Elon Musk’s Mars ‘Starship’ prototype has been brought crashing down to Earth after strong winds knocked the metal shell to the ground.
The prototype, known as a ‘hopper’, was set to be used to test the propulsion systems in the rocket before a full scale prototype was built.
Photographs from the Texas spaceport where it is being built show the metal prototype lying on its side after it had crashed to the ground.
The upper section of the rocket was already detached from the booster when it blew it over, it is believed.
However, Musk said the damage is easy to repair – as the nose-cone was simply a hollow structure welded together to give the craft the appearance of a real rocket.
‘I just heard. 50 mph winds broke the mooring blocks late last night & fairing was blown over. Will take a few weeks to repair,’ Musk said in a tweet.
‘Actual tanks are fine,’ he later added.
One space enthusiast who saw the damage wrote on a YouTube video showing the damage: ‘Starship upper fairing was completely destroyed in an overnight windstorm at SpaceX South Texas launch site at Boca Chica.
‘Winds gusting in excess of 50mph toppled the nose cone, crushing it upon impact.
‘The lower portion including fuel tanks were undamaged.
‘The nose cone fairing contained no critical components and should be re-constructed quickly, little if any delay in launch tests are expected.’
Last month Elon Musk revealed images of the 120-foot tall Starship hopper test rocket prototype.
The maverick billionaire entrepreneur unveiled his retro-styled spacecraft which has drawn comparisons to sci-fi films from the 20th century.
‘I just heard. 50 mph winds broke the mooring blocks late last night & fairing was blown over. Will take a few weeks to repair,’ Musk said in a tweet.
Twitter users pointed out the similarities of Musk’s creation with the contraption Tintin used in the 1954 adventure ‘Explorers on the Moon’.
Others said the sleek design and prominent fins closely resemble spaceships depicted in 1950s/60s films, Wallace and Gromit and even Toy Story.
SpaceX founder Musk shared the first real images of the prototype from its Texas launch site and reassured his followers it is ‘not a rendering’.
The SpaceX prototype Starship hopper stands at the Boca Chica Beach site in Texas on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, seen from Texas Highway 4.
Twitter users pointed out the similarities of Musk’s creation with the contraption Tintin used in the 1954 adventure ‘Explorers on the Moon’ (pictured)
‘This is for suborbital VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) tests,’ Mr Musk explained.
‘Orbital version is taller, has thicker skins (won’t wrinkle) & a smoothly curving nose section.’
This particular model will be used to test short launches and landings.
The undamaged nosecone on Jan 2nd at the Boca Chica Beach site, near Brownsville, Texas
Earlier this month, the billionaire said SpaceX was aiming to carry out test flights within four weeks, but admitted it could be as long as eight weeks when unforeseen issues are factored in.
Responding to questions from space enthusiasts, Mr Musk said that the first orbital prototype should be ready by June.
The SpaceX founder also added that the real, finished version would ‘[obviously] have windows, etc.’
Musk also later retweeted this video filmed by a passer by showing the prototype rocket
Elon Musk has revealed images of his fully-assembled 120-foot tall Starship hopper test rocket (pictured)
This work is taking place at both SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and the company’s test site in South Texas, near the border city of Brownsville, where the first flights will take place.
After its unveiling on social media the tech tycoon’s Starship drew immediate comparisons to fictional rockets.
One user, known as John Drury, pointed out the similarities to the Toy Story rocket which is hope to ‘the claw’ and, briefly, Buzz and Woody.
He tweeted: ‘Lol wow. Reminds me of the rocket ship in Toy Story’
One twitter user also said: ‘I love SpaceX and their people are amazing but it does look like a Wallace and Gromit rocket but I’m sure it will be immense’
After its unveiling on social media the tech tycoon’s Starship drew immediate comparisons to fictional rockets. One twitter user said: ‘I love SpaceX and their people are amazing but it does look like a Wallace and Gromit rocket but I’m sure it will be immense’ (pictured)
Atomic illustration of a man and woman riding a rocket in space from the 1940s bears a striking similarity to Musk’s 2019 rocket which he says will reach space later this year
Musk may have been inspired by the 1950 film ‘Destination Moon’, where a group of actors discuss a model space rocket (pictured). The films surprisingly accurate prediction of space travel won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects
The latest images provide a clearer view of the two components previewed by Musk at the end of last month, showing engineers in cherry-pickers at work on the nose cone and another large piece of the system.
A large American flag can be seen plastered on the side of one of the huge metal cylinders.
The progress comes as SpaceX ramps up work on the test hopper ahead of planned flights later this year
Musk says this spacecraft will perform suborbital flights and a taller version with ‘thicker skins’ will take passengers to Mars
The maverick billionaire entrepreneur continues to explore ways of one day sending people to places as far as Mars. he previously posted this mock-up image
SpaceX’s prototype starship that is being called ‘test hopper’ stands at the Boca Chica Beach site, near Brownsville, Texas on January 2
The svelte 120-foot-tall Starship design is similar to that of 1950s sci-fi favourite Destination Moon
Starship – previously known as BFR, Big Falcon Rocket, or the Big F***ing Rocket – is key to Musk’s plans to send humans to Mars.
Musk tweeted out the first photo at the end of December, captioning it simply, ‘Stainless Steel Starship.’
In a series of tweets that followed, however, the CEO elaborated on the plans for the test vehicle.
The first crewed Red Planet mission for the rocket and 100-passenger Starship could come as early as the mid-2020s if development and testing go well, Musk has said
This particular model will be used to test short launches and landings. Earlier this month, the billionaire said SpaceX was aiming to carry out test flights within four weeks
Elon Musk revealed his ‘hopper’ spaceship that could one day take man to the moon earlier this week and claims it could eventually take people to Mars
Just last month, the SpaceX boss doubled down on his earlier claims that he would likely be among the interplanetary travellers who make the trip to Mars, despite there being a ‘good chance’ that he’ll die there.
Tickets on Elon Musk’s spaceship to Mars will cost around $200,000 per person.
SpaceX shared new details about the 387ft rocket in September, saying it hopes to begin unmanned launch tests of the spacecraft in late 2019.
In the future, Starship will be able to carry out lunar missions as well as long-distance flights to Mars and beyond.
The firm hopes to stage an uncrewed flight to Mars in 2022, then a manned flight in 2024.
In between those missions, SpaceX has planned for a private mission with a passenger on board in 2023.
‘We would like to put large cargo on the surface of the moon by 2022,’ SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said recently.
‘And we have our eyes on the prize to send people to Mars in 2024.’