SpaceX launched the Starship rocket on Thursday on its maiden integrated flight test from South Texas Starbase after calling off the test initially scheduled for April 17 over a pressurization issue caused by a frozen valve.
Just minutes before the liftoff, the countdown before the launch was halted, in the final attempt to check the engines. The largest rocket in the world, however, exploded during a test flight just before the separation stage, which was to see Booster 7, dubbed Super Heavy, splash down in the Gulf of Mexico and Ship 24 continue its ascent into space, complete a partial orbit of the planet, and then come crashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
"With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship's reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary," the company said.
