You know that times are strange when the few uplifting events of recent months involve explosions, fireballs, and lethal debris. Another catastrophic failure happened again on Wednesday night in Boca Chica, Texas, and it was wonderful to behold. SN10, the third of Elon Musk’s Starship prototypes, exploded shortly after landing. If you ever wondered what it was like seeing Michelangelo struggling with scaffolding or Leonardo fretting about the bits of cadaver lying around his studio, then here we see another practical demonstration of genius in action. It was a huge step forwards towards our future in space.