SpaceX launch: New mammoth rocket lunched into space on third attempt

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched the most powerful rocket ever built into space on its third attempt.

The Starship rocket lifted off successfully from its base in south-east Texas at around 08:25 local time (13:25 GMT) and has gone “further than we’ve come before”, the SpaceX team said in its live stream.

It is hoped that the 120m-tall (393ft) Starship will usher in a revolution in space transportation, radically lower the cost of putting people and objects into orbit.

This was the rocket’s third test flight, following an attempt in April, which exploded, and in November, which was cut short.