Giant SpaceX rocket leaves crater, serious damage at Texas base

FLYING chunks of concrete, twisted metal sheets, craters blasted deep into the ground: the thunderous power of SpaceX’s first test flight of Starship – the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built – inflicted serious damage on its Texas launch site.

Repairing the damage from Thursday’s unmanned test flight is expected to take months, potentially delaying further launch attempts and slowing the development of a rocket Nasa plans to use on its upcoming Moon missions.