SpaceX Starship's debut launch attempt seen from space (satellite photo)
An American weather satellite witnessed the semi-successful debut launch of SpaceX's Starship megarocket from space.
prativad 
An American weather satellite witnessed the semi-successful debut launch of SpaceX's Starship megarocket from space.
The GOES-16 satellite operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observed today's (April 20) Starship launch attempt from its perch in geostationary orbit about 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth. Satellites at this altitude circle our planet at a velocity that matches the speed of the planet's rotation, which means that GOES-16 was able to enjoy the spectacle without haste as it has a constant view of the U.S. East Coast.
The satellite was able to clearly distinguish the enormous cloud of smoke that enshrouded the launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas, as the 33 engines of Starship's Super Heavy first stage ignited. The view from space then shows the smoke dispersing above the Atlantic Ocean.
After successful liftoff, Super Heavy continued to fire for about three minutes. But as the first stage was set to separate from the Starship upper stage, something went wrong and the entire stack began to tumble instead, eventually exploding in a series of fireworks. In the GOES-16 timelapse, a small white spot can be seen separating from the cloud shortly after liftoff and descend toward the blue ocean surface.
"Even though the @SpaceX starship didn't make orbit, it still provided one heck of a fireworks show," British Earth-observation scientist Simon Proud, who shared the images on Twitter, said in a tweet(opens in new tab).
The weather forecasting craft also captured an infrared view of the landmark test launch, revealing the temperature signature of the rocket's engines as they fired up.
