Elon Musk’s SpaceX Rocket Lifts Off with Donald Trump in Attendance, Despite Booster Landing Failure
SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket successfully launched from Texas on Tuesday, advancing the spacecraft’s spaceflight capabilities, although an attempt to return its booster to land was unsuccessful. US President-elect Donald Trump joined SpaceX founder Elon Musk at the launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, to witness the groundbreaking event.
The towering 400-foot Starship rocket, designed for missions to the moon and Mars, lifted off at 4 p.m. CT, with its Super Heavy first-stage booster detaching at around 62 kilometers altitude, propelling the second-stage Starship into space. However, the booster, intended to return to the launch pad, unexpectedly splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, igniting a massive fireball as seen from a live stream.
This test flight was SpaceX’s sixth attempt with Starship, and despite the booster’s failure to land, the mission continued successfully. The spacecraft completed its orbit around Earth and performed a key maneuver by reigniting one of its engines in space for the first time—marking significant progress toward SpaceX’s ultimate goal of interplanetary travel.
While Trump had previously expressed interest in Starship’s technology, praising the landing system after the October 14 test, his presence at the launch signals a growing collaboration with Musk. The two have developed a strong alliance, with Musk’s support for Trump’s campaign and a recent appointment to lead a new government efficiency project. This partnership is expected to benefit Musk’s ventures, including SpaceX, which stands to gain from favorable government support.
SpaceX’s progress in Starship development is poised to accelerate under the next US administration, with a focus on NASA’s lunar Artemis program and Musk’s ambition to send humans to Mars. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell hinted at the company’s future goals, including a significant increase in Starship launches within the next four years.
