SpaceX Starship dramatically explodes seconds after launch

 

SpaceX has launched Starship. The next-gen rocket successfully left its launchpad in Texas on Thursday, but the booster and the spacecraft failed to separate as planned. Consequently, roughly four minutes after lift-off, the two pieces disappeared in a fireball over the ocean.

The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster, collectively called Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever made. In comparison to the Saturn V rocket that carried humans to the lunar surface, the SpaceX rocket packs twice the thrust.

Despite the explosion, Starship's blast-off already meant the test flight was considered a success by the company. The rocket is expected to play a major role in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to put humanity back on the moon in 2025.

The Super Heavy booster is designed to be fully reusable. But the company wasn't going to take advantage of this incredible feature in the test flight, as the entity was supposed to drop into the ocean shortly after the lift-off instead of trying to land back at the launch site.

SpaceX believes the rocket will be able to transform space exploration completely, making it possible for 100 people to go on long-duration interplanetary flights on a single spacecraft. It is also expected to enable satellite delivery and travel to anywhere on Earth in an hour or less.