It may seem like Silicon Valley speak for failure, but the launch went way better than it could have. Here’s why. Starship launched today. The most powerful rocket ever made cleared the tower, flying with twice the thrust of the Saturn V rocket that took humankind to the moon. Then, when it was supposed to separate from its booster stage, the entire rocket spun uncontrollably for a few seconds before exploding into a fireball the size of Elon Musk’s ego.