SpaceX’s fourth test of its Starship rocket ends in mishap

‘At least the crater is in the right place!’ SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted after Tuesday’s test flight.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s fourth test flight of its biggest rocket ended again in a mishap, sending smoking debris across the launch site and raising the prospect of more development hurdles for a vehicle designed to put humans on the moon and Mars. The Starship SN-11 prototype lifted off in heavy fog at about 8 a.m. Tuesday in Texas from SpaceX’s seaside launch pad near the Mexico border. The rocket then flew to an altitude of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) before shutting down its three Raptor engines to begin descent, based on live SpaceX video. On the prototype’s way down, a rumbling noise developed and the video froze just after the ship was 1 kilometer from the landing pad. Cameras operated by news website NASASpaceflight.com recorded a burst of orange and pieces of debris crashing near the launch site.