Top Stories
Updates: Severe storms erupt again, tornado threat overnight in South
LATEST ENTRY
Indiana, Illinois deadly tornado given preliminary rating of EF3
27 minutes ago
Severe Weather
Grapefruit-sized hailstone may set state record
17 hours ago
Winter Weather
Nine states had their warmest winter ever recorded
20 hours ago
Winter Weather
High winds to roar from Rockies to Northeast with northern tier snow
1 hour ago
Weather Forecasts
Storms to dump heavy rain, snow on Washington as California bakes
2 hours ago
Featured Stories
Recreation
'Quicksand alert' issued at National Park Service site
18 hours ago
Severe Weather
Why nighttime tornadoes are 2.5 times more deadly
1 day ago
Health
Produce from nation’s largest supplier contains ‘forever’ pesticides
13 hours ago
Weather News
Mount Rushmore fireworks to return for America's 250th anniversary
1 day ago
Weather News
Indiana just changed the law for rescuing pets trapped in hot cars
1 day ago
...
...
News / Astronomy
SpaceX's Starship SN1 prototype appears to burst during pressure test
By Tariq Malik
Published Mar 2, 2020 5:31 PM EDT
Partner Content
SpaceX's new Starship prototype appeared to burst during a pressure test late Friday (Feb. 28), rupturing under the glare of flood lights and mist at the company's south Texas facility.
The Starship SN1 prototype, which SpaceX moved to a launchpad near its Boca Chica, Texas, assembly site earlier this week, blew apart during a liquid nitrogen pressure test according to a video captured by SPadre.com.
A separate video posted by NASASpaceflight.com member BocaChicaGal clearly shows the Starship SN1's midsection buckle during the test, then shoot upward before crashing back to the ground.
Space.com has reached out to SpaceX for details of Friday's test. This story will be updated as more information is available.
Starship SN1 is a test article for SpaceX's planned Starship and Super Heavy megarocket, a massive, reusable vertical launch-vertical landing system designed to fly deep-space missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.
SN1, which resembles a gleaming, stainless steel silo, is the first of a series of test articles SpaceX plans to build and test over time in order to fine-tune the systems needed to make a fully functional Starship. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has hinted that many of these prototypes will be needed to perfect the Starship vehicle.
Click here to continue reading on SPACE.com.
Report a Typo