Starship's first integrated flight test ends in an explosion
The largest rocket ever built lifted off from Texas, but the vehicle was lost about four minutes into flight.
Archive entry. This article looks back at an event from April 20, 2023. It was drafted with AI assistance from public records and is being fact-checked. See our About page.
On April 20, 2023, SpaceX launched the first fully integrated Starship, with its Super Heavy booster, from Starbase in Texas.
The vehicle cleared the pad but lost several engines, tumbled, and was destroyed by its flight termination system roughly four minutes after liftoff. The launch also damaged the pad.
SpaceX described the flight as a test and said it learned a great deal. Further flight tests followed, each with changes to the vehicle and the pad.
