SpaceX launches Starship rocket, fails to recover booster

US company SpaceX has successfully launched the latest flight of its Starship spacecraft into orbit but did not recover the booster rocket as planned.

The company, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk , is hoping to develop a fully reusable rocket system. It had planned to recover both the booster and the upper stage, which is the spacecraft itself.

Instead of landing back at the launch site, the booster exploded above the Gulf of Mexico. The upper stage is currently in orbit and the plan is to recover it on Saturday when it returns to Earth.

It is to be caught by mechanical arms upon landing back at the launch pad, marking the first time the spacecraft would be caught after returning to Earth. It could then potentially be reused in the future.

In addition to testing the reusable rocket system, the mission also delivered 26 of SpaceX’s satellites for its Starlink network .

SpaceX's Starship is the world's largest and most powerful rocket system. At 124 meters (407 feet) tall, it consists of a spacecraft mounted on a booster rocket. Both stages were designed from the outset to be fully reusable.

At the launch, both the spacecraft and booster successfully lifted off from the SpaceX South Texas Starbase site. While the Friday launch was an uncrewed mission, Starship is designed to carry both crew and cargo.

On its return path, the booster diverted from its flight path to the launch site and steered to a designated area over the Gulf of Mexico where it exploded over the sea surface. The reasons for the failure of the controlled landing were not immediately clear.