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SpaceX made headlines around the world on Thursday when its $3 billion Starship rocket exploded mid-air during its maiden flight. After the two stages failed to separate, the company claims it intentionally triggered the flight termination system, causing the rocket to explode.
Hours after the dramatic event, DailyMail.com has created a graphic that shows the incredible journey of the spacecraft from blast-off to blaze in just four minutes.
The mission began at 9:33 am ET, when the massive 395-foot stack, comprised of the Super Heavy booster and Starship, launched from South Texas. The craft ignited its 33 powerful Raptor engines and shot off toward space with 16.5 million pounds of thrust.
However, two minutes after the launch, the countdown clock hit 40 seconds and the flight director called a hold to make last-minute checks. The world waited for what seemed like an eternity for the team to determine the mission's fate. But within a few seconds, the clock was running, and at zero, Super Heavy's Raptor engines ignited, releasing 16.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and sending the craft on its way.
The mission took off with promise as Starship traveled 1,242 miles per hour through the sky, climbing higher and higher with each second. However, the sense of hope turned sour when the countdown clock hit 40 seconds and the flight director called a hold to make last-minute checks.
The main engine cut off at two minutes and 51 seconds as planned, but the cone of the upper stage flipped back toward Earth - and the rocket went into a tailspin at three minutes and 31 seconds.
At three minutes and 59 seconds, a fireball shot out from the Super Heavy and the stack was obliterated in mid-air. SpaceX claims it pulled the trigger that exploded Starship mid-air when separation of the two stages failed.
Elon Musk had prepped the world for an explosion ahead of Thursday's mission, stating there was a 50 percent chance the spacecraft could explode during the test flight. The mission was supposed to see the craft blast 150 miles high into the atmosphere before cruising for an hour and crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
Despite failing to complete the full flight test, SpaceX declared it a success. 'We cleared the tower, which was our only hope,' said Kate Tice, a SpaceX quality systems engineer, during the live-streamed event.
'With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today's test will help us improve Starship´s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary,' SpaceX tweeted.
DailyMail.com's graphic shows how Elon Musk's Starship went from blast-off to blaze in four minutes, giving a detailed look at the historic mission and its dramatic ending.