SpaceX Starship SN8 launch ends in fiery explosion, but Elon Musk is still over the moon

SpaceX's first major test flight of its Starship spacecraft ended with a huge fireball explosion upon its landing.

However, CEO of the space transportation company, Elon Musk, has not been left deterred by the chaotic landing and insists that the flight "is the gateway to Mars".

On Wednesday (December 9), Starship serial number 8 (SN8) lifted off from SpaceX's Cameron County launch pad and successfully ascended - reaching heights of 12.5km (41,000 feet) over the course of the 6-minute and 40-second flight.

Check out highlights from the launch in the video below:

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During the flight, the spacecraft successfully transitioned propellant and performed its landing flip maneuver with precise flap control to reach its landing point - however, per the SpaceX website, "low pressure in the fuel header tank during the landing burn led to high touchdown velocity resulting in a hard (and exciting!) landing".

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Fortunately, the spacecraft was unmanned, and Musk had stated prior to the launch that there was only a one-in-three chance of the launch and landing being successful, The Independent reports.

And despite the firey ending, Musk is adamant that the test flight marked a major milestone towards sending humans to Mars.

Following the flight, Musk tweeted to his 40.6 million followers: "Thank you, South Texas for your support! This is the gateway to Mars.

"Mars, here we come!!"

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Per The Independent, Starship SN8 failed a similar attempt of the same sub-orbital flight on Tuesday - with the flight experiencing a forced automatic abort just 1.3 seconds before liftoff.

Now, the next Starship prototype, SN9, has already been built and is expected to undergo a similar flight test at some point in the near future.

Speaking at an event in Germany last week, Musk stated that he hoped to send the first humans to Mars aboard a Starship craft in 2024.

As reported by The Guardian, NASA awarded SpaceX $135 million to help develop Starship, alongside competing vehicles from rival ventures Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, and Leidos-owned Dynetcis.