How Amazon’s Tracking Footage Allowed Us To Witness An Up-Close Starship Explosion

There’s not a lot of good press these days when it comes to Amazon, but listen – I think it’s important to give credit where credit is due, and at least the fact that they’re watching the sky gives us a front-row seat to witness happenings in space.

In this case, it’s the footage of SpaceX’s explosive Starship test launch.

“Everyday Astronaut” Tim Dodd released the video, which shows the huge launch from a couple of different angles.

The best one, though, is an ultra-high-definition tracking camera that captures the entire launch – and failure – against the blue Texan sky.

If you’re in a hurry, fast-forward to the 7:30 mark.

According to a statement released by SpaceX, the explosion was intentional.

“The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. As a result, the flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship.”

In layman’s terms, it self-destructed after spinning off course.

The launch also resulted in a bunch of debris that coated a nearby town with grime, set fire to a state park, as well as created a hole in the SpaceX launchpad.

So while you and I might wonder how this explosion was the huge success experts claim, at least we can all agree that footage really is something else.