Another test did not go according to plan. Elon Musk's company has not been very lucky with launches and tests lately.
Billionaire Elon Musk's company continues to break anti-records: the last three launches of the Starship rocket complex ended with the loss of ships and one returning first stage. However, yesterday's incident stands out from the general series (there have been no such accidents since 2020), although experts believe that all ships explode due to similar circumstances - a fuel leak.
As reported by SpaceX, the heavy Starship launch vehicle exploded during a static fire test at the test site. According to the preliminary version, the accident occurred during testing of the first stage of the booster, where a significant fuel leak occurred.
“On Wednesday, June 18, at approximately 11:00 p.m. Central Time, Starship, preparing for its tenth flight test, encountered a serious anomaly on the test stand at Starbase. A safety zone was maintained around the site throughout the operation, and all personnel are safe and accounted for. Our Starbase team is actively working with local authorities to ensure the safety of the test site and surrounding area. There are no hazards to nearby communities, and we ask that people not attempt to approach the area while safety operations are ongoing,” the company said.
It is noted that the spacecraft that exploded yesterday was scheduled by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a test launch in late June. But it blew up prematurely.
The last similar incident with an explosion on the launch pad with a promising, according to Musk, spacecraft occurred in May 2020. But since then, many ships have been built and tested, and they have successfully passed fire tests.
The media write that some experts are beginning to call the problems with Starship systemic. The explosion during the fire test may indicate possible problems in the ship's architecture, since all similar accidents have involved leaks in the aft section of the ship, leading to a fire and explosion.
