Test-fired booster rocket bursts into flames at SpaceX plant

The explosion  was specific to the engine spin start test

A booster rocket developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX for its next-generation Starship spacecraft burst into flames during a ground-test firing on Monday in Texas, dealing a likely setback to Musk's aim of launching Starship to orbit this year, Qazet.az reports.

"Yeah, actually not good. Team is assessing damage," Musk said on Twitter after the early evening explosion of the Super Heavy Booster 7 prototype, as seen in a livestream recorded by the website NASA Spaceflight.

There was no immediate indication of injuries.

The explosion, which engulfed the base of the rocket in a ball of flames and heavy smoke and appeared to shake the video camera, was specific to the engine spin start test, Musk said on Tuesday.

"Going forward, we won't do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once," he said on Twitter.

The booster remained standing upright, bolted to a test gantry afterward.

The failure came in the midst of a dayslong static fire test campaign in Boca Chica, Texas, of the booster, equipped with an array of 33 Raptor engines for use in an upcoming uncrewed orbital test flight SpaceX hoped to launch later this year.