Starship SN10 launched and made a “soft touchdown” back to Earth Wednesday as part of a short hop test flight. But moments later, the rocket leaped off the pad, was propelled into air and burst into flames.
The SpaceX terminology of “soft touchdown” indicated that the landing wasn’t exactly according to plan as Starship’s landing legs were not utilized fully. But the rocket did not explode until several minutes after the landing.
Starship 10 launched went into low Earth orbit, did a “bellyflop” maneuver and returned to Boca Chica. The vehicle was on fire, but it was upright. However, after the SpaceX broadcast ended, the broadcasters at NASA Space Flight carried footage of the explosion.
The test flight had been postponed from earlier in the day Wednesday.
Watch the SpaceX replay here
