Starship launch news – live: SpaceX launches world’s biggest rocket, which explodes shortly after
A video shows the explosion of Elon Musk’s Starship rocket as it blows up right after take off from its launch site
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
SpaceX has launched the world’s biggest rocket – which exploded seconds later.
The spacecraft successfully left its launchpad, but the two parts of the rocket failed to separate and they exploded in a dramatic cloud minutes later.
SpaceX nonetheless hailed the test as a success, having said that any flight that did not blow up the rocket’s launchpad would be considered a “win”.
Mr Musk said that the information gained from the test would be used to guide work on future versions of the spacecraft, the next text of which he said will happen in a “few months”.
You can follow all the latest news and updates right here after SpaceX’s launch of the most powerful and largest rocket the world has ever seen.
Who owns SpaceX?
Unlike Tesla, SpaceX is a private company and there’s little information on who owns it. But it is regulated by the US government, including the Federal Communications Commission, which means some information is available about who controls the company.
Mr Musk is these days thought to be the biggest shareholder but not the majority one: recent filings have suggested he owns about 42 per cent of it. The rest is held by a range of investors, many too small to disclose.
Elon Musk shares drone view of Starship soaring into the sky
Picture shows rocket streaking through the sky
Here you can see the Starship rocket as it streaks through the sky (shortly before it exploded...).
Musk had looked to lower expectations ahead of launch
Just before the launch attempt on Monday, Elon Musk held a call on Twitter spaces in which he warned that it was likely that the rocket would explode or even fail to take off at all.
Musk hails launch as ‘exciting'
Elon Musk has finally tweeted after the launch.
Dramatic images show rocket lifting off
Here’s the dramatic scenes as Starship took off and became the world’s most powerful rocket ever to launch.
Musk retweets dramatic video of Starship lifting off
Musk hasn’t tweeted about the explosion but has retweeted a SpaceX video that shows Starship lifting off.
You don’t see the explosion in this. But you do get some sense of the vast power of that rocket – which, even with the explosion, is the most powerful rocket launch ever.
Elon Musk yet to respond to explosion
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk is yet to respond to the explosion. His last tweet came half an hour ago, when he shared his view of the launch.
Starship makes it off the ground – but explodes soon after
SpaceX says launch was a success
In a series of tweets, SpaceX says that it will be learning from the explosion to make Starship more reliable.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments