SpaceX¡¯s Starship rocket exploded Thursday, minutes after lifting off from a launchpad in south Texas. The rocket, the most powerful ever built, did not reach orbit but provided important lessons for the private spaceflight company as it worked toward a more successful mission.
At 9:33 a.m. Eastern time, the engines on the Super Heavy booster ignited in a huge cloud of fire, smoke and dust, and Starship rose slowly upward. About a minute later, the rocket passed through a period of maximum aerodynamic pressure, one of the crucial moments for the launch of any rocket. Shortly after, it began to tumble before exploding in a fireball high above the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite the mission¡¯s fiery outcome, Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, offered congratulations to the company. ¡°Every great achievement throughout history has demanded some level of calculated risk, because with great risk comes great reward,¡± Nelson wrote on Twitter.
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