Musk’s rocket: SpaceX explains explosion after takeoff

Minutes after a successful takeoff, SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded. The company of billionaire Elon Musk explained what happened. “As if the flight test wasn’t exciting enough, Starship experienced a quick unscheduled disassembly prior to ‘stage separation,’” explains SpaceX. The rocket, an important milestone in the company’s mission to send humans to the moon and, perhaps in the future, to Mars, is considered the most powerful ever built.

“Teams will continue to review the data and work on our next flight test. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on Starship’s exciting first integrated flight test!” concludes the company’s official statement.

Last Monday, Starship’s launch had been postponed after a technical problem. “A pressurization valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, there will be no launch today,” published Elon Musk on his Twitter profile, moments before the live broadcast of the launch ended.