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Space
Space
Science
Mike Wall

SpaceX traces Starship test-stand explosion to failure of pressurized nitrogen tank

SpaceX Starship
A Starship upper stage on the test stand at the Massey's site at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas.

SpaceX thinks it knows why its newest Starship spacecraft went boom this week.

The 171-foot-tall (52-meter-tall) vehicle exploded on a test stand at SpaceX's Starbase site late Wednesday night (June 18) as the company was preparing to ignite its six Raptor engines in a "static fire" trial.

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