Elon Musk's SpaceX managed to successfully land one of its Starship prototypes on Wednesday at the end of a high-altitude test flight. But the triumph was short-lived. Minutes after touch down the rocket was in flames. Flora Bradley-Watson reports.

SpaceX has successfully landed one of its rockets in Boca Chica, Texas, at the end of a high altitude test flight.

The Starship SN10 test model was developed by billionaire Elon Musk's company with the intention of carrying humans and 100 tons of cargo to the moon and Mars.

It was the company's third attempt at a vertical landing, but it still ended in flames.

The Starship exploded minutes after touch down.

For Musk, it was mixed news.

The rocket's two predecessors both crashed into the ground when they attempted landing.

He tweeted: 'RIP SN10, honorable discharge.''

Musk’s ambition is to make human space travel more affordable and routine with the ultimate goal to enable people to live on Mars.

His private space company is planning the first orbital Starship flight for the end of this year.

He's also promised a private lunar excursion in 2023 with the Japanese online fashion retail billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.

In 2019 Elon Musk unveiled a SpaceX spacecraft designed to carry a crew and cargo to the moon, Mars or anywhere else in the solar system and land back on Earth perpendicularly.