SpaceX launches Starship test flight on second try

Key points

• SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on Friday after a first try was scrubbed due to technical issues a day earlier.
• A 90-minute launch window opened at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the flight took off at that time from SpaceX's facility in Starbase, Texas.
• The test flight of Starship V3, with all its revised systems, is a key event for SpaceX ahead of a public market debut after the company publicly disclosed its IPO prospectus earlier this week.
• Elon Musk's aerospace and defense company is expected to raise around $75 billion in an IPO next month, after being valued at $1.25 billion in February, when it merged with xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence startup.
• NASA administrator Jared Isaacman flew to Starbase before the launch, and appeared in a flight suit with SpaceX employees on a livestream video to tout the achievements.