Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Launches Giant Starship Rocket, but Booster Recovery Fails in Front of President-Elect Donald Trump
US President-elect Donald Trump arrived at the SpaceX base to watch the spacecraft
launch on November 19. (Photo: Reuters)
SpaceX, the space technology company owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has launched its massive Starship rocket into space, marking another step forward in space travel capabilities. However, the mission failed to recover the booster rocket, an event witnessed in person by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
The rocket system, standing over 120 meters tall and designed to transport astronauts to the Moon and Mars, lifted off at 4 p.m. on November 19 (U.S. time) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica facility in Texas.
However, the Super Heavy booster unexpectedly fell into the Gulf of Mexico instead of returning to its support tower as planned. The last-minute trajectory shift indicated something had gone wrong.
A separate live feed by space blogger Everyday Astronaut showed the Super Heavy booster exploding into a massive fireball on the Gulf of Mexico’s horizon after falling.
Last month, Starship successfully demonstrated its ability to recover a booster onto its support tower, marking a milestone in reusable rocket design. In a post on social media platform X ahead of the second launch, Musk described the mission as “faster/harder.”
Despite the last-minute explosion, the mission appeared to achieve its primary objectives.
In space, Starship orbited the Earth before landing in the Indian Ocean about an hour later. The spacecraft successfully restarted one of its engines in orbit, testing its maneuverability in space—an achievement SpaceX had attempted but failed to complete on previous flights.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who is expected to leave his position after Trump takes office in January, congratulated SpaceX in a post on X. He highlighted the successful engine restart as a “major step forward toward orbital flight.”
Trump’s presence at the SpaceX event signals a deepening alliance with Musk, who stands to benefit from Trump’s victory in the recent U.S. presidential election.
The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is expected to leverage his relationship with the incoming U.S. president to further the growth of his companies.
The world’s richest man strongly supported Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing at rallies and donating at least $119 million to his efforts.
“I’m heading to the great state of Texas to witness the launch of the largest object ever sent to space, not just from the ground,” Trump wrote on social media, wishing Musk luck before the launch.
On November 13, Trump appointed Musk as co-leader of a new government efficiency project. The SpaceX founder stated that he aims to help the federal government eliminate wasteful spending and burdensome regulations.
