SpaceX loses debut V3 Super Heavy in ground test mishap

SpaceX has responded to Blue Origin's announcement of a heftier version of its New Glenn rocket in the only way it knows how – by accidentally destroying a Starship booster.

Last night, Elon Musk's rocket company announced that the first of the Super Heavy V3 boosters, Booster 18, was beginning prelaunch testing, starting with a check of the booster's redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength.

The testing did not go well, and the booster appeared to rupture while on its Massey test stand in Boca Chica, Texas. Videos on social media captured the event and subsequent imagery revealed severe damage to the rocket's lower section.

Though not a catastrophic failure that scattered rocket parts around the test stand, it is also very unlikely to be something Musk's rocketeers can just buff out.

While SpaceX's mantra is "move fast and break stuff," the loss of ...