SpaceX’s giant rocket leaves crater, serious damage at Texas launch site
- Engineers may have underestimated the damage that Starship’s rocket engines would do to launch site
- Photos show a giant crater at the base of the launch tower, which could take several months to repair
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SpaceX Starship, world’s largest rocket, explodes minutes after lift-off on first test flight
Flying chunks of concrete, twisted metal sheets, craters blasted deep into the ground: the thunderous power of SpaceX’s first test flight of Starship – the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built – inflicted serious damage on its Texas launch site.
Repairing the damage from Thursday’s unmanned test flight is expected to take months, potentially delaying further launch attempts and slowing the development of a rocket Nasa plans to use on its upcoming moon missions.
SpaceX boss Elon Musk had said before the test that just getting Starship in the air without destroying its launch pad would be “a win”.
Luckily for Musk, the 120-metre rocket successfully lifted off, climbing for about four minutes until it tumbled and exploded, well over the Gulf of Mexico.
But SpaceX engineers may have underestimated the damage that Starship’s 33 first-stage rocket engines would do.
A few days later, the scene around the launch pad is one of desolation, an Agence France-Presse photographer saw.