SpaceX conducted the final high - altitude flight test of its Starship spacecraft bound for Mars, but it resulted in a massive explosion during landing.
The Starship SN9 prototype launched from SpaceX's Boca Chica facility in Texas on Tuesday, reaching an altitude of about 10 kilometers before falling to Earth.
However, shortly before reaching the landing site, it performed a complex maneuver, but failed to properly correct its course and collided with the platform .
A previous attempt to launch and land a Starship prototype in December also resulted in an explosion after a failed landing.
Another attempt at launching and landing a Starship prototype is expected in the near future, with SN10 already positioned on a nearby launch pad.
SpaceX had emphasized both the importance and the difficulty of achieving a safe landing for Starship, in a post it made on its website before the test that took place on Tuesday.
"A controlled aerodynamic descent on the body's wings and vertical landing capability, combined with in-space refueling, are critical for landing Starship at destinations throughout the solar systemwhere there are no prepared surfaces or runways to allow it to return to Earth," the publication said.
"This capability will enable a fully reusable system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration, interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the moon and travel to Mars and beyond."
SpaceX CEO Elon Muskpreviously said he hopes to build up to 100 Starship spacecraft each year, each capable of carrying up to 100 people.
Tuesday's test was only the second major high-altitude flight for Starship, and despite achieving liftoff and a controlled descent, the landing attempt was not as good as the SN8.
Of course, this failure is unlikely to deter Mr Musk, who last year made Starship development a “top priority” for SpaceX.
