WASHINGTON, Apr 21 The Starship rocket that collapsed shortly after launch had to be deliberately destroyed due to engine problems and the beginning of a loss of altitude, SpaceX said.
The heavy-duty Starship rocket lifted off from a pad in Boca Chica on the Texas coast at 16:33 Moscow time on Thursday. A few minutes after launch, the rocket began to rotate and collapsed. SpaceX called the incident a «quick unscheduled takedown.» According to Kris 6 News, the rocket sank in the Gulf of Mexico, and «its fragments flew everywhere after the explosion.»
«Quick and unplanned takedown»: Starship exploded shortly after launch
1 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
2 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
3 of 11
4 of 11
5 of 11
6 of 11
7 of 11
8 of 11 data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX says»>
9 of 11
10 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
11 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX says»>
1 of 11
2 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
3 of 11
4 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
5 of 11
6 out of 11 =1866696421″ data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
7 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
8 out of 11
9 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX says»>
10 of 11
11 of 11 » data-title=»Starship was deliberately destroyed, SpaceX said»>
«Several engines failed, the ship lost altitude and began to spin. The command was given to end the flight as both the ship and the booster,» the company said.
During the test, it turned out that three of the 33 Raptor engines were not working at the start of the first Super Heavy booster stage, then their number increased to at least six during climb.
According to SpaceX, before the start of the emergency, Starship managed to reach an altitude of 39 kilometers.
SpaceX creates Starship for deep space flights. It should be the most powerful and largest of all man-made devices. As planned by Elon Musk, it is on it that expeditions to the Moon and Mars will fly.
So far, at least seven different tests of Starship have ended in a rocket explosion. On the eve of the first flight, Musk said that it would be crazy to count on his success. At the same time, he made it clear that he would most like to avoid an explosion on the launch pad, since in this case it could take several months to prepare for a new launch.
< /span>