SpaceX launches its giant new rocket but a pair of explosions ends the second test flight
Washington, Nov 18: SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship on Saturday, but lost the booster and then the spacecraft minutes into the test flight.
The booster had sent the rocketship toward space, but communication was lost eight minutes after liftoff from South Texas and SpaceX declared that the vehicle had failed.
The trouble cropped up as the ship's engines were almost done firing to put it on an around-the-world path. Minutes earlier, the booster exploded, but not until its job was done, putting the ship on a course toward space.
At 400 feet, Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built.
The first test flight in April ended in an explosion soon after liftoff.
SpaceX's giant new rocket blasted off from South Texas on a test flight Saturday, seven months after the first try ended in an explosion.
The 397-foot (121-metre) Starship rocket thundered into the sky and arced out over the Gulf of Mexico. The goal was to separate the spaceship from its booster and send it into space.
SpaceX aimed for an altitude of 150 miles (240 kilometers), just high enough to send the bullet-shaped spacecraft around the globe before ditching into the Pacific near Hawaii about 1 1/2 hours after liftoff, short of a full orbit.
Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Its first flight in April lasted four minutes, with the wreckage crashing into the gulf. Since then, Elon Musk's company has made dozens of improvements to the booster and its 33 engines as well as the launch pad.
Starship liftoff in slow motion pic.twitter.com/PuWMVyU6Lc
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 18, 2023
The booster experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly shortly after stage separation while Starship's engines fired for several minutes on its way to space
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 18, 2023
With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 18, 2023
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Eight women labourers killed as truck hits tempo on Nagpur-Mumbai expressway
Jalna/Mumbai (PTI): Eight women labourers were killed, and three others were injured after a speeding truck rammed into a tempo on the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway in Jalna district of Maharashtra on Wednesday evening, police said.
The incident occurred when a group of women was returning home after completing cleaning work on the expressway.
"A total of 11 persons, including the driver, were sitting in the tempo. As the vehicle was about to start, a speeding truck headed towards Mumbai rammed into it from behind at Kadvanchi village," a police official said, adding that seven women died on the spot and another succumbed in the Jalna government hospital.
The tempo was badly mangled, and the bodies were reportedly strewn across the road.
The deceased have been identified as Alkabai Admane (45), Laxmibai Madan (35), Meena Admane (45), Kanchan Admane (50), Tarabai Choudhari (60), Kadubai Madan (55), and Suman Admane (70), all residents of Jalna tehsil.
The identity of the eighth deceased is yet to be confirmed.
Three people are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Police have arrested the truck driver and registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway.
Expressing grief, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the death of eight people is extremely unfortunate, and announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.
Fadnavis paid heartfelt tributes to the deceased and expressed solidarity with their families.
He said in a statement the injured have been immediately admitted to hospitals and the local administration is coordinating relief efforts.
The district collector and the superintendent of police are present at the spot, overseeing the situation, the chief minister added.
Environment Minister and Jalna District Guardian Minister Pankaja Munde has expressed deep sorrow over the incident.
In a condolence message, Munde extended her sympathies to the families of the deceased.
