It’s No Surprise SpaceX Blows Up Rockets in Texas. That’s Why It Came Here.
3 May 2023
News
Near the southern tip of South Padre Island, a little more than five miles from the launchpad, the cheers from the SpaceX employees started as soon as the tip of the rocket cleared the plume of dust. The Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy booster were making their first flight together last month.
The launchpad’s concrete, on Boca Chica Beach, shattered during the lift-off, damaging the engines and causing the rocket to take off with a drunken, lateral slide. Its hellish exhaust scorched tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of photographers’ remote cameras before the booster built enough strength to stagger into the sky.