SpaceX comes close to completing test flight of mega rocket but loses spacecraft near end

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

SpaceX’s mega rocket has flown higher and farther than ever before. The nearly 400-foot Starship blasted off from Texas on Thursday on the third test flight. But the spacecraft was lost near the end of its hourlong trip. The company said it lost contact with the spacecraft as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The first-stage booster also broke apart, while descending over the Gulf of Mexico after liftoff. Thursday morning’s launch outperformed the previous two test flights, which lasted just minutes before blowing up last year. No people or satellites were on board the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket.