Categories: Headline World

BREAKING: SpaceX Starship explodes moments after reaching space

it was Starship’s second test after its first attempt to reach space ended in an explosion earlier this year.

Advertisement
Advertisement

SpaceX Starship has exploded moments after reaching space.

 

Newsonline Nigeria reports that SpaceX empty spacecraft Starship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond, reached space for the first time on Saturday but was presumed to have failed minutes later.

 

This Nigeria news platform gathered that it was Starship’s second test after its first attempt to reach space ended in an explosion earlier this year.

Newsonline Nigeria reports that the two-stage rocket ship blasted off from the Elon Musk-owned company’s Starbase launch site near Boca Chica in Texas, east of Brownsville, on a planned 90-minute uncrewed flight into space.

 

If successful, the rocket would have ended up landing in the Pacific ocean near Hawaii. The company hopes the rocket can eventually manage a trip around the Earth, which could take an hour and a half.

 

But about two and a half minutes into the flight, the two stages of the spacecraft broke apart. SpaceX shortly announced that it could not find a signal from the second stage, which it declared “lost”.

 

The company believes the rocket’s self-destruction mechanism was set off after it lost the signal.

 

SpaceX’s second flight is an improvement compared to its first test launch in April, when both stages ultimately exploded four minutes into its flight. The spacecraft’s first stage, nicknamed “Super Heavy” for its 33 engines, had failed, causing both stages to explode.

 

This time, Super Heavy’s 33 engines succeeded in lifting itself and the second stage, the rocket system Starship, into space. Starship successfully separated from Super Heavy as planned, but the rocket’s automatic termination system activated, causing an explosion.

 

“What we do believe right now is that the automated flight termination system on second stage appears to have triggered very late in the burn as we were headed downrange over the Gulf of Mexico,” SpaceX engineer John Insprucker said in a company broadcast.

 

Insprucker did not say what may have activated the termination system.

 

On X, the social media platform also owned by Musk and formerly known as Twitter, SpaceX confirmed that it experienced an explosion, something the company refers to as “a rapid unscheduled disassembly”.

 

“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary,” the company said.

 

 

Newsonline Nigeria reports that the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the rocket pending a safety and environmental review but cleared the launch this week. The company had come under criticism after its first launch for the amount of debris it showered over Texas after its first explosion.

 

The company has a $4bn contract with the US space agency Nasa, which hopes the partnership will result in the first successful flight to the moon in more than five decades. Musk has broader aspirations for the company’s rockets, saying that he wants to eventually send humans to Mars on reusable rockets.

 

Musk has also floated the idea of using a rocket for commercial travel, such as offering an hour-long flight from London to Tokyo.

 

Musk has maintained that tests, even if resulting in explosions, are important for the company to improve its spacecraft. An official for Nasa recently suggested that the company will need the number of launches to be “in the high teens” before the craft can be used for the lunar landing mission.

Advertisement
NewsOnline Nigeria

Recent Posts

  • Exchange Rates

Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate In Lagos, FCT, 25 December 2024

Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate in Lagos and FCT today, 24 December 2024.…

2 hours ago
  • Crime Watch

BREAKING: Boko Haram Terrorists Bomb Nigerian Army Base

Boko Haram Terrorists have reportedly bombed the Nigerian Army Base.   NewsOnline Nigeria reports that…

2 hours ago
  • Headline

BREAKING: Plane Carrying 67 People Bursts Into Flames On Christmas Day (VIDEO)

A plane carrying at least 67 people busted into flames on Christmas day.   NewsOnline…

2 hours ago
  • Top Stories

Primate Ayodele Preaches Love, Compassion To Christians On Christmas

Primate Ayodele has preached love and compassion to Christians on Christmas.   NewsOnline Nigeria reports…

2 hours ago
  • Economy And Business

President Tinubu Sends Message Of Hope To Nigerians On 2024 Christmas Celebration

President Tinubu sent a message of hope to Nigerians at the 2024 Christmas Celebration.  …

2 hours ago
  • Top Stories

JTAH Foundation Hosts Annual Christmas Event, Shares Xmas Gifts (PHOTOS)

JTAH Foundation has hosted an annual Christmas event and shared Xmas gifts in Lagos.  …

3 hours ago