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SpaceX Starship Rocket Explodes in Second-Straight Setback

  • Starship vehicle key to Musk’s goal of going to Mars
  • FAA briefly halted aircraft takeoffs at some Florida airports
WATCH: Elon Musk’s SpaceX lost contact with its Starship rocket during a test flight on Thursday.Source: Bloomberg
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SpaceX’s mammoth Starship spun wildly out of control and broke apart during its eighth test flight, another setback for Elon Musk’s company less than two months after its last mission ended with an explosion.

A few minutes after blasting off on Thursday from south Texas, the rocket’s two portions split apart as planned. The Super Heavy booster then returned to Earth, where it was caught midair by the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms.