Elon Musk’s SpaceX launches sixth Starship test flight with Donald Trump as ‘special guest’

Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its sixth test flight of the Starship rocket system. The 400-foot-tall (121-metre) rocket blasted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas. The rocket lifted off successfully shortly after 5 PM (23:00 GMT). But SpaceX decided to forgo its planned attempt to catch the rocket’s first-stage booster using the innovative “chopstick” technique because of unfavourable conditions as deemed by the test team. Instead, the booster was allowed to fall into the ocean.