SpaceX launches Starship rocket, fails to recover booster

SpaceX had planned to catch and reuse both stages of its biggest rocket for the first time. But the booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft continued into orbit. US company SpaceX has successfully launched the latest flight of its Starship spacecraft into orbit but did not recover the booster rocket as planned. The company, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk , is hoping to develop a fully reusable rocket system.

It had planned to recover both the booster and the upper stage, which is the spacecraft itself. Instead of landing back at the launch site, the booster exploded above the Gulf of Mexico. The upper stage is currently in orbit and the plan is to recover it on Saturday when it returns to Earth. It is to be caught by mechanical arms upon landing back at the launch pad, marking the first time the spacecraft would return to Earth.

It could then potentially be reused in the future. In addition to testing the reusable rocket system, the mission also delivered 26 of SpaceX’s satellites for its Starlink network .