SpaceX Starship, world’s largest rocket, explodes minutes after lift-off on first test flight

The SpaceX Starship rocket exploded on April 20, 2023, about four minutes after it blasted off from the company’s Starbase spaceport in the US state of Texas. The uncrewed space capsule failed to separate from its first-stage rocket booster three minutes into the flight just before what the company described as a “rapid unscheduled disassembly”. Development of the largest and most powerful rocket ever built has cost SpaceX founder Elon Musk and investors an estimated US$3 billion so far. It was designed to be reused and eventually help get humans to Mars and beyond.