SpaceX’s Successful Super Heavy Booster Test with an Unfortunate Outcome

During a live fire test of SpaceX's starship, 31 of 33 engines were ignited at once.

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A plume of birds was seen falling near the Super Heavy booster's fiery trenches.

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SpaceX's Starbase campus in Boca Chica, Texas is located next to a wildlife refuge.

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The site has been the subject of Federal Aviation Administration scrutiny.

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The FAA told SpaceX in an environmental impact assessment to make significant changes to its Starbase expansion plans to comply with legal regulations.

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SpaceX is still waiting for FAA approval before starship can launch in full.

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NASA is counting on starship to ferry astronauts to the moon and Elon Musk wants to use the mammoth Starships to send crowds to Mars.

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The first-stage Super Heavy booster was used for Thursday's test and the futuristic second stage is being prepped for flight.

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Starship towers 394 feet, making it the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built and capable of generating 17 million pounds of liftoff thrust.

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