SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket ever launched, exploded four minutes after takeoff.
The spaceship exploded above the Gulf of Mexico shortly after takeoff, failing to achieve its ambitious goals, according to the New York Times. However, the explosion was only described as "A setback for Elon Musk and SpaceX, but not a fatal one."
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FTS abort. Well done Booster 7 (and Ship 24)! That was still a big win. Launch site is fine and got a lot of first stage data!
— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) April 20, 2023
Next up, Booster 9!https://t.co/npUj2AHByW pic.twitter.com/KRxBwsLlKq
SpaceX still saw the test flight as a partial success, with some employees busting open a bottle of champagne amid cheers of “Go Starship!”
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared optimistic about the test launch, framing it as a learning experience.
"Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship!" he tweeted. "Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months."
Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months. pic.twitter.com/gswdFut1dK