SpaceX Starship prototype rocket explodes on landing after test launch

The SpaceX Starship SN9 prototype rocket explodes after descending from a test flight in a still image from video in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S. February 2, 2021. SpaceX/Social Media via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

(Reuters) -A prototype of SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded during a landing attempt minutes after a high-altitude experimental launch from Boca Chica, Texas, on Tuesday, in a repeat of an accident that destroyed a previous test rocket.

The Starship SN9 that blew up on its final descent, like the SN8 before it, was a test model of the heavy-lift rocket being developed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's private space company to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars.