SpaceX 'Test Hopper' Damaged During Texas Windstorm | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-11.24.25

AirborneNextGen-
11.18.25

Airborne-Unlimited-11.19.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-11.20.25

AirborneUnlimited-11.21.25

LIVE MOSAIC Town Hall (Archived): www.airborne-live.net

Fri, Jan 25, 2019

SpaceX 'Test Hopper' Damaged During Texas Windstorm

Prototype Rocket Will Take 'Weeks' To Repair, Musk Says

High winds at the SpaceX launch complex in Texas blew over the "test hopper" rocket that is a prototype of the spacecraft the company hopes will one day carry people to Mars.

Winds gusting to more than 50 miles per hour blew the upper section of the rocket to the ground, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk says the damage will take "weeks" to repair, according to a report from Business Insider.

The prototype was never intended to be launched into orbit, but rather to conduct a series of test flights to altitudes of up to 16,400 feet.

The portion of the test article that was damaged is the fairing, or nose cone. One resident described the winds as being similar to a hurricane. Initially, the prototype was sheltered from the wind, but it reportedly shifted during the night and blew the top off the vehicle.

Earlier this month, Musk said that the test flights could get underway in four to eight weeks. That timeline is now very likely delayed while the damage is repaired.

(Images via Twitter and provided by SpaceX)

FMI: www.spacex.com, Business Insider report


Advertisement

More News

NTSB Prelim: Funk B85C

According To The Witness, Once The Airplane Landed, It Continued To Roll In A Relatively Straight Line Until It Impacted A Tree In His Front Yard On November 4, 2025, about 12:45 e>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.21.25)

"In the frame-by-frame photos from the surveillance video, the left engine can be seen rotating upward from the wing, and as it detaches from the wing, a fire ignites that engulfs >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.21.25): Radar Required

Radar Required A term displayed on charts and approach plates and included in FDC NOTAMs to alert pilots that segments of either an instrument approach procedure or a route are not>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: ScaleBirds Seeks P-36 Replica Beta Builders

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): It’s a Small World After All… Founded in 2011 by pilot, aircraft designer and builder, and U.S. Air Force veteran Sam Watrous, Uncasville,>[...]

Airborne 11.21.25: NTSB on UPS Accident, Shutdown Protections, Enstrom Update

Also: UFC Buys Tecnams, Emirates B777-9 Buy, Allegiant Pickets, F-22 And MQ-20 The NTSB's preliminary report on the UPS Flight 2976 crash has focused on the left engine pylon's sep>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC