SpaceX's Starship SN4 prototype launch vehicle explodes in Texas

SpaceX on May 29 suffered a major anomaly with the Starship SN4 prototype at their Boca Chica, Texas launch site when the test vehicle exploded sending debris flying into the sky. SpaceX had reportedly conducted a fourth static fire test of the Raptor engine in the Starship SN4 prototype launch vehicle after which the explosion happened. Static fire test is a wet dress rehearsal that goes a step farther by firing the engines at full thrust. 

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The explosion occurred around 1:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) in Texas, two minutes after it had completed its engine test fire. Prior to the explosion, they were hoping to hop the vehicle to 150 metres from the ground. The video of the incident is doing rounds on the internet where the test vehicle can be seen exploding while firmly attached to the launch mount. The vehicle was fully destroyed in the explosion. In a YouTube Livestream shared by NASASpaceflight, one can see the explosion happening at 1:24:47. 

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SpaceX's Starship

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. As per SpaceX, Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle when developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit. Starship is designed to deliver satellites further and at a lower marginal cost per launch than SpaceX's current Falcon vehicles.

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