Elon Musk Says It May Take Weeks To Repair After Starship's First Test

Before bringing humans to fly around the Moon or settle down on Mars, SpaceX had better make sure its ambitious Starship spacecraft works. A hopper prototype of the rocket designed for testing takeoff and landing ended up on the ground after its nose cone was knocked over by high winds.

The incident took place in Texas, which a watcher, Maria Pointer, captured and shared on Facebook on Wednesday. As can be seen from Maria’s photos, the nose cone fell on the ground.

In another post, Pointer said that Starship fell at about 5 AM but there were noises of metal damage from as early as 2 AM. Notably, she said that there were no warnings about hurricane-force wind.

Later, the authenticity of Maria’s post was confirmed as Elon Musk Tweeted about the damage. He wrote that the wind was blowing at over 80 kilometers per hour, breaking the mooring blocks and blowing the fairing over, but the tanks on bottom end remain in good condition. Musk added that it would take weeks to repair the Starship.

The South Texas Launch Site of SpaceX is located in Boca Chica Village, close to Brownsville, Texas. Late Tuesday, a wind advisory was issued by the Brownsville-based National Weather Service, which said high-profile vehicles should take cautions. High-profile vehicles apparently include Starship.

In December, Elon Musk teased us with a picture of the prototype rocket under construction. In early January, SpaceX revealed Starship with a real image that its founder shared on Twitter. Its body diameter measures around 9 meters. Musk said he won’t use the test version for launching into space, but expected to finish an orbital prototype in June.

Revealing the Starship, Musk added that the version made for orbital launch would be taller with thicker skins and a smoothly curving nose section. Elon Musk has big plans for this rocket, and we will just have to wait until it makes the first actual space travel.