[ad_1]
A new rocket from the space company SpaceX exploded upon landing after a test flight. Due to a problem with the fuel system, the speed of the unmanned missile was too high on approach, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said after testing on Wednesday night (local time) in the US state of Texas via the short message service Twitter, and yet he was satisfied: “We got all the data we need.” The prototype of the starship had previously climbed to a height of around 12.5 kilometers.
On Tuesday, a cranking attempt was canceled just 1.3 seconds before the scheduled start due to an engine problem. In previous tests, the prototypes were only shot up to about 150 meters. The goal of the experiments is to test individual elements of the new rocket. According to Musk’s plans, “Starship” will at some point transport cargo and people to the moon and Mars. “Mars, we’re getting there,” Musk said after Wednesday’s test.
The founder of SpaceX wants “Starship” to be completely reusable. In today’s SpaceX “Falcon” rockets, only some of the steps land on the ground to be used again.
In late November, SpaceX made headlines with much more positive news. A space capsule of the American company had been successfully docked with the International Space Station ISS. As can be seen from the live images from the ISS, the first part of the docking process went according to plan after a 27-hour flight of the »Crew Dragon«.
First launch from US soil in nine years
The newly arrived crew – »Crew-1« – were the first to regularly fly the »Crew Dragon« to the ISS after the successful manned test in the spring. The two American astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken left for the ISS during this test in May and returned in August.
It was the first time after a hiatus of nearly nine years that astronauts returned to orbit from US soil, and the first time they were promoted by a private space company. SpaceX had previously only transported cargo to the ISS.
