Make of it what you will, but this is the sort of good news story that warms the heart and makes me giggle for the rest of the day!
From the BBC:
Serial Number 10 (SN10) touched down in Boca Chica, Texas - in contrast to its predecessors SN8 and SN9, which crashed into the ground.
SpaceX will be hugely encouraged by the test and the fact that the prototype successfully executed its in-flight manoeuvres and managed to make a reasonably soft landing. These milestones will give the company confidence as it moves forward with the ambitious concept.
But that wasn't the end of the story. The next-generation space vehicle put down heavily on its extended legs.
A fire then developed around its base and eight minutes later SN10 blew itself apart on the landing pad.
@earl-of-trumps saidUh... it blew up.
The predecessors, SN8 and SN9 crashed upon trying to land and SPACEX was not at all concerned.
The reason then was, the final version (SN10), unlike the predecessors, will operate with a third engine. Success.
@shavixmir
Of course there will be failures and the fact the latest one actually landed but you could see a fire breaking out at the last minute and then explode, just shows their engineers have to redouble their efforts, figure out what died, fix it so the next one won't blow on landing.
I think they will nail it eventually. It will be a great boon to the space program if super large boosters can be reused.
Musk has already proven the case for the smaller rockets he had engineered, those rockets are landing back at something like a 90% success rate.
The big guy will follow but maybe it will take a couple of years to nail it down.
@Duchess64
Boy are you paranoid. I APPLAUDED the Chinese rover landing on the moon and applaud the Chinese probe and lander which may land on Mars and I applaud the UAE probe to Mars.
The only thing I would not applaud is if some country, including the US, hid data from the world in an ostensibly scientific mission.
I don't think China would do that.
@Duchess64
I resent the way you put me in the same category as those thinking Asians are less intelligent as whites and the like.
I work with Koreans, boss is from India as well as half the workers and have multicultural/multiracial family.
My brother in law is Korean and we have half Korean grandkids and half Puerto Rican twins and I resent the HELL out of the way your ignorant portrayal of my life goes.
You are so paranoid you jump on anything you think has even a hint of racial bias.
We just got a visit from our Mayan daughter in law and my son in law, Gandhi, has Phd in statistical physics and my daughter, his wife is working on Phd in music, both teach in Natal brazil where they live and have two children.
So take your bias accusations and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.