Video Shows Falling Starship Debris Smashing a Minivan

"That's the rocket game!"

Mini Vandal

SpaceX's disastrous Starship launch last week appears to have had some collateral damage.

During the failed 4/20 launch, video recorded by the YouTuber LabPadre shows the explosive blast — and also, if you look closely, caused the crushing of a minivan parked dangerously close to the launchpad.

Subsequent posts revealed that the van belonged to none other than NASASpaceFlight's Chris Bergin, and although the vehicle wasn't completely destroyed, it definitely suffered some major damage.

As bad as it would suck to have your van crushed by Starship, Bergin noted in a tweet that NSF "take[s] these risks on purpose to get the cool shots."

"We're always really grateful when rocket companies allow the media to have cameras *Kenny Loggins voice* in the Dangerzone," he joked. "That's the rocket game!"

Hashtag Blowup

As we reported that week, the minivan wasn't the only thing damaged in SpaceX's ill-fated first attempt at an orbital Starship launch.

Because the Elon Musk-owned company's Starbase is located near a wildlife preserve, debris from the intentional explosion rained down on that government-protected land, and locals of the nearby town of Port Isabel, Texas also had to deal with a layer of grime and shaken buildings during the launch, too.

"It was truly terrifying," Sharon Almaguer, a local resident, told the New York Times of the launch blast that shattered at least one nearby window.

While this was far from the first time Starship has blown up, seeing it happen so calamitously, apparently on purpose, and with so many adverse side effects has us really wondering if and when it'll be ready to, you know, actually go into orbit.

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