(Reuters) -During a ground-test firing on Monday in Texas, a booster rocket created by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for its next-generation Starship spacecraft caught fire, giving a likely setback to Musk’s goal of getting Starship into orbit this year.
“Actually, it’s not very good. The team is examining the damage, “Musk stated on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) following the early evening explosion of the Super Heavy Booster 7 prototype, as captured by NASA Spaceflight’s livestream.
There were no immediate signs of injury.
Musk stated on Tuesday that the explosion, which engulfed the base of the rocket in a ball of flames and thick smoke and appeared to shake the video camera, was unique to the engine spin start test.
“In the future, we will not conduct a spin start test with all 33 engines,” he tweeted.
The booster remained upright and was then attached to a test gantry.
The accident happened in Boca Chica, Texas, during a days-long static fire test of a rocket with 33 Raptor engines that SpaceX planned to use in an unmanned orbital test flight later this year.
SpaceX’s finished Starship, which will stand 394 feet (120 metres) tall when combined with its super-heavy first-stage booster, is the company’s next-generation launch vehicle at the heart of Musk’s plans to make human space travel more affordable and routine.
Reuters did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SpaceX regarding Monday’s explosion.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States did not answer immediately when asked whether it would examine the explosion.
In late 2020 and early 2021, SpaceX lost four Starship prototypes after a series of high-altitude test launches that resulted in explosions during return landing attempts. In May 2021, the Starship prototype finally landed safely.
