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
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
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Moment SpaceX halts Starship rocket launch minutes before anticipated lift-off
Three minutes left and rocket is full
The rocket is full and there’s three minutes left to go.
Five minutes to go
Cheers erupt at SpaceX as the clock ticks down to less than five minutes to go.
SpaceX’s commentators remind viewers that success is “anything we learn that will help with future builds of Starship”.
“If we lift off the pad we’re calling that a win.”
Starship looking good as liftoff approaches
Everything is still looking good, with about eight minutes left to go before takeoff. The final bits of propellant are being loaded into the rocket, and it will soon be ready to go, with 10 million lbs of liquid inside.
No reports of boats in the range
There are no boats in the way of the rocket as it takes off over the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX says. The team has to make sure there is nothing in the water underneath where the rocket could fall, for obvious reasons. (That was another issue SpaceX had on Monday – when a boat was spotted by the Coast Guard in the range – though it wasn’t the reason the launch got postponed.)
Raptor engines chill down ready for liftoff
The raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster are chilling down ahead of takeoff.
Still no significant issues being worked on by the team and everything seems to be going to plan, SpaceX says.
20 minutes to go and the rocket is ready and waiting
Everything is looking good, including the weather and winds that had given flight controllers cause for concern, according to SpaceX. “We believe that we’re going to be go”, and there are no issues being worked on at the moment.
There’s less than 20 minutes left to go until expected takeoff.
33 engines waiting to lift off
Here are the 33 engines on the Super Heavy booster, all ready and waiting to light up and lift off.
Less than 30 minutes until launch
SpaceX appears to be running on time. That means we’ve now got less than 30 minutes until the launch, which will happen at roughly 28 minutes past the hour.
SpaceX shows drone views of Starship at Starbase
On the live feed, SpaceX is showing views of the launchpad. Its drone view looks a lot less foggy than those from Spaceflight Now, below.
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