SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – A historic test flight of SpaceX’s giant new moon rocket off the coast of Texas was caught on radar Thursday when the rocket exploded minutes after launch.
Starship is the most powerful spacecraft ever built and stood at nearly 400 feet tall.
The rocket launched from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas but exploded several minutes after lifting off from the launch pad.
[RELATED: SpaceX giant Starship rocket explodes minutes after historic test launch]
@SpaceX Starship explosion caught on radar off the coast of #Texas #spacex #starship #superheavy pic.twitter.com/Rf19uoe6f7
— Jonathan Kegges (@JonathanKegges) April 20, 2023
SpaceX said the rocket experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation.”
The launch was also captured on satellite, showing the trail of the rocket, according to the National Weather Service.
The test flight was supposed to last 1.5 hours and fall short of a full orbit of Earth. However, the rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight, plummeting into the Gulf of Mexico.
The spacecraft was then planned to continue eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans before ditching near Hawaii. Starship is designed to be fully reusable but nothing will be saved from the test flight.
SpaceX’s goal with Starship is to fly to the moon and eventually Mars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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