SpaceX launches Starship rocket with President-elect Donald Trump watching

VTV.vn - Billionaire Elon Musk has test-launched SpaceX's 6th Starship rocket, witnessed by US President-elect Donald Trump.

President-elect Trump and Elon Musk arrived in Brownsville, Texas, on November 19 to attend the launch of the giant Starship rocket at SpaceX's Boca Chica test site. The rocket lifted off shortly after 5 p.m. local time (11 p.m. GMT). The 400-foot-tall rocket is designed to take astronauts to the Moon and Mars. The first stage, called Super Heavy, made a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico instead of attempting to return to the launch pad. Starship successfully recovered its Super Heavy booster in October, a major milestone in the project.

SpaceX's giant Starship rocket takes off on a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on November 19 (Photo: AP)

Mr Trump's attendance highlighted his growing relationship with Mr Musk, owner of SpaceX, electric carmaker Tesla and social media platform X. Mr Musk is a strong political supporter of Mr Trump, having spent nearly $130 million to support the former president's re-election. Mr Trump was joined by his son Donald Jr. and Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. Starship, the largest rocket ever built, is designed to be a reusable vehicle to carry cargo and people into space.

Mr. Musk speaks with President-elect Donald Trump and others before the test launch of the Starship rocket (Photo: AP)

Trump's presence at the launch was "another example of Musk's growing role in Trump's orbit," CNN reported. Since Trump won the November 5 election, Musk has been a regular at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He has advised Trump on nominees for the incoming administration and participated in the president-elect's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky. Trump recently appointed Musk, along with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, to advise the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which is tasked with cutting government spending.

vtv.vn

Source: https://vtv.vn/the-gioi/spacex-phong-ten-lua-starship-voi-su-chung-kien-cua-tong-thong-dac-cu-donald-trump-20241120110621079.htm