SpaceX loses another Starship space rocket prototype after landing explosion

Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost another prototype of its Starship rocket today which exploded when it attempted to land. The company has had success with the launch of four of its huge Starship prototypes since December but all four have been blown to smithereens during the landing process. READ: More space companies launch IPOs with SPAC deals to challenge SpaceX After blasting off from SpaceX’s Texas facility, this latest prototype, StaShip 11, soared to an altitude of almost 33,000 feet, or 10km, before returning to earth. The live onboard video stream froze during the landing process, as a result of what was soon revealed to have been the explosion from the failed landing. Musk, the company’s founder and CEO, tweeted soon after that “at least the crater is in the right place”. “Something significant happened shortly after landing burn start. Should know what it was once we can examine the bits later today,” he added. Elsewhere on Tuesday, OneWeb, a London-based rival for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband business, said it was closing in on contracts that would help pay for the expansion of its own ‘constellation’ of communications satellites.