spacetoday.net: Starship SN11 prototype crashes on test flight

Posted: Sat, Apr 3, 2021, 10:58 AM ET (1458 GMT)
Starship SN11 engines just before crash (SpaceX)

SpaceX's latest Starship prototype launched, and crashed, Tuesday morning. The Starship SN11 vehicle lifted off from Boca Chica, Texas, at about 9 am EDT (1300 GMT) despite dense fog that made it all but impossible to see it. The vehicle flew to its planned altitude of 10 kilometers and descended back to the pad, but contact with the vehicle was lost nearly six minutes after liftoff, just as it was restarting its engines for landing. SpaceX later said that SN11 "experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly" shortly after that landing burn started. The vehicle is the fourth Starship prototype to launch in less than four months, all of which either crashed or exploded shortly after landing. The FAA said it will oversee SpaceX's investigation into the mishap and also look into reports that debris from the vehicle was found several kilometers away, outside the exclusion zone for the flight.