Elon Musk with SpaceX scientists
SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, exploded Thursday during the first test flight of a spacecraft designed to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The giant rocket was successfully launched at 8:33 a.m. Central Time (1333 GMT) from the private SpaceX spaceport Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.
Despite failing to complete a full flight test, SpaceX declared it a success.
SpaceX chief Elon Musk applauded the launch of the company’s Starship rocket and tweeted, “Congratulations to the @SpaceX team on the exciting test launch of Starship! We learned a lot for the next test launch in a few months.”
Congrats @spacex Team Starship’s on an exciting test launch!
Lots learned for the next test launch in a few months. pic.twitter.com/gswdFut1dK
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
However, despite claims by SpaceX experts that clearing the tower was SpaceX’s only hope and everything was icing on the cake, video footage of Elon Musk’s troubled expression after the explosion went viral on the internet. Used to be.
Watch the video here:
The fully parked starship explodes and Elon’s reaction is priceless. @Elon Musk
No such thing as failure, only learning for the next attempt. Great job SpaceX! keep fighting! #spacexpic.twitter.com/YHIIao3Uxp
— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) April 20, 2023
The purpose of the integrated test flight was to assess their performance in combination. SpaceX founder Elon Musk warned before the launch that technical issues were likely and sought to tone down expectations for the inaugural test flight.
“It’s a very risky flight,” he said. “This is the first launch of a very complex, huge rocket.”
“There are a million ways this rocket could fail,” Musk said.