SpaceX Starship Explodes on Landing | 22 Words

Shocking footage has emerged of SpaceX's Starship prototype heading off for a test flight, before exploding on landing.

The test flight had been widely-anticipated among space buffs...

The crash ended up causing a huge explosion. Keep scrolling to see the video of the moment for yourself...

Now, we've all wondered about the mystery of what's above us.

What lives beyond our planet, so to speak.

Gradually, more and more astronauts are venturing out there.

And in the latest mission to do so, SpaceX has been testing a starship bound for Mars.

But yesterday disaster struck...

Now, ever since SpaceX has been on the scene, we have seen an iconic collaboration.

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The 2 giant space organizations, SpaceX and Nasa, launched their first-ever spacecraft equipped with its own crew in May last year.

The journey started in Cape Canaveral in Florida.

via: Getty Images

 The mission carried NASA astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS as part of their Crew Dragon human spacecraft development program.

The launch began at 4:33 P.M. EDT.

But there was always one thing that could have halted the mission altogether.

The weather.

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 But the conditions remained stable, and the spacecraft took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

BBC News' science correspondent, Johnathan Amos, previously gave this warning:

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 "SpaceX and Nasa also need to listen to what the meteorologists are telling them about the conditions along the flight line in the event that the Dragon has to abort its ascent. If something goes wrong with its rocket, the capsule will need to splashdown somewhere along a swathe of ocean that stretches all the way up the eastern seaboard of the US and reaches across to the British Isles."

He continued:

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 "SpaceX has designated certain zones where the crew would ditch, and each one has to have benign wave and wind conditions. If any of these zones step outside the permitted criteria, the launch will not proceed… Even if it’s a beautiful day back in Florida. And just to add to the complication, a tropical storm has formed off South Carolina."

So why was last year's launch so important?

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Well, it was the final mission (of The Demo-2) and was said to help to determine if the Falcon 9, "the rocket that carries it to orbit," would be certified for regular use by NASA.

On the way to the International Space Station, the rocket gave us some really important evidence.

Obviously, you've heard about the flat-earth theory, right?

Well, images taken from the spacecraft showed us what the rest of us knew to be true...

As it entered orbit, live footage was streamed to the world of the planet in all its round glory. A user commented saying: "One thing I can certainly clear up after watching that amazing event... The Earth is definitely not flat. Sorry Flat Earthers you’ve been debunked."

Safe to say, there was a big reaction. 

And now, SpaceX has hit headlines once again but this time things haven't quite gone to plan...

In SpaceX's latest test to send a spacecraft to Mars...

It exploded.

The incident happened on February 2nd, when the Starship SN9 prototype left SpaceX's Boca Chica facility in Texas.

The spacecraft climbed to roughly 10km above the Texas Gulf coast.

It then descended where it should have performed a complex manoeuvre for landing.

But, after failing to do so, the starship came crashing down on the landing pad.

And the SN9 burst into flames.

Fortunately, the test required no crew members onboard.

SpaceX webcast commentator John Insprucker said about the scene, "Remember, this was a test flight, the second time we've flown Starship in this configuration."

"We've just got to work on that landing a little bit."

In a post on the SpaceX website, they explained, "The Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of 2 forward and 2 aft flaps on the vehicle."

"All four flaps are actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship's attitude during flight and enable precise landing at the intended location. During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD."

"These test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration, interplanetary flights and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond."

You can watch the footage of the crash above.

To learn more about SpaceX, scroll on for the background of its controversial founder, Elon Musk...