Elon Musk's company SpaceX has recently suffered another rocket mishap as the new Starship SN9 prototype collapsed on its own launch pad. The new Starship Serial Number 9 or SN9 has reportedly started to lean then eventually collapsed on its own launch pad at the official Boca Chia testing facility. This was just a few days after the recent SN8 had recently exploded in quite a huge fireball.
SpaceX SN9 collapse
According to news.com.au, the stand that was holding Musk's rocket gave way but the vehicle assembly building was reportedly in place. During this time, it eventually caught the huge rocket which then proceeded to smash straight into the ground shortly after SpaceX's recent SN8 unmanned test capsule had blown up as it smashed hard into the ground back on December 9.
The massive 48.8 meter SN8 had completed its very first high-altitude flight about 12,497 meters for just 6 minutes and 40 seconds. However, this then ended in quite a dramatic explosion upon hitting the ground. Musk had also said that the SN8 was quite successful due to the fact that it was able to collect the needed data en route.
SpaceX SN9 leaning
The SpaceX SN9 was the second prototype that had wing tips, nose cone, and practically the same body design as the rockets that were around before. It is still not clear as to whether the SN9 had sustained damage. SpaceX stated that it was on its way to the launch pad after the previous SN8 took off around Boca Chica, it has also reportedly built 10 different Starship prototypes as of the moment.
Elon Musk stated that the SN9 will be ready to move directly to the pad shortly, which now already has two active stands for the rapid development testing to take place. It was also reportedly created by building the successive generation of new prototypes quickly in order to try them out faster.
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SpaceX SN9 falls
SpaceX stated that the SN8's very own flight test is going to be an exciting step in the company's development of a completely reusable transportation system that will be capable of carrying both a crew as well as cargo to the Earth orbit, the Moon, and even Mars later on and more. Its built of stainless steel model now stands about 50 meters tall and is around 9 meters in diameter, according to a report.
An article by The Sun stated that it had even flown over the known Gulf of Mexico for around five minutes before it had flipped sideways and resulted in free falling back into the southeastern tip of Texas somewhere near the known Mexican border. Musk had dubbed this as a "belly flop" which is a move that is designed to mimic the specific technique Starship when it is finally making its return journey coming from space to Earth's atmosphere.
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Written by Urian Buenconsejo
