SpaceX's Starship V3 made a fiery landing, exploding in a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean after its uncrewed debut flight.
The towering vehicle blasted off on Friday evening (22 May) from SpaceX facilities on the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville.
Starship V3 is designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and to send future NASA missions to the moon.
The test flight represents a key milestone for the vehicle following months of delays.
It aimed to reinforce SpaceX’s case that Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket ever flown, is almost at commercial readiness after years of explosive setbacks and development delays.
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