SpaceX is set to launch 27 of its Starlink internet satellites Sunday (Jan. 19), just two days after a test flight of its Starship megarocket ended in an explosion.
Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, pulled off a daring booster catch on its most ambitious test flight yet, but the spacecraft was lost. Follow for the latest news.
The rocket company said the space vehicle came apart during its ascent. Videos posted to social media showed debris streaking through the sky.
SpaceX launched Starship on Thursday for a seventh test flight, after weather concerns pushed back an experiment that will feature the spacecraft’s first payload deployment test, and while it successfully caught the Super Heavy Booster, Starship lost connection and “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
The "rapid unscheduled disassembly" was likely caused by a propellant leak, Elon Musk said, and was captured on video by spectators on the ground.
Dramatic footage showing streaks of light zipping across the sky surfaced online following Elon Musk's Starship explosion over the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX's seventh Starship test flight will now launch no earlier than Thursday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT).
Elon Musk's company saw mixed results today, with Starship's booster sticking the landing while the upper stage failed during ascent.
The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, was successfully caught in the launch tower's mechanical arms for only the second time
SpaceX launched its Starship mega-rocket for the seventh time. It achieve an epic booster catch but the ship was lost.
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