Watch: SpaceX's Starship SN1 Prototype Explode During Pressure Test

The reusable Starship SN1 is designed to fly to the Moon, Mars and perform other interplanetary missions; it will also serve as the second stage of the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) super heavy rocket, which SpaceX is working on.

The SpaceX Starship SN1 prototype was destroyed tonight during a pressure test on its pad at the company’s facility.

A video posted on LabPadre’s Youtube channel, which broadcasts live from a test site near Boca Chica, Texas, shows that on 28 February at 22:00 local time, the Starship SN1 prototype was torn to pieces.

As seen in the video, during the tests the prototype was charged with liquid nitrogen. As a result, the lower part of Starship SN1 burst; debris from the spacecraft soared to a height of 10-20 metres.