President-elect Trump watched the launch from Texas before sunset Tuesday.
President-elect Trump traveled to Texas Tuesday to watch the SpaceX launch.
“I’m heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to Space, but simply by lifting off the ground,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Good luck to Elon Musk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!”
SpaceX’s Starship rocket launched its sixth test flight to space just before sunset Tuesday.
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The SpaceX Starship splashed down in the Indian Ocean at approximately 6:05 pm.
“Successful ocean landing of Starship!” Musk wrote in a post on X. “We will do one more ocean landing of the ship. If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower.”
Although the booster rocket did not make the tower catch, the mission appeared to be successful.
The announcers on the SpaceX feed appeared pleased with the performance of the rocket and said scientists were pushing this rocket to the max in order to learn as much as possible about the heat shields, and which shields and configurations of shields might perform best, among other things.
The announcers added that there are no plans to recover the rocket.
“Honored to have President @realDonaldTrump at our Starship launch!” Musk wrote in a post on X.
“Truly a day I will never forget @SpaceX with @realDonaldTrump @elonmusk,” Donald Trump Jr. shared on X with an image of his father watching the launch.
After the ship’s launch, Trump and Musk left to visit the Starfactory courtyard for a visual tour of the factory bays, rockets and campus.
Prior to the launch, Trump and Musk greeted each other upon the president-elect’s arrival and were seen in the control room.
President-elect Trump joined Elon Musk Tuesday afternoon for the SpaceX Starship Flight 6 launch. (Credit: @margomartin/ X, POOL)
Cameras were briefly allowed inside the control room, where Trump talked to Musk and son Donald Trump Jr. about the launch.
The group watched a video that showed a simulation compared to a real rocket launch.
Trump also told Musk votes were still being counted in Pennsylvania, which Musk said “was absurd.
Musk, SpaceX CEO, eventually intends to use the Starship rocket system to send humans and cargo to Mars.
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President-elect Trump boards Texas-bound plane en route to SpaceX headquarters. (Credit: @margomartin / X)
Under its Artemis program, NASA also intends to use Starship to land humans on the moon this decade, according to Reuters.
Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002, became Trump’s top donor during the 2024 election. He endorsed Trump over the summer, when the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president survived the first of two assassination attempts.
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He then joined Trump on the campaign trail, most notably in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Musk appeared ringside with Trump, Kid Rock and others to watch a UFC event at Madison Square Garden over the weekend.
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Alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk will co-head the new Department of Government Efficiency to slash wasteful government spending during Trump’s second term.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
