boaters watch as SpaceX explodes

“Rockets are ridiculously hard,” Elon Musk, the SpaceX founder once wrote on X. Yesterday his company proved that once again. An explosion of the eighth test flight of a mammoth Starship rocket provided those on the water – and in the surrounding area – with a ringside seat to witness the fallout.

One boating family called it: “The coolest Kaboom ever!” They shared footage from George Town of the sky being lit with streaking debris.

The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off from Texas. SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft started shutting down. It was supposed to have a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean but went into an out-of-control spin, says AP News.

‘With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s flight will help us improve Starship’s reliability,’ says a SpaceX post on X. ‘We will conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests.’

Footage above courtesy of @NewJerseyExit63.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond, says the company. It states that Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Speaking of the explosion, SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said: “Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now.” The company expanded its satellite internet service to offer high-speed Starlink Maritime internet to yachts, oil rigs and merchant vessels in July 2022.

MY Loon which uses starlink

Starlink Maritime deployed on superyacht, fails mid-Atlantic

7 October 2022

Footage above courtesy of @joes_talk.

SpaceX has confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” during the ascent engine firing. “Our team immediately began coordination with safety officials to implement pre-planned contingency responses,” the company said in a statement posted online.

Seemingly NASA has booked Starship to land its astronauts on the moon later this decade. SpaceX’s Elon Musk is aiming for Mars with Starship, the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket.

Footage above courtesy of @GeneDoctorB.

One of the best videos was recorded and shared by the crew of the sailboat Auwe Auwe, via Loose Cannon. Auwe Auwe is a Leopard 40 catamaran at anchor at George Town, the cruising Mecca of the Bahamas. This footage will take open in a new window, the main image for this article is taken from this footage.

The post VIDEO: Boaters get ringside seats for SpaceX explosion appeared first on Marine Industry News.