Elon Musk's Mars Mission: How Giant Starship Exploded Within 9 Minutes During 8th Flight Test

• Elon Musk's Starship exploded mid-air after taking off during the giant ship's 8th flight test on Thursday, March 6
• The Starship is aimed at taking humans to Mars and colonising it for human habitation, in line with Elon's mission
• The Starship, which had 33 Raptor engines, did not complete the test flight as it exploded mid-air, after nine minutes

Elon Musk's avowed mission to take humans to Mars has suffered a setback during the 8th flight test of the Starship.

The Starship is central to Musk's aim to fly to Mars, which he has called the "New World."

However, during the 8th flight test, the giant Starship exploded, and the debris fell back to Earth.

According to SpaceX, the company behind the giant Starship, the flight was unmanned, and they lost communication with it some minutes after liftoff.

The company stated that the Starship was lifted by 33 Raptor engines, adding that:

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"Starship’s eighth flight test lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 6. The Super Heavy booster successfully lit its 33 Raptor engines and propelled Starship through a nominal first-stage ascent. Approximately two and a half minutes into flight, the Super Heavy booster shutdown all but three of its Raptor engines as planned for hot-staging separation. Starship then successfully lit its six Raptor engines and separated from the Super Heavy booster to continue its ascent to space."

What caused Starship's explosion

The company attributed Starship's explosion to what it called "an energetic event."

It stated:

"Starship continued its ascent to its planned trajectory. Prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines. This in turn led to a loss of attitude control and ultimately a loss of communications with Starship. Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff."

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The company said the failures would be used as lessons for further development of the Starship.

In a post on its website, it noted:

"With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability."

The Washington Post reports that flights were cancelled in parts of Florida. It also reported that a 26-year-old man, Eric Loosen, saw debris of the Starship in the Bahamas.

Eric said:

“It looked like a bunch of shooting stars just flying very slowly down. The main part was lit up quite well and then eventually everything around it started twinkling in the sky. It was a really cool experience seeing that. I mean, obviously it’s not cool that it exploded and it landed, I don’t know where, but it did look quite amazing.”

A video of the explosion was also shared on social media by many news organisations. One was posted by The Sun, UK.

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Speaking to Legit.ng on he development, Ziko Abara, an electronics and computer engineer who graduated from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka said interplanetary travels might be challenging.

Ziko himself attempted to build a rocket engine in Nigeria, and he tested it publicly for people to see. He said a crewed mission to Mars might be difficult.

He told Legit.ng:

"Having a very large rocket like starship that can carry enough fuel to burn to accelerate the time frame maybe a game changer. It also needs to support life for the duration of the journey. The biggest problem will be the astronauts coming back."

Watch the video below:

Reactions to the explosion of Starship

@ComPrt3 said:

"I didn't know SpaceX had a fireworks company."

@chriszenko3598 said:

"The engineers better write down 5 things they did this week."

@PatootysManyMisadvetures said"

"What is even more terrifying than it exploding is that they lost control of it before it exploded. Can you imagine if it didn't explode? Seriously, think about that for a minute."

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Tesla Cybertruck found in mechanic workshop

In a related story, a viral video showed a Tesla Cybertruck parked at a mechanic workshop in Nigeria, sparking reactions online.

The car, which is made by Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, is becoming a regular sight in some parts of Nigeria, even though it is not yet rampant.

Someone who saw the luxury car in a mechanic shop captured the video and posted it on social media.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng