New York, 18 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Starship, the largest rocket system ever built, failed its second flight test after the rockets exploded on Saturday shortly after take-off, according to the live stream commentators from tech billionaire Elon Musk's aerospace company.

SpaceX called it "an exciting second integrated flight test," congratulating the team on X, formerly known as Twitter.

NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated "the teams who made progress on today’s flight test."

"Spaceflight is a bold adventure demanding a can-do spirit and daring innovation. Today’s test is an opportunity to learn—then fly again. Together NASA and SpaceX will return humanity to the Moon, Mars & beyond," he wrote on X.

This is the second failed flight test after a Starship in April had already exploded shortly after take-off. But the current test achieved a few more milestones: a few minutes after take-off, the two rocket stages separated.

The lower rocket stage exploded shortly afterwards and did not land in the Gulf of Mexico as planned, while the upper rocket stage continued to fly for a while. But then it was rumoured that it had also exploded.

Normally it should have continued to rise into the air and then land in the Pacific after about an hour and a half.

Photo: X