Trump Views Test of Starship, the SpaceX Vehicle Musk is Building For Mars
Donald Trump and Elon Musk watched SpaceX launch its powerful new rocket from Texas, a sign of the president-elect's interest in a vehicle at the heart of Musk's ambitions for space exploration.SpaceX launched another Starship around 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the sixth time it has tested the vehicle in flight.One mission objective was attempting to catch the booster, called Super Heavy, as it did during a test mission last month. Shortly after liftoff, the company decided against the attempt and the booster instead landed in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a SpaceX livestream.Trump and Musk grew close during the president-elect's successful campaign, with the president-elect touting SpaceX rockets during rallies and speeches. Trump has said he wants Musk to launch a mission to Mars during his second term, and Musk recently said SpaceX plans to mount uncrewed flights to the red planet in 2026.NASA, meanwhile, has committed to spend more than $4 billion to have SpaceX use Starship landers t