SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight, but fails minutes later

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SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday but failed minutes after rising from the launch pad.

Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites; both the booster and spacecraft on top were to be ditched into the sea.

Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off limits. Space’s first try to launch the rocket was called off Monday because of a stuck valve in the rocket during fueling.