SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — SpaceX’s new rocket, the largest and most powerful ever built, blasted off Thursday morning on its first test flight in an attempt to orbit in outer space.
The rocket launch failed to reach orbit and blew up over South Texas. However, SpaceX is calling this rocket test a success because it cleared the tower.
"As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation," tweeted SpaceX.
The rocket appears the ship did not separate from the booster when it was supposed to. The rocket plummeted into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after liftoff, with spacecraft debris flying everywhere after the explosion.
Elon Musk’s company launched the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket from Boca Chica, Texas, near the Mexican border.
Dozens of spectators watched from several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site.
No people or satellites were aboard for this debut launch, but the company plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars.
This rocket launch was the second attempt after Monday’s try was scrapped by a frozen booster valve.
