It became known that the fourth prototype of the manned SpaceX Starship spacecraft was destroyed as a result of an explosion that occurred during fire tests of the Raptor engine installed on it.
Tests of Starship SN4 were carried out on the ground and at the beginning everything went according to plan, but in the end there was a powerful explosion that destroyed the spacecraft. The moment of the explosion was published on the social network Twitter.
Let us remind you that Starship is designed for reusable use and is positioned by SpaceX as a new generation manned spacecraft. Despite the fact that the fourth prototype managed to overcome a number of tests, SpaceX has not yet conducted flight tests of the device.
RIP Starship SN4?
- Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight)
It is worth noting that before the explosion, the Starship SN4 prototype successfully passed some tests, including cryogenic pressure testing. This was achieved only the fourth time, and the three previous attempts were unsuccessful. In addition, the first , during which the ship's engine operated for about four seconds.
In the future, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, plans to use Starship to fly to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Finally, let us add that this Starship prototype is significantly different from the Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft, on which NASA astronauts are scheduled to travel from Florida to the ISS today.
Source: 3dnews.ru