SpaceX's Mars rocket prototype explodes during ground test

SpaceX's Mars rocket prototype burst apart during a ground test, a setback for the company as it works to develop a spaceship capable of taking humans and cargo to deep space.

Engineers at a SpaceX facility in south Texas were running a test on Wednesday that was meant to check how well the vehicle, nicknamed Starship Mark-1, withstands high pressure when a metal cap on top of the vehicle burst off.

Pieces of aluminum were flying, vapor spewed into the area and local SpaceX fans captured footage of the bulkhead landing nearby.

SpaceX said in a statement that there were "no injuries, nor is this a serious setback".

"The purpose of today's test was to pressurize systems to the max, so the outcome was not completely unexpected," the statement reads.

SpaceX representatives often reiterate after something goes wrong during development that the company doesn't consider such incidences failures.

Musk has said that expecting — even embracing -— failures during testing has helped propel SpaceX to its crowning achievements.

But Wednesday's incident could mean that SpaceX will already abandon the Starship Mark-1 prototype, which Musk showed off two months ago in a grand unveiling.

SpaceX said engineers have already turned their focus to a newer test vehicle design, dubbed Mark-3.

One other Starship prototype is also under development in Florida, and they're all part of SpaceX's quest to create a spaceship that can launch massive satellite, take cargo to the Moon and, eventually, establish a human colony on Mars.