The problem was that the crushed landing legs and their skirt were leaking fuel into the tiny fire. The combination resulted in combustion almost 6 minutes after the landing.
So SN10 ended in an explosion just like prototypes SN8 and SN9. But SN10 almost nailed it. The other two were unmistakably crash-landings.
Elon Musk said that it was the fuel issue that led to “low-thrust on the landing burn and that leg-crunching touchdown.” And tweeted out the promise that “Multiple fixes in works for SN11.”
Meanwhile, Starship SN11 has already been rolled out to the launchpad at SpaceX’s testing and development center in Boca Chica, Texas. It will soon be beta testing. Then it takes to the sky for the high-altitude and safe landing attempt.
They say that 11 is a lucky number. Let’s hope so. Maybe SN11 will be the first prototype to fly miles up and land gracefully. It will be nice if SN11 survives its test flight.
