SpaceX’s Starship SN10 Rocket Makes First Successful Landing, Then Explodes

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s newest and biggest rocket pulled off its first successful landing, then exploded a brief time later and was engulfed by fire.

The Starship SN-10 prototype lifted off from SpaceX’s seaside launch pad at about 5:15 p.m. in Boca Chica, Texas, on Wednesday, based on a live video stream on SpaceX’s website. The rocket then flew to an altitude of about 10 kilometers (around 6 miles) before turning its engines back on and settling on the landing pad with a slight lean.

Shortly after that, the rocket was lifted into the air by an explosion and consumed by flames, possibly after a fire ignited fuel. Until that point, the rocket appeared to achieve a key milestone with its first stable landing in three attempts. After its ascent, Starship shut off its three Raptor engines and performed a controlled “belly flop” descent, then reignited its engines to make a vertical landing.

Despite the mishap, the test is likely to signal progress for the massive vehicle. An earlier Starship rocket slammed to the ground on the program’s first high-altitude flight Dec. 9, igniting a fireball, followed by a similar outcome with a second prototype last month. No one was hurt in the mishaps, and there were no reports of injuries from the fire after the latest flight, which was the third high-altitude test.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk plans to use the Starship to shuttle as many as 12 people around the moon in 2023, land NASA astronauts on the lunar surface and eventually settle explorers on Mars. The company still has work to prepare the Starship for its first orbital flight, which could occur later this year.

“I’m highly confident that we will have reached orbit many times with Starship before 2023, and that it will be safe enough for human transport by 2023,” Musk said Tuesday in a video released by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa, who has invited eight people to apply to join his “fun trip” around the moon. “It’s looking very, very promising.”

SpaceX conceived the stainless steel Starship as a versatile, fully reusable craft that can carry 100 metric tons for deep-space missions to the moon and Mars. It’s also designed to serve as a hypersonic, point-to-point vehicle to reduce travel times across Earth.

Excluding a heavy booster that creates a two-stage system, Starship is 160 feet (49 meters) high with a 30-foot diameter, and able to carry as many as 100 passengers.

Musk said in October that he’s 80% to 90% confident that Starship will be ready for an orbital flight this year. SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, plans to fly multiple Starship prototypes from its Texas launch site near the U.S.-Mexico border.

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[christopherworth]

Hey, on the bright side, they achieved two lift offs and one successful landing!!

[TheThumbsUpGuy]

"Hopes that it will one day... take Humans to mars!"

*shows footage of rocket violently exploding

[popeye]

It feels like Starship now just did that out of spite. 'Fine I'll show one good landing for you guys but only if I am still allowed to explode afterwards!'

[Randomadventuresebike]

Hey we landed y'all got 30 seconds to get off 🤣🤣🤣

[mountopia]

You want to make advancements in rockets but I still have to wait at a red light in the middle of nowhere at 2 in the morning for 5 minutes when nobody's around. Ugh!!!

[jonasthesen]

SpaceX : It didn't explode ?
Sn10 : Sorry, Boom.

[banzaiib]

how can they not show the landing flip?

[sandrafoxley]

Meanwhile Martian scrap metal dealers rub their hands with glee at the thought of future profits.

[ExtremePacifist]

the operation was a success but the patient died...

[Knawlege]

i mean technically that is survivable, you just have 8 minutes to run away before it explodes

[ArtOfHealth]

I am very excited about the looming thought of exploding my way to Mars in my 80s. Musk said there will be failures and he expects them and pushes on. THAT is the Spirit of Innovation and Progress. Musk has proven himself over and over. He said ANYONE is capable of great inventions and manufacturing as long as they acquire the knowledge and apply it!

[snuffeldjuret]

why so many dislikes? I really don't get it.

[justimagine]

First successful landing.... then it exploded. I would call that a fail folks.

[w-is]

Don't flush the toilet after landing.

[Carolinacaveman]

Was this a remote dedination for safety? or was this from damage?

[ENetArch]

There are many ways to disassemble a starship. The current method is by explosion.

[randi]

When Bloomberg gets this far let me know.

[phil_]

Too bad we can't buy stock in SpaceX

[HiddenPalm]

I think the whole building yeeting from the sky tactic is not a wise one. The Space shuttles from the 1980's gave human pilots complete control from the moment it entered the atmosphere. A reusable space shuttle today should be similar and work more or less like the Harrier when landing, this way the pilot has full control. Much better than a falling building model.

[wwolfdogs]

Reminds me of putting a firecracker under a tin can.