SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, recently launched its most powerful rocket, {Starship. However, the inaugural flight of Starship ended in a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” due to the enormous power generated by the rocket’s engines.
The destruction caused by Starship’s launch was not limited to the air as the launchpad at Starbase was also destroyed by the rocket’s powerful Super Heavy engine. Chunks of rubble from the obliterated concrete pad were thrown over a quarter mile away, destroying a Dodge Caravan parked around 1,400 feet away. The collision with debris caused the vehicle’s windows to shatter and liftgate to twist into metal.
The incident was captured on camera, and it shows several small pieces of debris hitting the expensive-looking equipment mounted on top of the van and nearby cameras set up to film the launch. According to reports on Reddit and Twitter, the van belonged to NASA Spaceflight and was parked there to capture the launch. Luckily, no one was in the van or the surrounding area during the launch as all people were required to evacuate the area due to potential danger.
Despite being positioned behind a wall and more than a quarter-mile from the launch site, the launch’s crumbled rock severely damaged the Dodge Caravan and other surrounding camera equipment. According to Google Maps, the debris even traveled as far as 2,000 feet away from the launchpad.
The Super Heavy rocket, the world’s tallest and most powerful rocket, generated nearly 17 million pounds of thrust from 33 engines, twice the output of NASA’s SLS rocket used in the Artemis program.
It is not surprising that the launch caused some destruction, given its impressive specs. Starship’s launch had dug a crater and destroyed the Orbital Launch Mount, indicating that the launch’s consequences were far-reaching.
