Starship SN11 Fog Explosion in Slow Motion Is Like Watching the World End

Starship is how Elon Musk and SpaceX presently call the prototypes of the ultimate spaceship, which will likely take humans to Mars for the first time. Many years probably have to pass before that actually happens, but tests of the technology are already underway.

One after the other, four Starship prototypes—SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11—took off and ended up exploding in various positions and for various reasons. And all of these events were caught on tape, of course.

The last to attempt a perfect takeoff and landing combo was the SN11. It departed for the Texas sky in extremely heavy fog (not that it matters for a rocket), which contributed greatly to the feeling of impending doom one gets when watching the video below.

The fog prevented the spectacular view of the spaceship in the air, as it climbed to an altitude of 10 km (6.2 miles) and then fell on its side (the famous belly flop) and hurtled towards the ground in the usual scary yet intentional way we’re already used to by now.

The fog even prevented the world from experiencing the explosion first hand, as we’ve done with the previous ones. But it didn’t stop cameras from rolling and microphones from recording.

On-site for the launch was the Cosmic Perspective crew, who seeing as there’s not much to experience visually, are giving us a binaural audio experience as well, accompanied by slow-motion shots of SN11 debris falling through the fog like it does in disaster or monster movies.

Don’t believe us? See for yourselves below, but make sure you have your headphones on for the scariest experience one can get from a rocket launch.