Breaking: Elon Musk: SpaceX Starship launches but blows up after take-off

SpaceX’s Starship – the most powerful space rocket ever built – has blown up shortly after successfully launching in Texas.

There were tense scenes as lift-off was halted with two seconds to go, before it was given the final go-ahead minutes later

It took off, but when the booster tried to separate, systems failed and it appears the flight’s termination system was triggered, causing it to explode

Despite the explosion, SpaceX still sees the launch as a success

The company’s founder, Elon Musk, welcomed an “exciting test launch” and said there would be another in a few months

SpaceX hopes the rocket could eventually usher in an era of interplanetary travel

It was the second attempted launch this week, after the first was called off on Monday due to a frozen valve