Why SpaceX's Starship mega-rocket looks unlike anything the company has ever built before

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SpaceX Super Heavy first-stage booster with the black side of its Starship second stage booster showing.
SpaceX's starship is designed to be the tallest, most powerful rocket ever built.

SpaceX

SpaceX's Starship launch kicked up soil and sand that rained down on a nearby beachside town 5 miles away

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The SpaceX Starship lifts off from the launchpad during a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023.
The SpaceX Starship lifts off from the launchpad during a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk congratulated SpaceX for an 'exciting' launch of Starship after the rocket exploded

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A photomontage shows Starship blowing up on one side and a picture of Elon Musk sitting in the control room on the other.
Elon Musk sat in the control room on Thursday watching the launch of Starship, which exploded about 4 minutes into the launch.

SpaceX

Watch how SpaceX launched Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, on its first orbital flight

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starship black rocket on silver super heavy booster secured to a launch tower against blue sky view from below
Starship minutes before the launch attempt that was aborted on April 17, 2023.

SpaceX

Elon Musk's prized Starship mega-rocket exploded into a fireball on its first attempt to launch into space

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fireball of smoke in the sky
Starship and its Super Heavy booster explode while tumbling through the air, in a SpaceX livestream on April 20, 2023.

SpaceX

Elon Musk hints Starship rocket may explode on first orbital launch, predicting 50% chance of success and 'guaranteeing excitement'

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elon musk raises one eyebrow mouth grimacing juxtaposed with starship prototype exploding in ball of fire
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) said Starship may not reach orbit on its first attempt. That could mean it explodes, like previous Starship prototypes (right).

Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images ; SPadre.com

Elon Musk says it's 'highly likely' man will go to Mars within 10 years because he's 'congenitally optimistic'

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Elon Musk looks at his phone with a display of a space capsule entering orbit behind him.
Elon Musk believes man will go to mars within 10 years.

Steve Nesius/Reuters

Watch Elon Musk's SpaceX test the most powerful rocket system ever built

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SpaceX fire up engines on Super Heavy booster, next to picture of Elon Musk.
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster on the launchpad at the Starbase facility. Elon Musk said 31 out of 33 engines fired.

SpaceX livestream/Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Elon Musk says SpaceX is planning to attempt a launch of its Starship spacecraft in March

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Elon Musk space axel springer award
Elon Musk says SpaceX's Starship plans to launch in March.

REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

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