Rocket Men!
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, 54, and President-elect Donald Trump, 78, stood side by side as the world’s largest rocket roared to life.
Powered by 33 “Raptor” engines, it launched from the Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.
This marked the sixth test flight of Musk’s “Mars rocket,” the towering 121-meter-high creation combining the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft. The highlight of this groundbreaking mission was meant to be the recovery of the booster stage by catching it with the launch tower’s arms—a feat accomplished for the first time the previous month.
However, the flight director altered plans, opting for a controlled water landing instead, citing the risk of a fiery collision in front of the incoming president as too great.
Trump arrived at the launch site 90 minutes before liftoff, sporting a red MAGA cap. Musk animatedly explained key aspects of the test flight. Trump’s presence in the front row was telling, reflecting his growing camaraderie with the tech billionaire, whose fortune is estimated at $303 billion. During his campaign, Trump frequently praised Musk’s pioneering achievements, particularly his advancements in rocket recovery. This visit, however, fell short of delivering on some of those expectations.
The pairing of the world’s most powerful and wealthiest men at the launch of the mightiest rocket made headlines. For Musk’s SpaceX, the partnership with Trump promises significant benefits. Under outgoing President Joe Biden, environmental reviews and regulatory hurdles had slowed progress on the Starship program, with the FAA permitting only five test flights annually. Trump, in contrast, has signaled permanent green lights, with SpaceX planning 25 launches in 2025—two per month. Trump has already envisioned Americans landing on Mars, recently telling Musk, “Get your spaceship ready, Elon.”
Starship represents the future of SpaceX, which has already revolutionized space travel with reusable rockets and ferrying astronauts into orbit. The 50-meter-long spacecraft aims to carry up to 100 tons of cargo into Earth’s orbit and serve as the lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis program. Ultimately, Starship is central to Musk’s boldest ambition: Mars colonization, with the ability to transport up to 100 astronauts to the Red Planet per trip.
Space enthusiasts are optimistic about a new golden age of space exploration fueled by the Musk-Trump alliance. Stocks of other space companies, such as Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, and Spire Global, surged by 20% following Trump’s election victory.
