Huge SpaceX Rocket Launches in Test Flight, then Explodes Minutes Later
2023-04-21
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1A SpaceX rocket successfully launched with the company's Starship spacecraft Thursday,
2but the two-part system exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea.
3It was the first test flight for SpaceX's latest Super Heavy rocket, which carries a large space capsule on top, called Starship.
4The capsule is designed to one day carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly Mars.
5No astronauts were on board for the test flight.
6The liftoff happened Thursday morning at a SpaceX launch center in the southern Texas town of Boca Chica.
7SpaceX officials have described the two-part rocket ship - which stands 120 meters high - as the largest and most powerful space vehicle ever built.
8The vehicle is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA.
9The flight plan had called for the Super Heavy to separate from Starship minutes after the launch.
10But instead, the rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight.
11The combined vehicle then fell into the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Mexico.
12The spacecraft reached an altitude of nearly 32 kilometers before exploding.
13The Super Heavy rocket is designed to be reusable.
14But for the test flight, no landings of the rocket or spacecraft were planned.
15Images appeared to show that several of the 33 main engines were not firing as the rocket climbed from the launch site.
16There was no immediate comment from SpaceX on any engine failures.
17SpaceX had hoped that, after separating, the spacecraft would continue flying and attempt to circle the world before crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
18Even though the vehicle exploded soon after launching, SpaceX officials on the ground celebrated the fact that the rocket was able to get off the ground.
19The company declared the event a successful test flight.
20John Insprucker is one of the leaders of SpaceX's engineering team.
21He said during a live webcast of the launch that the test flight would provide a wealth of important data as the company prepares for additional flight tests.
22Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, said on Twitter the next Starship test launch would be "in a few months."
23He tweeted: "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch..."
24Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, also heads electric carmaker Tesla.
25In the weeks leading up to the flight, Musk predicted a 50-50 chance that the spacecraft would reach orbit.
26But he had also said he was "guaranteeing excitement" for the launch.
27SpaceX's Insprucker told webcast watchers after the launch, "You never know exactly what's going to happen."
28He then added, "But as we promised, excitement is guaranteed and Starship gave us a rather spectacular end."
29I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A SpaceX rocket successfully launched with the company's Starship spacecraft Thursday, but the two-part system exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea. 2It was the first test flight for SpaceX's latest Super Heavy rocket, which carries a large space capsule on top, called Starship. The capsule is designed to one day carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly Mars. 3No astronauts were on board for the test flight. 4The liftoff happened Thursday morning at a SpaceX launch center in the southern Texas town of Boca Chica. 5SpaceX officials have described the two-part rocket ship - which stands 120 meters high - as the largest and most powerful space vehicle ever built. The vehicle is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA. 6The flight plan had called for the Super Heavy to separate from Starship minutes after the launch. But instead, the rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight. The combined vehicle then fell into the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft reached an altitude of nearly 32 kilometers before exploding. 7The Super Heavy rocket is designed to be reusable. But for the test flight, no landings of the rocket or spacecraft were planned. 8Images appeared to show that several of the 33 main engines were not firing as the rocket climbed from the launch site. There was no immediate comment from SpaceX on any engine failures. 9SpaceX had hoped that, after separating, the spacecraft would continue flying and attempt to circle the world before crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. 10Even though the vehicle exploded soon after launching, SpaceX officials on the ground celebrated the fact that the rocket was able to get off the ground. The company declared the event a successful test flight. 11John Insprucker is one of the leaders of SpaceX's engineering team. He said during a live webcast of the launch that the test flight would provide a wealth of important data as the company prepares for additional flight tests. 12Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, said on Twitter the next Starship test launch would be "in a few months." He tweeted: "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch..." 13Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, also heads electric carmaker Tesla. 14In the weeks leading up to the flight, Musk predicted a 50-50 chance that the spacecraft would reach orbit. But he had also said he was "guaranteeing excitement" for the launch. 15SpaceX's Insprucker told webcast watchers after the launch, "You never know exactly what's going to happen." He then added, "But as we promised, excitement is guaranteed and Starship gave us a rather spectacular end." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press and Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 18___________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20capsule - n. the part of a spacecraft that people ride in 21thrust - n. upward push or force 22tumble - v. to suddenly fall 23spectacular - adj. extremely pleasing, exciting or surprising 24______________________________________________________________ 25What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.