SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted after the uncrewed rocket Starship launched and then exploded midair a few minutes later.
He congratulated the company and said the team "learned a lot" in preparation for its next test launch, which he said will happen in a few months.
Some context: SpaceX will need a new launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration to make another attempt, but they do not expect the process to be as laborious as securing the license for this launch.
12:53 p.m. ET, April 20, 2023
SpaceX after test flight explosion: "Success comes from what we learn"
SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, took off from a launch pad on the coast of South Texas on Thursday morning.
The uncrewed rocket exploded midair shortly after liftoff — but SpaceX is still celebrating the test.
"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 said in a tweet.
Remember: It’s common for first-time launches to be delayed as engineers hash out issues that might not have become apparent during prior testing.
NASA’s SLS rocket, for example, underwent four tries to complete a wet dress rehearsal and two launch attempts before the vehicle finally took off in November 2022.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX in a tweet on Thursday, adding that "every great achievement throughout history has demanded some level of calculated risk."
12:51 p.m. ET, April 20, 2023
Uncrewed Starship explodes on first launch attempt
After liftoff, SpaceX's Starship exploded in midair on first launch attempt. The most powerful rocket ever constructed is uncrewed.
"Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unplanned disassembly," an official said on the broadcast.
Some context: SpaceX is known to embrace fiery mishaps during the rocket development process. The company maintains that such accidents are the quickest and most efficient way of gathering data, an approach that sets the company apart from its close partner NASA, which prefers slow, methodical testing over dramatic flareups.
9:54 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
Liftoff! Starship takes flight
The countdown clock struck zero and the Super Heavy booster ignited its 33 engines and roared to life, sending a deafening boom across the launch site.
A brief countdown hold immediately beforehand was for final launch checkouts that included a couple of minor issues, which were quickly resolved.
9:32 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
Clock is paused at 40 seconds
The flight director has called a hold, and the clock has been paused at T-40 seconds, according to SpaceX.
9:24 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
Rocket is nearly filled as propellant loading continues, SpaceX says
The rocket is 85% filled as propellant loading continues, according to SpaceX's livestream.
The engine chill is underway, SpaceX says, and no boats are in the restricted area.
Winds are "looking good" for launch and the company is not troubleshooting any issues, it said a few minutes ago.
9:19 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
How the local community has reacted to SpaceX's presence
From CNN's Jackie Wattles
SpaceX hasn't received a warm welcome from everybody in the Brownsville area.
Those with homes close to the launch site saw their once remote beach community overrun by SpaceX employees and rocket construction. The company has now purchased the vast majority of the homes in the area once called Boca Chica Village.
Overall, however, Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño told CNN that he views SpaceX as a massive boon to the area.
CEO Elon Musk pledged to donate around $10 million to an effort to revitalize downtown Brownsville. Treviño said he couldn't confirm if the full amount had been donated, but he said Musk money has already gone to some key projects, including replacing street lamps. Musk also invested about $20 million in local schools.
SpaceX has also drawn tourism to the area, Treviño said, as evidenced by the massive turnout of spectators Thursday.
"This is the type of generational change that can impact the community for a long, long time," Treviño added. "And for a community such as ours, that's been economically distressed — unfortunately, one of the poorest areas in the country — the investment, the commitment to the community has been a very positive economic development."
9:00 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
Elon Musk and 4/20, a history
From CNN's Jackie Wattles
From smoking weed on a podcast to entering a battle with federal regulators over a weed joke, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has long had a penchant for embracing the numerical reference to marijuana.
Last week, he even strongly hinted that SpaceX's first launch attempt on Monday might be delayed so that the company could target a 4/20 liftoff.
Rumors also swirled on Tuesday about whether SpaceX could hit that target. At one point, the Federal Aviation Administration took down an air traffic warning for Thursday, sparking speculation that the favored launch date was off the table. It was ultimately reinstated.
Musk fueled that fire with his own tweet:
8:52 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
How you can watch this launch
From CNN's Jackie Wattles
SpaceX has a livestream of the Starship launch here.
Folks on the ground near SpaceX's facilities in South Texas can certainly catch an in-person glimpse. Locals are known to line the surrounding beaches in South Padre Island to watch tests, and this launch is sure to draw spectators.
SpaceX has repeatedly warned those in the area, however, to stay away from the "Keepout Zone" — the areas directly surrounding the launch site that have been deemed too close to the rocket to be safe during launch.
The "Keepout Zone" includes the coastline south of South Padre Island and stretches a few miles inland.
SpaceX also issued this warning:
"Those in Cameron County and nearby areas may hear a loud noise resulting from the rocket's 33 Raptor engines firing up upon ignition and as the vehicle launches toward space, but what individuals experience will depend on weather and other conditions."
For those around the world hoping to catch views of the rocket in flight — that may not be possible.
Dr. Marco Langbroek, a lecturer at the Department of Astrodynamics and Space Missions of Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, mapped out the rocket's trajectory and predicts it will fly through too much daylight or the shadow in Earth's atmosphere to be visible from the ground.
But, folks in Hawaii should be able to see the Starship spacecraft as it plunges back into Earth's atmosphere after the flight. The reentry process is known to cause spacecraft to light up as the intense speeds and pressure on the vehicle create a fiery blaze.