space yacht photos

Here's What Your $5 Billion Space Yacht Could Look Like

Spencer's proposed space super yacht Destiny is designed to cruise in Earth's orbit, offering a striking view of our planet. In illustrations, the 300-foot-long ship cuts a remarkable profile—its bulbous body seems almost butterfly-like, with its four sails outstretched like wings in midflight. Like PayPal Galactic, Destiny is an idea for a market that doesn't exist yet. Still, this image of Destiny offers a glimpse into John Spencer's vision of spacefaring luxury, one he's been working toward for decades.

"We're getting into things that have probably never ever been thought of before from a real world perspective," he says. "All the things we take for granted we have to redesign."

For Destiny, this includes how the beds will be designed to prevent passengers from drifting away in their sleep, and how dining rooms will be laid out so food won't float away. Even the material Destiny will be made of has yet to be invented. While many of his designs seem to be far-fetched today, Spencer is hopeful that the space yacht will be real and in orbit within 15 years.

The ship's hull will be made of a dozen spheroid inflatable sections, which will be expanded and fused together in orbit. Destiny is meant to stay in space after being built and never reenter Earth's atmosphere, so the body sections must maintain their shape and integrity in the vacuum environment of space over the course of the yacht's life.

Spencer, a space architect and designer by trade, wrote in his book Space Tourism: Do You Want to Go? that spherical structures are ideal for space because their symmetry makes them stable and strong. Each section will have an interior webbed support that will limit how far it can expand.

"The sections of the yacht, some of them are just large volumes, some of them have multiple rooms, it depends on where you are," Spencer said. "Aft is for crew quarters and storage, front is for entertainment."

Power and Propulsion

Because Destiny will be an orbital yacht, it will not need the massive engines and large fuel reserves required to escape Earth's atmosphere. In fact, it won't have an engine at all. The ship will be outfitted with maneuvering modules with thrusters. The modules, which will be 2-feet deep, 2-feet wide, and 4-feet long, will be positioned strategically along the hull. Should the ship need to maneuver to avoid space debris or another ship, the modules can be operated wirelessly from the bridge. Spencer says that he is exploring the use of flywheels to power the thrusters.

In fact, Spencer envisions his space yacht as totally wireless. There will be no single power distribution system—long-life batteries will power all of the ship's 300 to 400 electrical devices. Each water and waste-management unit is self-contained with its own recycling, purification system, and reserve water supply. "[It] frees the designers to get pretty outrageous in terms of design because you're not dealing with strict plumbing and electrical," Spencer says.

As the batteries run out of juice, they will be brought to a charging station by a small army of service robots. The bots will also monitor the water and waste-management systems.

Destiny's four distinctive sails are more than ornamentation. They'll double as solar panels, absorbing the light and heat from the sun and using some of the power generated to charge the batteries onboard, while dissipating the excess. Spencer doesn't know what the material he'll need for Destiny's sails or hull will actually look like. Undeterred, he has dubbed the yet-to-be-discovered material Futuretanium. No word yet whether it will be an alloy of unobtanium.

Float Sphere

Passengers will be able to enjoy the benefits of zero gravity in the orb situated in the middle of Destiny's hull. The 60-foot-wide float sphere will offer 120-degree views outward and toward Earth. Spencer describes it as a "big friggin' open space where you can really experience zero gravity" and float around. "Living in zero gravity is the most unique experience you can have going to space," he says. "That's why the float sphere is such a prominent aspect of Destiny's design."

Creature Comforts

Destiny wouldn't deserve the classification of super space yacht if it didn't come with a few space-age amenities. Airflow will be monitored by mobile airflow compensators, or "bugs," that will silently follow passengers around to keep the air comfortable, dispensing hot or cold air as needed and responding to voice commands.

In Spencer's vision for the ship, Destiny's hospitality staff will offer massages, chefs will be brought on board to provide meals, and astronomy experts will explain to passengers what they are seeing as the gaze out the viewports.

There will even be a floating hot tub in the float sphere, though an orbital spa won't look quite like its earthbound counterparts. Spencer's plan for the "Hot Sphere" involves a layer of water surrounding a mechanical sphere, which heats the water and sprays bubbles. No solid outer layer is needed since water naturally forms a sphere in zero gravity. Gyroscopes will keep the mobile Jacuzzi in place.

And Finally, Price

All this innovation will be expensive. Anyone looking to buy a Destiny-class space yacht will have to cough up a cool $5 billion to $6 billion. It's enough to make the six-figure price tag people are paying to book a seat on the first suborbital tourism flights look like a bargain.

Why the name "Destiny," anyway? Spencer had two reasons: "It was literally my destiny to work on these things. Plus anyone who is going to spend five or six billion bucks on one of these things is going to have a bit of an ego and will want a cool name."

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Happy birthday: Space Yacht celebrates six years [Q&A]

Los Angeles-based event and music promotion company Space Yacht recently celebrated its six-year anniversary with its first-ever Tech My House label compilation and a 15-hour livestream event that foregrounded a slew of ascendant house artists. Space Yacht was founded in 2015 by Henry Lu and Rami Perlman, who have since forged Space Yacht’s quest of “showcasing the next generation of dance music” into more than 150 shows, including event showcases at festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival , Beyond Wonderland , Miami Music Week , SXSW , Coachella , and more. What started as a secret party occurring each Tuesday in Hollywood’s tiny Golden Box venue, Space Yacht has organically grown into a platform for the talents that Lu and Perlman believe in.

In commemoration of Space Yacht’s six-year anniversary came the label’s very first compilation, Tech My House Vol. 1 , which spanned 17 tracks from Mikey Barraeneche, Casmalia, Luke Andy, Qlank, Ocean Roulette, Ranger Trucco, SkiiTour, and many more. Space Yacht and Desert Hearts also collaborated on TECH MY HOUSE, a 15-hour livestream event that broadcast 18 DJ sets.

Dancing Astronaut  caught up with Lu and Perlman to gain insight on their Space Yacht journey, what they look for when signing tracks, and their future post-pandemic. Tech My House Vol. 1 and the interview can be found below.

How did you first become involved in dance music and how did this prompt your transition into curating your own events?

Perlman : “Dance music has always been a part of my life both as a fan and artist. I first started DJing back in college, in the early 2000’s, where I got heavily into house and drum ‘n’ bass. It wasn’t until years later that I got into events.

Henry and I met while working at a social media company, and we often worked late. I’d play him some demos of a new project I was producing, which eventually turned into LondonBridge, and we quickly realized that we were into similar styles of music. It was me wanting a place where I could perform, which then became the place for everyone to perform. The community vibe and opportunities within it became apparent quickly, and we nurtured it into where we are today. But all of this revolves first and foremost around our love for dance music and dance music culture.”

Lu : “In the beginning, I got involved as a student at UC San Diego volunteering at concerts and eventually became one of the coordinators for the big annual bash Sun God Festival (it was a huge school, so we planned our concert for 20,000 people every year). It was such a thrilling experience that I stuck around wanting to do more. Oddly enough, UC San Diego has some of the industry’s biggest power players as its alumni. 

Fast foward, I’m interning at Z-Trip’s management and Windish Agency (now Paradigm), all through connections I made at UCSD. Throughout all of these unpaid internships, I started multiple businesses of my own to sustain my lifestyle, and this is where I found my life calling—starting things from nothing and causing a ruckus.

Throwing events was just my manifestation of wanting to create something from nothing. It’s my way of thrill-seeking. It’s the most liberating feeling to work on my own terms at all times. In another life, Space Yacht totally could have been an app or tech platform. It feels strange to say this, but it’s not necessarily music or even events that I am primarily obsessed with. I’m obsessed with  creating . I just happen to love the music that I love, and when I met Rami, it was house music.”

Can you share some takeaways from your experience heading Space Yacht for the past six years?

Lu : “I’m absolutely blown away that an off-the-cuff idea we came up with became globally known and impactful across the industry. We never planned for this. We’ve learned an immense amount in the past six years, and the takeaway I’d like to share to the world is to just go for it. Obviously, come up with a plan and a fallback, but ultimately you will need to take action and follow through.”

Perlman : “My main takeaway is that consistency and quality are king. Just like a great restaurant, growing a brand is about providing the consumer with the best product possible, and being consistent with it—same goes for everything we do at Space Yacht.  Another takeaway is how strong and loyal our community is. The fact that we are still able to engage and even grow our brand in these crazy times is a testament to the love that people have for the brand and the culture. It’s truly humbling, and we don’t take it for granted.” 

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when going about throwing events throughout the years and how were you able to overcome them?

Perlman : “One of the main challenges was always about answering the question ‘how do we keep it fresh?’ When we started, there were only a few parties going on, but over the past three years there has been an explosion of dance music events, both large and small. Since so many of the DJs live in LA, it was always a challenge to make sure our lineups were unique and featured both new artists and fan favorites. It always kept us on our toes. To this day, we have a high bar for who we book and why. Like our label, it always starts with the music.”

Lu : “Being able to focus in a sea of distraction has been a growing pain both for myself and Space Yacht as a whole. We’re pulled different directions at all times, and the thing that has helped us find peace has always been to think back to why it is that we’re here. Knowing what you want and what your mission is the key!”

Moving forward, how do you plan to overcome the live event-related obstacles introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Lu : “I’m not sweating. The events will come back. Until then, we’re going to get good at all the things we’ve wanted to get good at. Instead of trying to expend our energy fighting the obstacle, we completely leaned into it.” 

Perlman : “To me, we are just scratching the surface of what Space Yacht could become. Before COVID, the entire identity of the brand revolved around events. Our curatorial voice was only represented in the lineups we put together. Now, we get to play in a bunch of different sandboxes, from signing records we love to creating clothing lines to livestreaming on Twitch to  producing NFT collections   All of these new disciplines are new ways for the brand of Space Yacht to be creatively expressed. A lot of our new business initiatives just started over the past 12 months. It’s exciting!”

At what moment or period of time did it become apparent that your brand was going to grow a lot more bigger than expected, and do you see another point in the future where that might happen again?

Lu : “At some point, folks started lining up around the block, and I had to turn town celebrity types at the door simply because I literally could not fit another person in the venue. My thought was ‘well, where do we go from here?'”

Perlman : “I think when we moved the party to Sound Nightclub in Hollywood is when it really started to explode. Sound is known as on of the best clubs in LA for underground dance music, and the team that runs the club is best in class (they run and book the Yuma tent at Coachella).

The combination of the club, our brand, and our fans was a perfect marriage. Word started to spread like wildfire after that. I think we are in our second or third phase of growth right now since we’ve had to move everything online. The funny thing is that we are streaming to way more people than could fit in the 600-capacity club, so in a sense, we are still growing even without live events.”

Will you aim to keep these events more intimate upon the return of in-person programming?

Lu : “Absolutely, yes. In fact, now that we don’t have the pressure of packing out clubs, our music programming lanes have opened up significantly. We now have time to listen to music that we wouldn’t have as DJ bookers and it’s already showing in our label signings. Our attitude towards music is that we are here as  scholars —there’s so much we don’t know, and it’s on us to see for ourselves. We simply share with the world all the things that excite us.”

Perlman : “Our brand is predicated on the idea of not sticking to one particular genre. House and bass genres are the most popular in our world, but we’ve been releasing drum ‘n’ bass records on the label and are planning a ton of niche compilations this year. I think we just follow the music that is interesting to us, and there are no rules when it comes to that. We can’t wait to get back to live events, but only when it’s safe to do so.”

What do you consistently look for when you’re listening to demos, looking for music to sign?

Perlman : “It’s always music first. It’s cool if someone has social media presence or things going on in their career, but we never prioritize that, even though we probably should. It’s always about the quality of the material.

One thing we do look for is a hook, whether it be a vocal or synthline. It has to be catchy and memorable. We think the TECH MY HOUSE  compilation set the bar really high, so we are becoming more and more particular about what we sign. There is so much good music out there!”

Lu : “The main signing criteria is that we light up and share the collective feeling that know exactly what to do with the piece of music to nurture it within our ecosystem. If we are struggling to find a vision for it, at least in terms of what we can do to help, it’s usually a no.”

What’s something you want new fans to keep in mind when they discover the artists who first got their start on your platform?

Perlman : “Remember to support these artists! It can be through a simple follow or sharing their track on social media, or donating when they play livestreams. Most of these people have day jobs and are trying to find their way. Any support you can give them is valuable.”

Lu : “Come curious! There’s just so much more we can do with a fan or attendee who’s genuinely open-minded.”

Now that you’re six years in, what are some of your goals for Space Yacht moving forward?

Perlman : “The growth of the label and apparel business are both really exciting. We’ve already signed the next six months of releases and are planning some massive compilations for the third and fourth quarters.

We are also super excited about the crypto-art NFT movement that we’ve been lucky to be a part of. Our first two collections  sold out in three minutes and people have been asking us to make more. A lot of people are just starting to find out about the space and huge artists like deadmau5 and 3LAU have already jumped into it. We see this as something that can intersect with the label as well as being its own thing. Our next crypto art drop is on Nifty Gateway on March 8, so look out for that!”

Lu : “We just started our Twitch and YouTube pages, and I can’t wait to hit our first few milestones. It’s going to help us reach a much more global audience once we get it together.”

Featured image: Martin Cabrera Lopez

Tags: henry lu , interview , label compilation , londonbridge , Q&A , Space Yacht , tech my house

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10 Small Superyachts That Offer Supersized Interiors

These sub-100-footers combine broad beams with unconventional interiors to create the space of superyachts that are sometimes twice as long., howard walker, howard walker's most recent stories.

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For many yacht owners, the solution to finding more space aboard for friends and family is summed up by that immortal line by Chief Brody in Jaws : “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Until now, bigger has typically meant longer. But that’s quickly changing as more and more builders are creating interior volume by going wider and taller. For disrupter builder Wally Yachts and its polarizing new Wallywhy 150—which refers to its internal volume rather than the boat’s length—the quirky design is said to deliver 50 percent more space than more traditional 78-footers.

Other builders like Princess have been in the game since 2021. Its X95 first appeared several years ago, effectively throwing down the gauntlet as a way forward for sub-100-foot yachts to supersize both interior and exterior volumes.

Since then, many other builders of small superyachts have jumped on board, with designs that typically have somewhat bloated profiles, far-forward main suites, and open transoms—features all designed to maximize space but minimize length.

Here are 10 new yachts 100 feet and under that are breaking the mold in an attempt to dominate the nautical space race.

wallywhy150

It’s no wonder that disrupter Italian builder Wally—now part of the Ferretti Group—calls its latest head-turner a “spaceship.” Claiming up to 50 percent more space than comparable 78-footers, the 150 (named after interior volume rather than length) has standout features like a main salon with over eight feet of headroom, and a beam of more than 22 feet. The pragmatic design includes a one-level main deck attached to an open rear cockpit that offers easy access to the water. Its most noteworthy feature is the rule-breaking, full-beam master suite tucked into the bow on the main deck. It has wraparound glass—stretching all the way around the bow—for panorama-like views from the main bedroom. Priced from about $6.7 million.

Lazzara UHV 87

Short for Ultra High Volume, this new Turkish-built pocket superyacht is a sistership to Lazzara’s UHV 100 and 125 models. The newest Lazzara boasts an impressive 2,153 square feet of interior space in its 87-foot length. Arguably, the boat is not pretty in a classic sense. The towering hull sides, blunt, plumb bow, and dark-tinted glass make it look more like a dinner cruiser than a mini-superyacht. But the interior space is astonishing, from the cavernous Sky Lounge, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, to the salon with a separate, chandelier-lit dining area and chef’s galley. With a fuel capacity of 3,000 gals, the twin 1,000 hp Volvo D13s deliver a top speed of 16 knots. The boat also has transatlantic range. Base price starts at about $10.9 million.

Sunseeker 100 Yacht

Movie nights under the stars should have a whole new appeal aboard UK builder Sunseeker’s brand-new 98-footer. Lie back on the yacht’s extra-wide foredeck sunpad and watch the latest blockbuster on a 140-inch screen with laser projection. Or, if you’re the lucky owner, stargaze from your private terrace tucked away in the bow, just steps from the full-beam main-deck master suite, with atrium-style glass sliding doors. One of the best innovations here is the wide, uninterrupted walkway around the entire top deck, which provides safe, easy access from the flybridge to the forward entertaining space. With its twin 2,600 hp V16 MTU diesels, top speed is an impressive 29 knots. Priced from about $10.5 million.

Azimut Grande 26M

For its brand-new Grande 26M compact superyacht, Italian builder Azimut has gone extra wide to create massive interior and exterior spaces. Spatial highlights include a full-width flybridge that’s almost 20 feet across and close to 40 feet long, and a foredeck entertaining area that seems more like an outdoor patio. The Alberto Mancini-styled go-fast cruiser is crammed with space-enhancing innovations, such as a teak-decked garage door that, at the touch of a button, hinges upwards to extend the rear cockpit by almost five feet. New ZF pod drives coupled to the yacht’s twin 1,650 hp MAN V12 diesels also save space. It is priced from about $6.2 million.

Princess X95

As we said during our 2021 tour of Britain’s Princess Yachts’ tri-deck X95 “When it comes to the polarizing, head-spinning design, there are no half-measures, no in-betweens. You either love it. Or loathe it.” But what those eye-popping lines hide is perhaps the most spacious 95-foot luxury cruiser in the category. Reckoned to be some 40 percent roomier than cruisers with the same length, the X95 has stretch-out accommodations for up to 10 in five cabins and living spaces that rival most apartments. The flybridge covers almost the entire length of the yacht. The 100 is also fast, with twin 1,990 hp MAN V12s delivering a top speed of 23 knots. Prices start at about $12 million.

Extra X96 Triplex

This broad-beamed 96-footer is from the Italian builder Extra Yachts, which is part of the Palumbo Superyachts Group. While it’s called the Triplex, there are actually four levels if you include the cozy upper sundeck with its outdoor kitchen, dining area, and oversized sunpads. The exterior comes courtesy of Italian designer Francesco Guida, while interiors are by Milan-based Hot Labs. Both teams have made the most of the yacht’s class-leading 25-foot beam. Notable features include a vast full-beam master on the main level and an upper salon dedicated entirely to dining, with a table for 10, an open chef’s galley, and an adjoining outdoor bar. Twin Volvo IPS1350s deliver a 16.5-knot top speed. Priced from $12 million.

Sunreef 100

This Sunreef power catamaran’s beam spans a staggering 44 feet, offering the kind of interior and exterior spaces you only get with superyachts twice the length. Every element of the yacht is XXL-size—from the massive hydraulic swim platform to the full-width flybridge that covers almost 1,000 square feet. Down in the salon is a huge 11-seat U-shaped bar that would delight any mixologist. The five staterooms in the twin hulls have space for 10. A pair of 1,300 hp MAN V8 diesels delivers a six-knot top speed. It is priced from about $15.3 million.

Absolute Navetta 75

In Italian, the word “navetta” translates to “little ship.” Which is a perfect description for Absolute’s new 75-foot fast cruiser. It’s an evolution of the strong-selling Navetta 73 but with nearly two feet of extra length. The yacht’s expansive interior volumes will remain the same, with features like a forward master stateroom on its own level that has a private entrance steps away from the main salon. The salon features floor-to-ceiling glass, with full views of the water, courtesy of open bulwarks. Twin 1,000 hp Volvo IPS1350 diesels deliver a top speed of 25 knots. Pricing starts at about $4 million.

Arcadia A96

Cross a spacious Miami high-rise penthouse with a Canyon Ranch spa and the result could be this new 96-foot superyacht from Italian builder Arcadia. Boasting a remarkable 4,300 square feet of total living space, there’s room for 12 guests and five crew. And the living spaces even expand, courtesy of fold-down terraces in the main salon and on the rear deck. But the yacht’s focus on wellness and healthy living sets it apart. That expansive, teak-decked foredeck, spanning over 500 square feet, is perfect for yoga sessions or meditation, while the cockpit and beach club offer another 1,000 square feet of social space. For extra peace and quiet at anchor, solar panels can provide up to nine hours of generator-free power.

Numarine 26XP Fast

Think of it as offering pace, with space. Turkish yard Numarine has been building its bold 85-foot 26XP explorer style mini-superyacht since 2018, but later this year, it will launch the U.S.-focused 26XP Fast. Instead of slow-churning 435 hp diesels and nine-knot cruising, it’s bolting-in a pair of mighty 1,800 hp MAN V12s and modifying the hull to deliver a top speed of 31 knots. What hasn’t changed is the XP’s cavernous interior and expensive deck space. Take the top-deck flybridge which, thanks to the yacht’s 21-foot beam and far-forward helm, spans over 700 square feet. That space will include a dining table for eight, a full outdoor kitchen, and more lounges than a Saint-Tropez beach bar. Prices start from $6.95 million.

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SpaceX Blazes Forward With Latest Starship Launch

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SpaceX Launches Starship for Third Time

The rocket, a version of which will eventually carry nasa astronauts to the moon, traveled almost halfway around the earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere..

“Five, four, three, two, three, one.” “This point, we’ve already passed through Max-Q, maximum dynamic pressure. And passing supersonic, so we’re now moving faster than the speed of sound. Getting those on-board views from the ship cameras. Boosters now making its way back, seeing six engines ignited on ship. Kate, we got a Starship on its way to space and a booster on the way back to the Gulf.” “Oh, man. I need a moment to pick my jaw up from the floor because these views are just stunning.”

By Kenneth Chang

• March 14, 2024

The third try turned out to be closer to the charm for Elon Musk and SpaceX, as his company’s mammoth Starship rocket launched on Thursday and traveled about halfway around the Earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere.

The test flight achieved several key milestones in the development of the vehicle, which could alter the future of space transportation and help NASA return astronauts to the moon.

This particular flight was not, by design, intended to make it all the way around the Earth. At 8:25 a.m. Central time, Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly — lifted off from the coast of South Texas. The ascent was smooth, with the upper Starship stage reaching orbital velocities. About 45 minutes after launch, it started re-entering the atmosphere, heading toward a belly-flop splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Live video, conveyed in near real-time via SpaceX’s Starlink satellites , showed red-hot gases heating the underside of the vehicle. Then, 49 minutes after launch, communications with Starship ended, and SpaceX later said the vehicle had not survived the re-entry, presumably disintegrating and falling into the ocean.

Even so, Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, congratulated SpaceX on what he called a “successful test flight” of the system his agency is counting on for some of its Artemis lunar missions.

SpaceX aims to make both the vehicle’s lower rocket booster and the upper spacecraft stage capable of flying over and over again — a stark contrast to the single-launch throwaway rockets that have been used for most of the space age.

That reusability gives SpaceX the potential to drive down the cost of lofting satellites and telescopes, as well as people and the things they need to live in space.

Completing most of the short jaunt was a reassuring validation that the rocket’s design appears to be sound. Not only is Starship crucial for NASA’s lunar plans, it is the key to Mr. Musk’s pipe dream of sending people to live on Mars.

For Mr. Musk, the success also harks back to his earlier reputation as a technological visionary who led breakthrough advances at Tesla and SpaceX, a contrast with his troubled purchase of Twitter and the polarizing social media quagmire that has followed since he transformed the platform and renamed it X. Even as SpaceX launched its next-generation rocket, the social media company was dueling with Don Lemon , a former CNN anchor who was sharing clips from a combative interview with Mr. Musk.

SpaceX still needs to pull off a series of formidable rocketry firsts before Starship is ready to head to the moon and beyond. Earlier this week, Mr. Musk said he hoped for at least six more Starship flights this year, during which some of those experiments may occur.

But if it achieves them all, the company could again revolutionize the space transportation business and leave competitors far behind.

Phil Larson, a White House space adviser during the Obama administration who also previously worked on communication efforts at SpaceX, said Starship’s size and reusability had “massive potential to change the game in transportation to orbit. And it could enable whole new classes of missions.”

NASA is counting on Starship to serve as the lunar lander for Artemis III, a mission that will take astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. That journey is currently scheduled for late 2026 but seems likely to slide to 2027 or later.

The third flight was a marked improvement from the first two launch attempts.

Last April, Starship made it off the launchpad, but a cascade of engine failures and fires in the booster led to the rocket’s destruction 24 miles above the Gulf of Mexico.

In November, the second Starship launch traveled much farther. All 33 engines in the Super Heavy booster worked properly during ascent, and after a successful separation, the upper Starship stage nearly made it to orbital velocities. However, both stages ended up exploding.

Nonetheless, Mr. Musk hailed both test flights as successes, as they provided data that helped engineers improve the design.

Thursday’s launch — which coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the founding of SpaceX — occurred 85 minutes into a 110-minute launch window. The 33 engines in the booster ignited at the launch site outside Brownsville, Texas, and lifted the rocket, which was as tall as a 40-story building, into the morning sky.

Most of the flight proceeded smoothly, and a number of test objectives were achieved during the flight, like opening and closing the spacecraft’s payload doors, which will be needed to deliver cargo in the future.

SpaceX did not attempt to recover the booster this time, but did have it perform engine burns that will be needed to return to the launch site. However, the final landing burn for the booster, conducted over the Gulf of Mexico, did not fully succeed — an area that SpaceX will attempt to fix for future flights.

SpaceX said the Super Heavy disintegrated at an altitude of about 1,500 feet.

SpaceX engineers will also have to figure out why Starship did not survive re-entry and make fixes to the design of the vehicle.

Even with the partial success of Thursday’s flight, Starship is far from ready to go to Mars, or even the moon. Because of Mr. Musk’s ambitions for Mars, Starship is much larger and much more complicated than what NASA needs for its Artemis moon landings. For Artemis III, two astronauts are to spend about a week in the South Pole region of the moon.

“He had the low price,” Daniel Dumbacher, the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a former high-level official at NASA, said of Mr. Musk, “and NASA chose to take the risk associated with that configuration hoping that it would work out. And we’ll see if that turns out to be true.”

To leave Earth’s orbit, Starship must have its propellant tanks refilled with liquid methane and liquid oxygen. That will require a complex choreography of additional Starship launches to take the propellants to orbit.

“This is a complicated, complicated problem, and there’s a lot that has to get sorted out, and a lot that has to work right,” Mr. Dumbacher said.

Thursday’s flight included an early test of that technology, moving liquid oxygen from one tank to another within Starship.

Mr. Dumbacher does not expect Starship to be ready by September 2026, the launch date NASA currently has for Artemis III, although he would not predict how much of a delay there might be. “I’m not going to give you a guess because there is way too much work, way too many problems to solve,” he said.

Kenneth Chang , a science reporter at The Times, covers NASA and the solar system, and research closer to Earth. More about Kenneth Chang

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Look! SpaceX’s Epic Starship Orbit In Photos

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when the picture includes giant rockets.

SpaceX launched the world’s most powerful rocket — and the largest flying object humans have ever built — on Thursday morning.

The launch was the third flight test, and the first successful orbital flight, for Starship and its monstrous Super Heavy rocket booster.

Starship and its Falcon Heavy booster blast off into the Texas sky.

Starship suffered “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” which is the polite way to say it exploded, on its first two flights. No pressure for this one.

Starship waits on the launch pad just before its third integrated flight test with Super Heavy on March 14.

Both Starship and the Super Heavy booster run on liquid oxygen and methane propellant, and it takes about 10 million pounds of propellant just to get Starship into space.

Wait for it...

Super Heavy packs 33 Raptor engines, while Starship has just 6: half for flying in the atmosphere and half to provide thrust in space.

Smoke billows around the launchpad as dozens of Raptor engines ignite.

Starship blasted off at about 9:25 ET. The goals for this first test flight were to reach orbit, complete a 90-minute lap around Earth, test the payload door and an onboard fueling technique, and then return to Earth in one piece.

Please don’t explode; please don’t explode; please don’t explode.

Super Heavy shoves itself away from the ground with about 16.7 million pounds of thrust, almost twice as much as NASA’s Space Launch System (which blasted off with so much force that it damaged its launch pad in 2023).

The incredibly photogenic Raptor engines firing at full power.

Once they’re in space, Starship and Super Heavy have to part ways. This “hot staging” separation process, named because three of Super Heavy’s engines keep firing during separation, went wrong and destroyed both the booster and the spacecraft back in November 2023. Thursday’s hot staging went off without a hitch.

From a camera aboard Starship, the Super Heavy booster falls toward Earth in the background.

Starship successfully fired its thrusters to nudge itself into orbit and performed both scheduled tests.

Starship successfully reached orbit for the first time on March 14.

The black thermal tiles along the underside of Starship are designed to protect the spacecraft from the heat of re-entry into the atmosphere. They can dissipate heat up to about 2600 degrees Fahrenheit, assuming they’re all intact.

Starship begins its fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, aiming for a water landing in the Indian Ocean.

The friction of a spacecraft passing through the atmosphere generates a tremendous amount of heat. It’s important to keep the spacecraft — and eventually, the crew and payload that will be inside — insulated from that heat.

Everything seems fine in this photo, but shortly afterward, SpaceX lost contact with Starship. Most likely, it broke apart during re-entry.

Starship didn’t survive its return to Earth, but SpaceX says its engineers gathered large amounts of data during re-entry, which will help them make improvements. SpaceX estimates that Starship needs about 100 more test flights before it’s ready to carry humans.

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The superyacht world is speculating that Mark Zuckerberg just bought this 118-meter boat

• The 118-meter superyacht Launchpad made her maiden voyage last week.
• The yacht world is speculating that her owner is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
• Here's what we know about the luxury vessel.

In the world of superyachts , privacy is the most valuable asset. It can be next to impossible to discern the details of a superyacht transaction — and that's particularly true if the vessel in question is worth nine figures.

Yet some in the boat blogging world are speculating that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the new owner of Launchpad, a megayacht currently moored in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after she made her maiden voyage from Gibraltar to St Maarten last week. Launchpad clocks in at 118 meters long, about nine meters shorter than Jeff Bezos' superyacht Koru .

The transaction could not be confirmed, with yacht world insiders declining to share what they know and representatives for Zuckerberg not responding to a request for comment from Business Insider. In the past, reports about Zuckerberg owning superyacht Ulysses have proven false.

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"It is Feadship's standard policy to never divulge any information about our yachts with reference to ownership, costs, or delivery, etc," Feadship, the ship's builder, wrote to BI. "Whether it is an 18-meter Feadship from the 1960s or a 118-meter Feadship from the 21st century, we do not share private information."

But Zuckerberg's name has been connected to Launchpad for a few months now, beginning in December when reports swirled that he visited Feadship's shipyard in the Netherlands.

Then, earlier in March, yachting bloggers like eSysman SuperYachts and Autoevolution started speculating that he officially snagged the boat, originally built for a sanctioned Russian businessman, at a $300 million price tag. (While that's a seemingly huge amount, it's still less than 0.2% of Zuckerberg's $177 billion net worth.)

Another clue that might point to US ownership is that the yacht bears the flag of the Marshall Islands, a US territory and commonplace for American buyers to register their ships, according to public marine tracking.

If Zuckerberg were to have bought Launchpad, he would join a cohort of superyacht-owning tech billionaires . Along with Bezos, the likes of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have purchased impressive boats with even more impressive amenities.

SuperYacht Times , an industry publication and intelligence platform, has some of the best images of the yacht. Photos show a swimming pool on her main deck and a large helipad.

While less is known of the interior, a vessel of her size can likely sleep dozens of guests and crew and may have amenities like an expansive gym where Zuckerberg could practice his jiu-jitsu or a spa with a massage area. We suspect there's also space for plenty of toys — which could include his viral hydrofoil foil .

Do you have any details about Launchpad or any other superyachts? Email reporter Madeline Berg at [email protected].

Watch: Walmart heiress' superyacht vandalized by activists in Ibiza

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