SpaceX rocket explodes into massive fireball during test in Texas, video shows

A SpaceX rocket exploded during an engine test at its facility in Boca Chica, Texas, video shows.

The aerospace company owned by Elon Musk was conducting a “static fire test” on the Starship SN4 when it blew up Friday afternoon, Space.com reported.

Here is video of the explosion from LabPadre.

SpaceX crews responded to the blaze, and the fire department from nearby Brownsville had not been called to the facility, Fire Chief Jarret Sheldon told KRGV.

There were no reports of injuries, Space News reported.

The test was part of the development of Starship, a spacecraft early in its development at the South Texas facility, according to Tech Crunch. The FAA had just approved this prototype for suborbital flights, the news outlet reported.

Before the explosion, SpaceX shut down an engine but “some kind of uncontrolled gaseous leak” started a minute later and another minute later it blasted into flames, Ars Technica reported.

Another video from NASA Spaceflight shows steam or smoke billowing out of the rocket.

On Wednesday, the historic launch of a SpaceX rocket ship in Florida with two NASA astronauts set for the International Space Station was postponed due to bad weather, The Associated Press reported. It was rescheduled for Saturday.

This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 5:16 PM with the headline "SpaceX rocket explodes into massive fireball during test in Texas, video shows."