Starship, the massive rocket by SpaceX firm, exploded during its first flight on Thursday. However, that's not uncommon for the highly dynamic space industry. Here are some of the worst space launch failures in human history.
One of the most well-known space launch failures, the Challenger disaster occurred when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was caused by the failure of an O-ring seal on one of the rocket boosters.
The Nedelin Catastrophe was a launchpad disaster that occurred in the Soviet Union when a rocket engine was accidentally ignited during pre-launch testing, killing 126 people, including military personnel and engineers.
The Vostok-1 was a Soviet spacecraft designed to carry a cosmonaut into orbit. However, during its launch, the spacecraft's parachute failed to deploy properly, causing the capsule to crash into the ground and killing the dog that was aboard.
The Titan IV was a United States Air Force rocket that was designed to launch large payloads into space. In 1998, a Titan IV rocket carrying a classified military satellite exploded shortly after liftoff due to a problem with the rocket's guidance system.
The Zenit-3SL was a Ukrainian rocket designed to carry commercial payloads into orbit. In 2007, a Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a commercial communications satellite exploded shortly after liftoff due to a problem with the rocket's guidance system.