Sayonara SN11! She flew, belly flopped, and terminated before landing. Debris was seen falling on the launch and landing location.
A liquid methane leak from one engine on ascent caused a "hard start" during the flip to vertical, which resulted in rapid destruction of the vehicle. A hard start is when too much fuel is present in the nozzle and causes an overpressure and normally results in the destruction of the engine and in this case, the entire vehicle.
SpaceX's SN11 (Starship Number 11) was the last of her kind and the next Starship up, SN15, will come with a host of new upgrades and feature enhancements.
These images were taken during our visit to the SpaceX launch complex in Boca Chica, TX on March 15, 2021 while SN11 was still on the pad.
