Musk's Starship finally blasts off after string of explosive failures

The SpaceX giant Starship rocket has blasted off from Texas on its tenth flight, returning to Earth without the failures that have dogged Elon Musk's programme.

- Guardian staff

The 123-metre (403ft) stainless steel rocket lifted off from the company's Starbase in southern Texas on Tuesday evening. The mission was meant to test the ship's new heat shield tiles, its satellite deployment abilities, and hundreds of other upgrades from past iterations.

The rocket's upper half separated as planned from its Super Heavy booster, which was targeted to land in the Gulf of Mexico.

Starship itself continued to orbit the Earth, passing from daylight in Texas through night and back into daytime again. Shortly after reaching space, it deployed mock Starlink satellites for the first time.