<<Print>>

Elon Musk's SpaceX on Thursday launched its next-generation Starship cruise vessel for the first time atop the company's powerful new Super Heavy rocket, but the uncrewed test flight ended minutes later with the vehicle exploding in the sky.

While the two-stage rocket ship failed to make it beyond an altitude of 20 miles (32 km), SpaceX officials cheered the outcome for achieving the test flight's primary objective of getting the new spacecraft off the ground in what appeared to be an otherwise clean liftoff.