According to AP, after leaving the launch pad for 4 minutes, the rocket began to tumble and plunged straight into the Gulf of Mexico. Both the rocket and the accompanying spacecraft fell into the sea. There were no people on the spacecraft, and the rocket did not carry any satellites. Although the rocket exploded, engineers at SpaceX headquarters were still happy because for them, being able to test launch the 120m-long Starship rocket was a success.
The SpaceX Starship rocket on the launch pad from SpaceX's Starship base in Boca Chica. (Source: AFP)
The test comes after years of SpaceX developing and testing technology for Starship — the world's largest and most powerful rocket and spacecraft system.
Starship was originally scheduled to launch from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 17. But the test launch was delayed just minutes before liftoff due to a pressure issue. Company employees worked hard to resolve the issue to ensure the launch could proceed on April 20. SpaceX executives have stressed that the launch is important to capture information that will help improve the design of Starship in the future.
Starship is considered the world's largest and most powerful spacecraft and rocket system ever built. It is designed to carry cargo and people beyond Earth, and is crucial to NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon.
Earlier in 2021, NASA awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX a $2.89 billion contract to develop a spacecraft to take astronauts to the moon as early as 2024. Starship is expected to be used as part of NASA's Artemis program to bring humans to the moon to live and work long-term.
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