-Heavy Launch Stopped Due to Technical Issue; ULA Aborts Mission Minutes Before Take-Off.
Here's what Musk tweeted:
Space X also shared a landing flip manoeuvre video from its Twitter handle:
The test flight was planned to check the huge metal body of SN8 (Starship number 8) and its three engines for their aero dynamism, including during the ship's return to Earth -- which happens vertically, in the same vein as SpaceX's pioneering Falcon 9 rocket.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 10, 2020 08:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).