Video: SpaceX Starship launch fails as spacecraft spirals out of control
SpaceX Starship launch fails as spacecraft spirals out of control
NewsFeed Video: SpaceX Starship launch fails as spacecraft spirals out of control
SpaceX's giant Starship rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean after controllers lost contact with the spacecraft. Elon Musk hopes Starship will one day ferry passengers to Mars.
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Al Jazeera
10 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
In face-off with Trump, Tesla shares plunge and Musk threatens NASA
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and self-proclaimed 'first buddy' of United States President Donald Trump, has stepped up criticism of the president's massive tax legislation in recent days, leading to a blow-up which saw Tesla stock plunge and Musk saying he would decommission Dragon aircraft immediately. NASA relies on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station under a contract worth roughly $4.9bn. The capsule is the only US spacecraft capable of flying humans in orbit. Musk's statement marks a dramatic escalation in an intensifying fight with Trump that burst into public view this week, when Musk opposed the Trump administration's linchpin spending bill. Taking Dragon out of service would disrupt the International Space Station (ISS) programme, which involves dozens of countries under an international agreement signed more than two decades ago. Russia's Soyuz system is the only other crewed spacecraft that sends astronauts to the ISS. Musk's comment came in response to a post by Trump on his social media site, Truth Social: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.' The first impact of the public break up between the two powerful men was on Tesla shares, which dropped nearly 15 percent, wiping off around $150bn from its market value on Thursday on a day otherwise devoid of news for the electric vehicle (EV) maker, leading traders to speculate that Musk's increasingly pointed rhetoric suggests strain in the relationship that has benefitted his sprawling empire of businesses. Trump said on Thursday that Musk was upset because the bill took the EV mandate away. 'Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more,' the president said. 'He said the most beautiful things about me. And he hasn't said bad about me personally. That'll be next. But I'm very disappointed.' Trump's comments extended a decline in Tesla shares. The world's richest man, a key figure in the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cost-cutting initiative for several months, has blasted the bill, not long after he said he would spend less time in the White House and more time with his companies. On his social media platform X, Musk has called on Congress members to kill the legislation, calling it a 'disgusting abomination'. 'It more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the DOGE team at great personal cost and risk,' Musk, the largest Republican donor in the 2024 election cycle, said on X on Tuesday. Musk's leadership of DOGE and his alignment with the Trump administration have put off some Tesla buyers. Sales of his EVs have slumped in Europe, China and key US markets like California, even as overall electric vehicle purchases continue to grow. In the past few weeks, Musk had slowly started to separate himself from the White House, stung in part by the wave of protests against Tesla. 'Elon's politics continue to harm the stock. First, he aligned himself with Trump, which upset many potential Democratic buyers. Now, he has turned on the Trump administration,' said Tesla shareholder Dennis Dick, chief strategist at Stock Trader Network. Musk's other businesses, SpaceX and Starlink, dominate their respective markets, but have also come under scrutiny due to Musk's relationship with Trump. Tesla shares are down nearly 22 percent since May 27, roughly coinciding with his decision to pull back from Washington's activities. The stock has been on a rollercoaster ever since Musk's endorsement of Trump in mid-July 2024 in his re-election bid, gaining 169 percent from that point through mid-December. That was followed by a 54 percent sell-off through early April as a 'Tesla Takedown' protest movement intensified. The House of Representatives version of the budget bill proposes largely ending the popular $7,500 electric vehicle subsidy by the end of 2025. Tesla and other carmakers have relied on incentives for years to drum up demand, but Trump promised during the transition to end the subsidy. Tesla could face a $1.2bn hit to its full-year profit, along with an additional $2bn setback to regulatory credit sales due to separate Senate legislation targeting California's EV sales mandates, according to JP Morgan analysts. 'The budget bill contains bad stuff for Tesla with the end of the EV credits, and just generally his falling out with Trump has risks for Tesla and Elon's other companies,' said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. Musk's public attacks have upset potential Republican Tesla buyers as well, Dennis Dick added. One White House official on Wednesday called the Tesla CEO's moves 'infuriating'. The billionaire joined Senate Republican deficit hawks this week in arguing that the House bill does not go far enough in reducing spending.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Kohli ‘absolutely gutted' as 11 die in Bengaluru cricket stadium stampede
Virat Kohli said he was lost for words after celebrations of a dream IPL title turned to tragedy, when 11 mainly young cricket fans were crushed to death in Bengaluru. Hundreds of thousands had packed the streets on Wednesday to welcome home their hero Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after they had beaten Punjab Kings a day earlier in a thrilling Indian Premier League final. But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it 'absolutely heartrending'. Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the 11 dead were young people, and 47 others were injured in the crush after a stampede near the city's M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, where the players were parading the trophy for fans. Kohli, who top-scored in the final, said earlier it had been 'as much for the fans' after the 36-year-old finally celebrated winning the IPL at his 18th attempt. Later, Kohli wrote on social media: 'At a loss for words. 'Absolutely gutted,' he added, alongside a statement from the RCB team saying they were 'deeply anguished' at what had unfolded. One of the people injured described to the AFP news agency how a 'huge crowd' had crushed her. 'They stamped on me,' said the woman, who did not give her name, from a wheelchair. 'I was not able to breathe. I fell unconscious.' Most of the dead were young fans who had gone out just to catch a glimpse of their sporting heroes. Street food vendor Manoj Kumar mourned the death of his 18-year-old son, killed in the stampede, who he said he had stopped from working on his stall so he could study. 'I wanted him to go to college,' Kumar told The Indian Express newspaper. 'I brought him up with a lot of care. Now, he is gone.' A grieving mother outside a city mortuary said her 22-year-old engineering student son had also died in the crush. 'He was crazy about RCB,' she was quoted as saying by the Indian Express on Thursday. 'He died in an RCB shirt. They danced when RCB won and now he is gone. Can RCB give him back to us?' Authorities had already called off RCB's proposed open-top bus victory parade through the streets after anticipating vast crowds. But organisers pressed ahead with the welcome ceremony and celebrations inside the stadium. RCB's social media account posted a video of cheering crowds lining the streets as the players waved back from their team bus on their way to the stadium. The team said they cut short the celebrations 'immediately upon being made aware of the situation'. Siddaramaiah said the stadium had a capacity of 'only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came'. Earlier, Bengaluru had erupted in midnight celebrations after their team RCB, who scored 190-9, restricted Punjab to 184-7 and won the world cricket's most lucrative tournament on Tuesday night. India's IPL mega-tournament final was watched by 91,000 fans packed into the stadium in Ahmedabad – and many millions more on television. Bengaluru fans celebrated wildly after their hero Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat. Deadly crowd incidents are a frequent occurrence at Indian mass events such as religious festivals due to poor crowd management and safety lapses. A stampede at India's Kumbh Mela religious fair in January this year killed 30 people and injured several others. In July last year, 121 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu religious gathering.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Kohli ‘absolutely gutted' after 11 dead in Bengaluru stadium stampede
Virat Kohli said he was lost for words after celebrations of a dream IPL title turned to tragedy, when 11 mainly young cricket fans were crushed to death in Bengaluru. Hundreds of thousands had packed the streets on Wednesday to welcome home their hero Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after they had beaten Punjab Kings a day earlier in a thrilling Indian Premier League final. But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it 'absolutely heartrending'. Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the 11 dead were young people, and 47 others were injured in the crush after a stampede near the city's M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, where the players were parading the trophy for fans. Kohli, who top-scored in the final, said earlier it had been 'as much for the fans' after the 36-year-old finally celebrated winning the IPL at his 18th attempt. Later, Kohli wrote on social media: 'At a loss for words. 'Absolutely gutted,' he added, alongside a statement from the RCB team saying they were 'deeply anguished' at what had unfolded. One of the people injured described to the AFP news agency how a 'huge crowd' had crushed her. 'They stamped on me,' said the woman, who did not give her name, from a wheelchair. 'I was not able to breathe. I fell unconscious.' Most of the dead were young fans who had gone out just to catch a glimpse of their sporting heroes. Street food vendor Manoj Kumar mourned the death of his 18-year-old son, killed in the stampede, who he said he had stopped from working on his stall so he could study. 'I wanted him to go to college,' Kumar told The Indian Express newspaper. 'I brought him up with a lot of care. Now, he is gone.' A grieving mother outside a city mortuary said her 22-year-old engineering student son had also died in the crush. 'He was crazy about RCB,' she was quoted as saying by the Indian Express on Thursday. 'He died in an RCB shirt. They danced when RCB won and now he is gone. Can RCB give him back to us?' Authorities had already called off RCB's proposed open-top bus victory parade through the streets after anticipating vast crowds. But organisers pressed ahead with the welcome ceremony and celebrations inside the stadium. RCB's social media account posted a video of cheering crowds lining the streets as the players waved back from their team bus on their way to the stadium. The team said they cut short the celebrations 'immediately upon being made aware of the situation'. Siddaramaiah said the stadium had a capacity of 'only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came'. Earlier, Bengaluru had erupted in midnight celebrations after their team RCB, who scored 190-9, restricted Punjab to 184-7 and won the world cricket's most lucrative tournament on Tuesday night. India's IPL mega-tournament final was watched by 91,000 fans packed into the stadium in Ahmedabad – and many millions more on television. Bengaluru fans celebrated wildly after their hero Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat. Deadly crowd incidents are a frequent occurrence at Indian mass events such as religious festivals due to poor crowd management and safety lapses. A stampede at India's Kumbh Mela religious fair in January this year killed 30 people and injured several others. In July last year, 121 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu religious gathering.
