SpaceX chief Elon Musk stated that the explosion that occurred on its Starship spacecraft during launch was "quite small", adding that he expects the next try to be in "six to eight weeks."

Musk also noted that the space company will spend around $2 billion on developing the rocket program in 2023.

Starship exploded as it conducted its first test launch on Thursday, April 20, after its Super Heavy rocket system successfully left the launch pad in Starbase, Texas.

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According to the company, the spaceship reached about 39km above the Gulf of Mexico when multiple engines failed, forcing the company to blow the spacecraft.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson revealed on Thursday that the company will require two months to reconstruct its launch pad in the Starbase site, as well as prepare another Starship and Super Heavy rocket for a second flight test. 

The explosion of the first Starship rocket was not a major setback in the way SpaceX operates, since the business is hardware wealthy and has a large number of rockets ready to go for additional testing when repairs are made, according to Nelson.

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For the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972, NASA has chosen the Starship spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the Moon in late 2025 (a mission known as Artemis III).

"The vehicle structural margins appear to be better than we expected," Musk said during a discussion on Twitter Spaces. "As we can tell the vehicle is actually doing somersaults towards the end and still staying intact."

SpaceX's Starship is reportedly designed to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars and beyond. But the recent failed launches raise doubts over the company's goal to send a crewed mission this year.