SpaceX Starship SN10 launch - as it happened: Mars-bound prototype finally lands but explodes shortly after

Roughly eight minutes after landing, SN10 exploded while sitting at a lean on the landing pad

Spacex starship finally lands without exploding, only to explode moments later

SpaceX has successfully performed a flight test of its Mars-bound Starship spacecraft on Wednesday after several delays.

Starship SN10 lifted off to 10km before landing successfully at SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas, achieving what its predecessors could not.

Roughly eight minutes after landing, SN10 exploded while sitting at a lean on the landing pad.

Despite the explosion, the high-altitude flight test marked significant progress towards Elon Musk’s Mars ambitions.

SpaceX provided a live stream of the launch and landing, but did ended it before the explosion took place.

You can read all the updates as they happened here.

[3 March 2021 23:54 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Methane leak?

Speculation among expert observers is that it was a combination of a bumpy landing, a malfunction with the landing legs, and a methane leak. There has been no official word yet from SpaceX.

[4 March 2021 00:36 · Anthony Cuthbertson]