In its latest fiery failed test, SpaceX suffered a dramatic test malfunction on Monday when one of its rocket boosters burst into flames on the ground. The ground test-fire in Texas saw the Starship component unexpectedly erupt in a fireball, potentially delaying Elon Musk’s plans to launch his next-generation spacecraft, which is supposed to be going into orbit later in 2022. “Yeah, actually not good,” Musk tweeted in reply to a video of the fireball circulating on social media. “Team is assessing damage.” No injuries were reported in the wake of the explosion, which Musk said had been specific to an engine spin start test. In February, the eccentric tycoon said he was highly confident Starship would be in space later this year despite regulatory and technical setbacks.
