SpaceX Starship Explodes During Test
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On Wednesday, SpaceX was conducting a pressure test on the SpaceX Starship MK1 at a facility in Boca Chica, Texas, when the top of the next-generation rocket exploded.
LabPadre was streaming the test and captured the explosion, which sent debris flying in all directions.\\xa0
According to The Verge, the explosion wasn't necessarily a setback, or unexpected. A SpaceX spokesperson told The Verge that the test was pressurizing systems to the max. Nobody was injured in the test.\\xa0
The aircraft is a prototype of a reusable vessel that could eventually be used to transport humans and cargo on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.\\xa0
According to a report from CNBC, plans for the MK1 recently changed.\\xa0
In September, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the MK1 would fly in a test to 65,000 feet. However, a company statement said that the focus has now shifted to the MK3, which is "designed for orbit."
The company said that the MK1 "served as a valuable manufacturing pathfinder," and subsequent designs will be different.\\xa0
SpaceX has previously stated that the Starship could attempt a moon landing as soon as 2022.\\xa0
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