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Elon Musk releases explosive video of SpaceX rocket fails

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has released a blooper reel of mid-air rocket explosions and failed landing attempts.

Explosive end to an attempted SpaceX rocket landing.
One of the unsuccessful landings of the SpaceX orbital rocket boosters. Source: AAP

The American billionaire made good on his promise to publish footage of spectacular rocket fails, releasing the video titled 'How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster' on social media on September 14. 

Set to Sousa's 'Liberty Bell', better known as the Monty Python soundtrack, the self-deprecating video shows Musk surveying the wreckage of one crash, saying "it's just a scratch".

Causes of the spectacular fails include running out of hydraulic fluid, a landing leg collapsing and a sticky throttle valve.

SpaceX has been working on a recyclable orbital rocket booster that is designed to be reused multiple times, much like an aircraft, since 2011.

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Musk, who is also the CEO of car manufacturer Tesla, founded the California-based aeroanautical manufacturer in 2002 with the aim of making space travel more affordable and accessible.

SpaceX achieved its first successful landing in December 2015, but it was far from smooth sailing with several of the costly mishaps featured in the video occurring in 2016.  

"The course of true love never did run smooth," one caption reads.

Last month, the company pulled off its sixteenth successful booster landing in Florida.


2 min read

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Source: SBS World News



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