Posted: Nov 19, 2024 6:26 PM EST | Last Updated: November 20 Elon Musk speaks with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and guests at a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship, in Brownsville, Texas, Tuesday. (Brandon Bell/Pool via Reuters) Social Sharing Elon Musk's SpaceX launched its sixth Starship test flight to space on Tuesday from Texas, eyeing an array of improvements on the rocket as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump watched in person. The roughly 122-metre-tall rocket system, designed to land astronauts on the moon and ferry crews to Mars, lifted off at 4 p.m. CT from SpaceX's sprawling rocket development site in Boca Chica, Texas. The first stage, called Super Heavy, unexpectedly made a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico instead of attempting to return to its launchpad, indicating something went wrong. WATCH | Elon Musk, Donald Trump watch spaceship launch: Elon Musk, Donald Trump watch SpaceX Starship rocket launch 6 days ago Trump started boasting about Musk's accomplishments at campaign rallies, such as when Starship's reusable rocket booster returned to the launch tower and was caught by mechanical arms. Musk was with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort on election night and has spent much of the two weeks since there. Trump's granddaughter Kai Trump posted a photo of her with Musk at one of Trump's golf resorts, writing that Musk was "achieving uncle status." Last week, Musk appeared in a golden ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, seated in the centre of the room as a guest of honour at an event. Trump, in his remarks at the black-tie event, said Musk's IQ is "about as high as they can get" and praised him as "a really good guy." He joked about Musk's constant presence at Mar-a-Lago, saying, "He likes this place. I can't get him out of here." He added, "And you know what, I like having him here." Tesla CEO and X owner Musk reacts next to Trump during an October campaign rally in Butler, Pa., the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) Musk was so heralded by Trump's crowd that he was invited to speak on stage at the event after Trump, in which he spoke of the president-elect's victory like he was his running mate. "The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear," Musk said of the election results. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's regulation of commercial rocket launches has been a source of frustration for Musk, who has complained that the agency impedes his company's progress in getting to Mars. But the FAA's licence approval of Tuesday's Starship launch — a little over a month after the rocket's previous flight — was its quickest regulatory turnaround yet for SpaceX, as the agency develops new launch-approval processes meant to keep pace with the U.S. space industry's growth. SpaceX is eyeing swift advances in Starship development during a second Trump administration. The administration's space agenda is expected to give NASA's Artemis program, which is due to return astronauts to the lunar surface, a greater focus on the more ambitious goal of landing people on Mars. With files from The Associated Press