Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship explodes during the routine test in Texas, with the latest setback in Mars Mission | Today news

Elon Musk-Owned Aviation firm SpaceX suffered another time on the Mars ambitions late Wednesday when a star prototype exploded during a routine soil test at the company’s Starbase facility in the south of Texas. According to a statement from Cameron County authorities, the vehicle, known as Starship 36, experienced and exploded a “catastrophic failure” shortly after 11pm local time (04:00 GMT Thursday). The rocket underwent a static fire test, a standard procedure firing the engines, while the spacecraft remained anchored to the launch cushion. Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the explosion, with a bright flash, followed by a tower plume of the fire that engulfed the rocket, attached to the launch tower. SpaceX later confirmed the incident and said the vehicle encountered a major disorder while on a test stall in Starbase. While the company did not disclose the specific cause, it emphasized that safety protocols were followed. “A safety area around the site has been maintained during the entire operation, and all staff are safe and accountable,” the company said on social media. The authorities also assured the public that there was no danger to communities in the area and urged people not to approach the area while the “safing” operations continued. The explosion is the latest in a series of high-profile backlashes for SpaceX’s Starship program, a central pillar of Musk’s long-term goal to make humanity a multiple species. The fully reusable rocket, which is 123 meters long, is the most powerful ever built and is designed to carry loads of up to 150 tonnes in space. This incident comes a few weeks after a previous Starship test flight ended in failure when the vehicle broke apart after the launch on the Indian Ocean. In another test in May, the Super Heavy Booster exploded during his descent, rather than performing a controlled splash in the Gulf of Mexico. Two earlier missions also ended with the upper stage disintegrate the middle fly. Nevertheless, SpaceX pursues its philosophy ‘Fail Fast, Learn Fast’, which gives it credit for its dominance in the commercial spaces sector. The company recently managed to catch the Super Heavy Booster with Starbase’s massive robotic launch arms – a milestone of engineering that is considered critical to reduce the turnaround and costs of launch. NASA, which relies a lot on SpaceX for crew transport via its dragon spacecraft, remains one of the most important partners of the business. In May, the US Federal Aviation Administration approved an extension of SpaceX’s annual Starship launch of five to 25, despite the backlash of environmental groups concerned about the impact on local wildlife, such as sea turtles and migratory birds. (With input of AFP)