While Jeff Bezos has spent $14 billion to achieve his first space launch, his billionaire rival has built a thriving business, mostly with other people’s money.
The latest test of Space X's giant Starship rocket has failed, minutes after launch. Officials at Elon Musk's company said the upper stage was lost after problems developed after lift-off from Texas on Thursday. But the Super Heavy booster managed to return to its launchpad as planned, prompting an eruption of applause from ground control teams.
The world’s biggest rocket just got a bit bigger, and its upcoming launch is meant to support its next-generation Starlink satellites.
Despite the failure, Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"
The Starship system is designed to be fully reusable and aims to become a new method of flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The rocket is also critical to NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX won a multibillion-dollar contract from the agency to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA's Artemis moon program..
Blue Origin scored a major win with its New Glenn rocket launch, but SpaceX still leads the space industry with a Falcon fleet and upcoming Starship.
After Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital flight, Elon Musk's SpaceX is seizing back the spotlight on Thursday with the latest launch of Starship, the gargantuan next-generation rocket that could one day ferry humans to Mars.
Hours after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation megarocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic.
Despite the spectacular failure, Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"
The US has grounded SpaceX's giant Starship rocket while an investigation is carried out into why it exploded during its latest test flight. The rocket's upper stage dramatically broke up and disintegrated over the Caribbean after launching from Texas on Thursday,
Blue Origin's New Glenn finally roared into orbit in the early hours of Thursday, with SpaceX's Starship rocket set to launch hours later.