SpaceX launched the mega-rocket Starship this Saturday in South Texas, USA, but lost fuel and the spacecraft in two explosions that occurred minutes after the launch began, Elon Musk’s company said.
The booster sent the rocket into space, but communications were lost eight minutes after takeoff and SpaceX said the launch was a failure.
The ship’s self-destruct system apparently exploded over the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX said.
The flight came to an end just as the ship’s engines were about to fire to send it on a path around the world.
Earlier, about three minutes after the start of the flight, the engine also exploded, but at that time its work was completed.
Despite the failure, the roughly eight-minute flight lasted twice as long as the first launch attempt on April 20, when the 120-metre Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, took off for the first time. to turn.
Several engines failed at the time, and SpaceX deliberately blew up the rocket after four minutes.
The North American aviation regulator (FAA) then launched an investigation before finally greenlighting the second flight on Wednesday after Elon Musk’s company made dozens of improvements to the fuel and its 33 engines, as well as the launch pad.
The project by SpaceX, a company owned by multimillionaire Elon Musk, is being closely watched by NASA, which is using the spacecraft on its missions to return to the Moon.