The SpaceX’s Starship Rocket exploded yesterday minutes after lifting off from a launchpad in south Texas. The starship 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.
The launch had no people aboard and aimed to validate whether the design of the rocket system is sound. 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.”
Nasa is relying on SpaceX to build a version of Starship that will carry two astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon during its Artemis III mission. There was great anticipation from the flight, which had been delayed as the huge rocket could one day carry massive amounts of cargo and many people into space.