The core stage continued flying for some distance until crashing into a salt lake about two kilometers from the pad. Considerable damage to launch facilities resulted from this mishap. Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempted circumlunar imagery mission.
Following its flight over a distance, the core stage ended up crashing near a salt lake, approximately two kilometers from the launch pad. This incident led to significant damage to the launch facilities. Prior to sharing details of its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempt at lunar imagery.