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Tesla funder Elon Musk's SpaceX company's mammoth new rocket, Starship, has exploded on its maiden flight, reports BBC.
No-one was hurt in the uncrewed test that lifted off from Texas' east coast on Thursday morning local time.
After two to three minutes into the flight, the rocket - the biggest ever developed - started to tumble out of control and was soon destroyed by onboard charges.
Musk has said his company will try again in a couple of months.
SpaceX engineers still class Thursday's mission as a success. They like to "test early and often" and are not afraid to break things. They will have gathered a mass of data to work towards the next flight. A second Starship is almost ready to take flight.
"Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months," Musk tweeted.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses rocket launches in the US, said it would oversee a mishap investigation. A spokesman said this was standard practice when a vehicle was lost in flight.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
