Washington: Elon Musk’s Space-X launched a huge rocketship Starship Super Heavy on Thursday. However, when the Starship Super Heavy took off from the ground it failed to reach orbit and exploded within minutes of taking off from the launch pad and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk’s company aimed to send a 400-foot Starship rocket around the world (from the southern tip of Texas). There were no humans or satellites in it. The booster was supposed to separate from the spacecraft within minutes of liftoff, but it did not. The rocket started eating Gotha and then exploded.
- Within minutes of takeoff, the rocket began to burn and burst into midair, crashing into the Gulf of Mexico.
- A blow to Musk’s company in the same space program
After separation, the rocketship was to head east and attempt to orbit the Earth and then land in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Hundreds of people gathered to witness the launch in South Padre, a few kilometers away from where the rocket was launched from Boca Chica beach. People cheered and chanted ‘Go Baby Go’ as the rocket lifted off.
The company plans to use the Starship to send people and cargo to the Moon and then to Mars. This was the second attempt at the launch. Monday’s attempt was aborted because its booster valve froze. At 394 feet and weighing about 17 million pounds, the Starship dwarfed NASA’s moon rocket. The rocket was made of stainless steel. The SpaceX team was disappointed when the launch failed, but later applauded for the opportunity. Elon Musk tweeted, “Congratulations to the SpaceX team for an exciting test, learning a lot for the launch in the next few months.”