Trump and Musk Watch SpaceX Starship Launch, Booster Fails to Land

US President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk at SpaceX launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas. (photo: @elonmusk)

JAKARTA – SpaceX successfully launched the giant Starship rocket into space on Tuesday, November 19 local time. However, the attempt to return the Super Heavy booster to the ground ended in failure. This event was even witnessed directly by US President-elect Donald Trump at the SpaceX launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

The rocket, which is around 122 meters high, is designed for missions to the Moon and Mars. The launch was carried out at 16.00 p.m. local time (22.00 p.m. GMT), where the first stage of the rocket, Super Heavy, released the second stage, Starship, at an altitude of around 62 km.

However, the Super Heavy booster, which was supposed to land back on the ground using a mechanical arm, instead fell into the Gulf of Mexico. A live broadcast from a space blogger showed a large explosion after the booster hit the water, indicating a technical problem.

"We tried a faster and harder landing this time," wrote SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on social media before the launch.

Meanwhile, the second stage of Starship successfully completed the mission by flying around the Earth and landing in the Indian Ocean about 90 minutes later. Starship also successfully restarted one of its engines in space, a major accomplishment that had previously failed to be achieved.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the success as a major step towards orbital flight.

Trump and Musk's Alliance Grows Closer

Trump's presence at the launch shows an increasingly close relationship with Musk, who is one of the main supporters of Trump's presidential campaign. Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, is expected to gain great influence in the Trump administration to support his company's ambitions.

Trump has even appointed Musk as the leader of a government efficiency project aimed at reducing spending and regulations that are considered inefficient.

In this launch, SpaceX also took advantage of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) fast-track licensing process, which increasingly supports the growth of the space industry in the US.

SpaceX is optimistic about the development of Starship under the new administration, especially in supporting NASA's Artemis program which aims to send humans to Mars. According to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, the company is targeting hundreds of Starship launches in the next four years.

“We’ve already surpassed 400 Falcon launches, and I believe we can reach 400 Starship launches in the next four years,” Shotwell said.