Elon Musk tried to launch the largest Starship rocket in history into space: it took off, but exploded a few seconds later

On Thursday, April 20, SpaceX launched the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, but it exploded moments after liftoff. That is, a key step in Elon Musk's plans to deliver people to the moon and beyond is interrupted. The edition told in more detail Independent.

Photo: IStock

An uncrewed Starship rocket successfully left its launch site in Texas but failed to separate as planned. Approximately 239 seconds after launch, the combination rocket exploded mid-air, leaving a spectacular cloud in the sky.

It was the first launch of a fully integrated version of Starship - with the spacecraft's upper stage attached to a Super Heavy launch vehicle. Together they make up the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, with twice the thrust of the Saturn V rocket that put a man on the moon.

She seemed to roll over several times in the air before disappearing in a fireball over the ocean about four minutes after liftoff.

In a series of tweets, SpaceX said it will learn from the trials that "success depends on what we learn."

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“As if the flight tests weren’t exciting enough, the Starship underwent a quick unscheduled disassembly before the separation of the stages,” SpaceX joked about the explosion.

“Teams will continue to analyze the data and work on our next flight test. In such a test, success depends on what we learn, and today's test will help us improve the reliability of Starship as SpaceX strives to make life multiplanetary. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the exciting first integrated flight test of Starship!” - the company added.

Before the launch, Elon Musk tried to limit expectations by saying that the mission would be considered a success if the rocket managed to take off without destroying the launch pad.

Super Heavy is the first stage of the launch system, it is reusable and designed to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere for landing back at the launch pad. However, in a test flight, she had to land on the water.

SpaceX says Starship will eventually be able to carry up to 100 passengers on long interplanetary flights.

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This, among other things, will allow the delivery of satellites and the development of a lunar base, as well as direct transportation on Earth - people will be able to travel anywhere in the world in one hour or less.

The Starship is stainless steel, 120 meters tall, has 33 engines and 16,7 million pounds of thrust.

NASA has reserved the spacecraft for its next group of lunar rovers, and would-be space tourists can book a flyby of the moon.

Prior to the launch, SpaceX tweeted: "In such a test, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will increase the likelihood of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances Starship development."

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