A huge explosion occurred during the static ignition test of Musk's SpaceX Starship

(Houston) SpaceX's new-generation heavy-lift launch vehicle, Starship, exploded during a routine static ignition test on Wednesday night, adding another obstacle to SpaceX founder Elon Musk's space ambitions.

At about 11 p.m. local time on Wednesday (June 18th), Starship 36 was conducting tests at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. Just as the engine was ignited, the spacecraft suddenly exploded and disintegrated. The on-site surveillance video shows that the starship previously standing on the launch pad has turned into a huge orange-red fireball.

Musk seemed to downplay the incident on Thursday (the 19th), Posting on social media platform X: "It's just a scratch."

Local media reported that a "catastrophic accident" occurred at the test site. It was reported that the explosion even caused Windows in nearby communities to shake.

SpaceX later issued a statement saying that the Starship, which was preparing for its 10th test flight, experienced a "major anomaly" at the base, but did not elaborate on the specific circumstances. It emphasized that no one was injured at the scene, the base had promptly activated the emergency response plan, and stated that the accident posed no danger to the residents of the nearby community.

The world's most powerful Starship rocket is approximately 120 meters long and 9 meters in diameter. It consists of two parts: the first stage is a rocket booster about 70 meters long, and the second stage is a Starship spacecraft. Its goal is to send people and cargo to Earth's orbit, the moon, and even Mars.

The Starship was originally scheduled to conduct its 10th test flight on June 30th. During the ninth test flight of the Starship at the end of last month, the first-stage booster of the rocket exploded. Although the second-stage spacecraft entered space, it then lost control and disintegrated.

However, these failures will not undermine Musk's space ambitions. He firmly believes that the spirit of "fail quickly and learn quickly" will eventually pay off, and this spirit has helped him take the leading position in the commercial aerospace field.