This time the launch did not have to be postponed, the delay was insignificant. However, the rocket exploded at an altitude of 38 kilometers.
Elon Musk's SpaceX company launched its super Heavy launch vehicle with the Starship spacecraft on the second attempt, which they want to use in the future to send people to Mars and the Moon.
The launch took place at the Starbase base in Boca Chica, Texas, at 16:34 Moscow time. He was detained for a couple of minutes. John Insprucker, chief integration engineer at SpaceX, said live on air that "teams are working on the sealing problem."
Starship before the explosionImage Source: Reuters
Three minutes after the launch, the Starship system began to spin, the first stage did not separate. At an altitude of 38 kilometers, the carrier, along with the second stage — the Starship ship — exploded over the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite this, loud applause could be heard on the video broadcast at SpaceX headquarters. The fact that the rocket took off can be considered a success.
ExplosionImage source: SpaceX via Reuters
Elon Musk himself estimated the chances of success of today's mission at 50 percent. The billionaire stressed that if nothing works out, SpaceX will try again. And this is true: the company has already stated that they will analyze all the data and prepare for a new start.
On his Twitter page, the entrepreneur congratulated the team on an "exciting test run" and noted that they had learned a lot ahead of the next tests "in a few months."
Elon Musk's tweet dedicated to the launchImage Source: Twitter
The first attempt at a historic launch was made on Monday, April 17. However, then it was canceled due to a problem with a valve in the booster booster system - it froze.
Read about how the first flight was conceived and what it consists of in the detailed Naked Science material.
