Elon Musk’s Massive SpaceX Rocket Explodes Shortly After Takeoff From Texas

SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday but exploded minutes after rising from the launch pad and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites.The plan called for the booster to peel away from the spacecraft minutes after liftoff, but that didn’t happen. The rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight, plummeting into the gulf. After separating, the spacecraft was supposed to continue east and attempt to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off limits. As it lifted off, the crowd screamed: “Go, baby, go!”The company plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.It was the second launch attempt. Monday’s try was scrapped by a frozen booster valve.At 394 feet and nearly 17 million pounds of thrust, Starship easily surpasses NASA’s moon rockets — past, present and future. The stainless steel rocket is designed to be fully reusable with fast turnaround, dramatically lowering costs, similar to what SpaceX’s smaller Falcon rockets have done soaring from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nothing was to be saved from the test flight.The futuristic spacecraft flew several miles into the air during testing a few years ago, landing successfully only once. But this was to be the inaugural launch of the first-stage booster with 33 methane-fueled engines.Associated Press

Elon Musk’s Massive SpaceX Rocket Explodes Shortly After Takeoff From Texas

Elon Musk’s Massive SpaceX Rocket Explodes Shortly After Takeoff From Texas

More from the New York Sun

Democrats Hold Major Enthusiasm Advantage Headed Into the Midterms, Polls Show

A Sublime Deviation From the Norm

Sonos Gives Its Headphones Another Hearing

Israel Calls on French Jews To Move to the Jewish State as Riots and Arson Engulf France; Macron To Address Nation

Why So Many American Men Are Afraid of Dressing Well

NATO Eyes Mounting Drone Threat to Romania After Airspace Incursions, Attacks on Tankers

Blakeman Could Reverse the Economic Havoc Wreaked on New York by Hochul and Cuomo

Trump’s Bond With Voters, Cemented by 2020 Shift at McDonald’s, Seems Strained Ahead of Midterms

More from the New York Sun

Democrats Hold Major Enthusiasm Advantage Headed Into the Midterms, Polls Show

A Sublime Deviation From the Norm

Sonos Gives Its Headphones Another Hearing

Israel Calls on French Jews To Move to the Jewish State as Riots and Arson Engulf France; Macron To Address Nation

Why So Many American Men Are Afraid of Dressing Well

NATO Eyes Mounting Drone Threat to Romania After Airspace Incursions, Attacks on Tankers

Blakeman Could Reverse the Economic Havoc Wreaked on New York by Hochul and Cuomo

Trump’s Bond With Voters, Cemented by 2020 Shift at McDonald’s, Seems Strained Ahead of Midterms