Elon Musk responds to video of Starship booster exploding into flames

SpaceX is currently testing a prototype of its Super Heavy rocket booster that is expected to be what gets the company's massive Starship off the ground and into space.

Elon Musk's pioneering company was testing Super Heavy Booster 7 prototype on Monday, July 11, with engine firing beginning at 5:20 pm at Starbase, SpaceX's South Texas facility. Shortly after firing up the engines, an explosion shook the entire SpaceX facility, which was followed by an eruption of flames that licked up the sides of the massive 165-foot-tall Starship.

One Twitter user asked Musk if this explosion was intentional, Musk quickly replied and said, "Yes. Booster engine testing." However, the SpaceX CEO then deleted that tweet and followed up with a reply to a video of the incident by NASASpaceflight where he said, "yeah, actually not good. Team is assessing damage". Notably, Musk explained that cryogenic fuel is a "challenge", "as it evaporates to create fuel-air explosion risk in a partially oxygen atmosphere like Earth." Furthermore, Musk said that he would give updates later.