Highlights
- Musk’s influence is expected to grow under Trump.
- Super Heavy booster botches its catch-landing attempt.
- Starship test flight is expected to last 90 minutes.
On Tuesday, SpaceX launched its giant Starship rocket from Texas, making progress in its spaceflight capabilities but failing to land its booster as planned. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump watched the launch from the company’s facilities.
The rocket system, towering at about 400 feet (122 meters), is designed to carry astronauts to the moon and Mars. It lifted off at 4 p.m. CT (2200 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica site in Texas. The first-stage booster, Super Heavy, which is 233 feet (71 meters) tall, separated from the second-stage Starship rocket at around 40 miles (62 km) in altitude, sending the spacecraft into space.
However, the Super Heavy booster unexpectedly splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico instead of returning to land, where it was supposed to fall into mechanical arms attached to the launch tower. The sudden diversion to the water suggested something had gone wrong. A live stream hosted by space blogger Everyday Astronaut showed the Super Heavy booster exploding into a massive fireball on the horizon after its splashdown.
Last month, Starship successfully demonstrated its innovative catch-landing technique for the first time, achieving a significant milestone in its reusable design. Musk had written on social media that Tuesday’s landing would be “faster/harder.” After the October 14 Starship test, Trump expressed interest in the new landing method, commenting on its success at a rally, saying, “Did you see the way that sucker landed today?”
The rest of the mission went smoothly. Starship completed a full orbit of Earth before splashing down in the Indian Ocean roughly an hour later. The spacecraft also reignited one of its engines in space for the first time, testing its maneuverability—a task SpaceX had attempted but failed on previous flights.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who is set to leave his post when Trump takes office in January, congratulated SpaceX in a post on X. He highlighted that Starship’s engine reignition marked “major progress towards orbital flight.” Trump’s presence at the launch signals a stronger alliance with Musk, who stands to benefit from the incoming administration. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, played a prominent role in supporting Trump’s election campaign, contributing at least $119 million in political backing.
Ahead of the launch, Trump expressed his excitement on social media, writing, “I’m heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to space but simply by lifting off the ground,” and wished Musk good luck.
On November 13, Trump appointed Musk as co-leader of a new government efficiency project aimed at reducing wasteful spending and burdensome regulations. Musk has frequently criticized the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its regulations on commercial rocket launches, which he believes hinder SpaceX’s progress toward reaching Mars.
Despite Musk’s frustrations with the FAA, the agency granted approval for Starship’s launch within just over a month of its previous flight, marking the fastest regulatory turnaround yet for SpaceX. The FAA is working on new approval processes to keep up with the rapid expansion of the U.S. space industry.
Musk outlined four key objectives for the test flight: restarting Starship’s engine in space, making a more visible ocean landing during the daytime (previous attempts had been at night), testing Starship’s heat resistance during reentry, and speeding up the booster landing. He also noted that the mission was testing thousands of smaller design changes.
SpaceX is aiming for significant advancements in Starship development during the second Trump administration. The new administration’s space agenda is expected to focus more on Mars, a key goal for Musk, as NASA’s Artemis program works to return astronauts to the moon.
“We just passed 400 Falcon launches, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we fly 400 Starship launches in the next four years,” said SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell at the Baron Investment Conference in New York last week, referring to the company’s workhorse rocket.
