SpaceX's Starship entered space for the first time after a launch from a Texas pad on Saturday, but no data was recovered after it reportedly blew up.
The Starship rocket system, consisting of a booster and the Starship craft, blasted off from Boca Chica, Texas, on its second test flight.
It reached further than the first attempt in April, with the booster separating successfully, but it also exploded moments after.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk was in mission control to monitor the launch.
The company said the goal was to send the spacecraft to a suborbital trajectory, but it is not clear yet what altitude it managed to reach.
Saturday's test was meant to show Starship's ability to reach orbit before SpaceX begins commercial operations.
What happened with the first attempt?
The first orbital launch attempt failed because of a technical issue.
Engineers had to deliberately blow up the rocket mid flight when the second stage failed to separate from the booster.
Chunks of Starship tumbled back to Earth after engineers ordered a “rapid unplanned disassembly” – a process that automatically disintegrates the rocket.
It reached a peak altitude of 39km over the Gulf of Mexico when the mishap took place.
Mr Musk had said at the time that the flight still gave them “plenty of data” to try again.
'Starship’s first flight test provided numerous lessons learnt that directly contributed to several upgrades to both the vehicle and ground infrastructure to improve the probability of success on future flights," SpaceX said.
"The second flight test will debut a hot-stage separation system and a new electronic thrust vector control (TVC) system for Super Heavy Raptor engines, in addition to reinforcements to the pad foundation and a water-cooled steel flame deflector, among many other enhancements."
SpaceX said that technologies are already used in its Falcon rocket, Dragon capsule and Starlink satellites.
Elon Musk hopes to make life multiplanetary
SpaceX claims that Starship is the most powerful launch vehicle yet developed.
It is able to produce 3,991 tonnes of thrust, which is 15 per cent more than Nasa’s Apollo Moon rocket Saturn V.
The company has been contracted by Nasa to develop the Starship Human Landing System, which will one day help astronauts land on the Moon under the US space agency’s Artemis programme.
But Mr Musk's long-term goal is to eventually send astronauts to Mars using his Starship fleets, helping to “make life multiplanetary”.
He has already sold seats on the rocket, including to Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who hopes to fly on the first crewed flight to the Moon while taking eight artists with him as part of his dearMoon programme.
American billionaire Jared Isaacman is also working with SpaceX through his Polaris programme, a series of privately led space missions.
Mr Isaacman will be commander on the Polaris III mission, the first crewed orbital flight on the Starship rocket.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Brief scores:
Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37
South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62
Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
