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SpaceX prototype explosion in Texas.
Fire had broken out during the missile's return maneuver
Photo: GENE BLEVINS / REUTERS
Another setback for the Mars ambitions of high-tech pioneer Elon Musk: A prototype of a new rocket from Musk's company SpaceX exploded a second time on landing.
The Starship SN9 hit the ground Tuesday and went up in flames.
In the long term, SpaceX wants to use the Starship rockets to travel to the moon and Mars.
"We still have to work a bit on the landing," stated SpaceX representative John Insprucker in an online broadcast after the failure again.
It wasn't until December that a Starship rocket - the SN8 - went up in flames during the landing maneuver.
The SN9 took off from Boca Chica, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon and rose to an altitude of 10,000 meters.
She then carried out a series of test maneuvers in a horizontal position without any problems.
The problems began when the missile tried to turn back into a vertical position for landing.
The live images showed that the rocket was returning at too high a speed and at the wrong angle.
It then bounced off with a deafening bang and exploded in bright orange flames and a cloud of dust.
However, the fire did not spread.
Despite the failed landing maneuver, Insprucker spoke of "another great flight."
"A lot of good data" was obtained from the test.
The next test flight should take place "in the near future."
Musk hopes that the 120-meter rocket will one day be able to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and possibly even further away.
The private US company SpaceX has already established itself in space travel with the Falcon-9 rocket.
In November, the first routine mission of a manned SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station started.
SpaceX also wants to fly tourists into space
On Monday, SpaceX also announced that it would bring tourists into space for the first time in the last quarter of 2021.
Four vacationers are supposed to fly through the earth's orbit in the capsule »Crew Dragon«.
The capsule is to be brought into space by the Falcon-9.
The US entrepreneur Larry Connor, the Israeli businessman and pilot Eytan Stibbe and the Canadian investor Mark Pathy were selected for the "Ax-1" mission.
Former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria is to become the mission's commander.
According to media reports, the ticket for this mission will cost around $ 55 million - about 45 million euros.
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oka / AFP / dpa
