SpaceX, the company of American billionaire Elon Musk, launched the sixth test flight of the Starship spacecraft from Texas.
Former and re-elected U.S. President Donald Trump attended the launch.
NASA plans to use Starship to send humans to the Moon as part of its Artemis program, according to Reuters.
“I am going to the great state of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever launched, not just into space, but from Earth,” Trump wrote on his social media and wished Musk luck during the rocket launch.
The rocket system, about 122 meters tall, where astronauts are supposed to land on the Moon and transport crew to Mars, was launched at 4 PM local time from SpaceX’s rocket development complex in Texas. The rocket booster, called Super Heavy, did not stay attached as it did during the fifth test flight but fell into the Gulf of Mexico. The Starship rocket fell into the Indian Ocean after about an hour and a half of flight around the Earth.
Trump previously announced that he would appoint Musk to head the newly formed Office of Government Efficiency in the new administration.