Photography
SpaceX’s Starship lifted off the pad in Southern Texas and cleared the launchpad, its first milestone, but then began tumbling as it was preparing for stage separation and the vehicle came apart some four minutes into flight.
Joe Skipper/Reuters
April 20
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft lifts off from Starbase.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 20
People at Isla Blanca Park cheer as SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft launches.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 20
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket lift off.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 20
This still image taken from video shows SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk watching the Starship lifts off.
AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images
April 20
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft lifts off.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 20
A still image taken from video shows the SpaceX Starship exploding after launch.
AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images
April 20
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft explodes.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 20
Ross Inman, center, his wife, Janel, their four children Levi, Judah, Gabriel and Beatrix and grandmother Sharla McMichael, far left, watch the Starship spacecraft explodes.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 20
Debris falls after the Starship explodes.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
On Monday, SpaceX called off its first attempt from Boca Chica, Tex., to launch Starship, the largest rocket ever built and one that NASA intends to use to land its astronauts on the moon.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
April 18
Workers prepare SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket in an attempt to schedule another launch from Boca Chica, Tex., after the first was scrubbed on Monday.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 18
Space enthusiasts walk the dunes as workers prepare the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket for launch on Thursday.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
Spectators line the jetty as they wait for the Starship spacecraft launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
People line the beaches at Isla Blanca Park to view the launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
People awaiting the launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
A view of SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
The sun rises as people sit on a beach waiting for the launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket on the Starbase launchpad.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
Spectators line a beach at Isla Blanca Park.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
Waves crash on a beach as people anticipate the launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
A dolphin leaps out of the water in front of a boat used to watch the rocket's launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
Spectators gather at Isla Blanca Park for the Starship launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
People stand on a beach to watch the launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
Elon Musk’s company had planned to fly the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. Standing at nearly 400 feet tall, the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft would have more power than NASA’s Space Launch System, which also had to wave off its first launch attempt because of technical challenges.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
Spectators make their way off the jetty after the launch from Starbase was scrubbed.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
A young spectator stands on a concrete barrier adorned with the words “We are explorers” following the scrubbed launch.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 17
The test flight was called off with just over eight minutes left in the countdown because of a stuck valve needed to pressurize the first-stage booster. Launch controllers couldn’t fix the frozen valve in time, but for practice they took the clocks down to the 40-second mark before halting the countdown. The company plans to use Starship to send people and cargo to the moon and, ultimately, Mars.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 16
Enthusiasts pose in front of the Starbase sign at the SpaceX complex in Boca Chica.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 16
A vehicle adorned with “Occupy Mars” sticker is parked near the Starship rocket.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 16
Cullen Welch, of Atlanta, get his picture taken by a friend near a beach as they check out the launchpad.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
April 16
On the eve of the launch attempt, cars, campers, RVs and even bicycles and horses jammed the only road leading to the launchpad, where the stainless steel rocket towered above the flat scrubland and prairie.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Space X fans watch as workers prepare the SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post
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Credits
Photo editing and production by Stephen Cook