--- title: "Watch a SpaceX Starship Test Tank Explode Spectacularly" description: "SpaceX just deliberately blew up its latest Starship prototype test tank during a pressure test Tuesday night at the company's test site in Texas." date: "2020-09-23" modified: "2020-09-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starship-sn-7-1-explosion" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Watch a SpaceX Starship Test Tank Explode Spectacularly ![SpaceX just deliberately blew up its latest Starship prototype test tank during a pressure test Tuesday night at the company's test site in Texas.]() *\Image: NASASpaceFlight\* ## Witness! SpaceX just deliberately blew up its latest Starship test tank, during a pressure test late Tuesday night at the company's test site in Boca Chica, Texas. It was quite the explosion, leaving behind a gigantic plume of white fumes. "WITNESS!" wrote *NASASpaceFlight* managing editor Chris Gebhardt in [a tweet](), referencing the 2015 film "Mad Max: Fury Road." "Test Tank SN7.1 has entered the gates of Valhalla!" https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1308708407713705984 ## Big Boom The tank, dubbed SN7.1, is a more complex version of its predecessor, SN7, which was meant to test the steel alloy construction of the company's Starship spacecraft's cryogenic fuel tanks. SpaceX was testing a new steel alloy with SN7.1. SN7 was also pushed to the brink and [failed spectacularly]() as a result of a rupture from underneath the tank during a test on June 23. ## Baby Steps The space company's prototype spacecraft SN6 "[hopped" successfully]() to an altitude of 150 meters on September 3 — the [second hop]() of its kind. It's yet another small, incremental step in SpaceX’s ambitious efforts toward building a rocket capable of ferrying up to 100 passengers, or 100 tons of cargo, to the Moon and even Mars. Next up is SN8, a prototype spacecraft that's [rapidly approaching its maiden flight](). SN8 will look quite a bit more like the Starship renders we've seen for a number of years now. It will sport three — as opposed to just one — Raptor engines, a nosecone, and aero surfaces known as "wings." SN8 will [attempt to fly to a height of 12 miles]() (20 kilometers) and will even attempt to perform a "belly-flop" maneuver as it begins to fall out of the sky to slow its descent. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX Starship test tank ready for a second shot at destruction]() \[*Teslarati*\] **More on Starship:***[Elon Musk: Next Starship Launch Will Fly 12 Miles High]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()