SpaceX has been recently conducting tests on its pad at the South Texas facility. During a pressure test for a prototype of SpaceX’s starship super-rocket, an explosion had occurred. Residents had captured the incident on video.
The failure occurred during the pressurization test to contain liquid nitrogen resulted in cylinders flying off the stand of the rocket, known as SN1. The rocket came down crashing and turned into a pile of stainless steel. Liquid nitrogen was being pumped into the tank of the prototype while being placed on the launch pad to test if its improved steel structure could withstand cryogenic fuels. These rockets are being designed to fly deep-space missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. The prototype Starship SN1 was a test article for the deep-space missions.
Along with the ability to carry more than 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit, the company has designed the Starship with a fully reusable transportation system and could carry both the crew and the cargo. Additionally, SpaceX has recently won a contract with NASA to provide launch services for the agency’s a unique mission ‘The Psyche’ to search metal-rich asteroid that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. While the Starship’s first orbital-flight is targeted for this year, the mission is planned to launch in July 2022 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
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