High winds knock over SpaceX Starship prototype, might further delay Mars mission

Washington, Jan 26: SpaceX Starship test rocket suffered a serious setback when it was knocked over by strong winds in Texas. Winds up to 50 mph knocked over the test vehicle's nose cone earlier this week, according to a tweet from SpaceX founder Elon Musk. It will take a few weeks to repair, though the Starship's tanks are fine.

Damage was done to the nosecone of the prototype, a hollowed-out structure made of aluminum to give the appearance of an actual rocket.

The prototype is important for SpaceX as the results of the experiments would determine its success and failures and would notify SpaceX on how to work on the main rocket Starship which is an 18-story rocket which would have a capacity to hold 100 people or 150 tonnes of cargo that will be launched to Mars.

The Starship vehicle, with a test version recently assembled at Boca Chica beach near Brownsville, could one day carry space travelers to the moon or Mars atop a powerful rocket.

The Starship integrated with the Super Heavy Rocket, previously called BFR, is expected to be more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that NASA used to propel astronauts to the moon.

SpaceX has worked feverishly to build the vehicle since at its facility in southern Texas since late a year ago.