SpaceX’s Starship 12 test flight ended in dramatic fashion Friday night when the massive spacecraft erupted into a fiery explosion during splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Videos of the blazing descent captured the attention of space enthusiasts worldwide, with many calling it one of the most visually striking Starship test endings to date.
Despite the explosive finale, SpaceX still considered the mission a success due to the valuable flight and reentry data collected during the test.
The launch itself took place at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST after an earlier attempt on Thursday was scrubbed because of propellant temperature issues inside the rocket’s tanks.
Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built and is designed to eventually carry humans and cargo to the Moon.
