Enlarge this image SpaceX's massive new spacecraft, Starship, exploded four minutes into its inaugural test flight on Thursday near Boca Chica, Texas. Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption SpaceX seems to understand the risks associated with such a monumental test launch. "They design based on failure," says Brendan Byrne, a reporter covering space for NPR member station WMFE. "They push their hardware to the limit, to the point of blowing things up. And they learn what they can." SpaceX is pinning part of its financial future on this new and fully-reusable orbital system. The company currently uses its Falcon-9 rocket to launch its Starlink Internet satellites into orbit, a few dozen at a time. Starship could one day be able to send several hundred per launch. But Musk tempered expectations ahead of the launch by saying the super heavy booster was part of an older design and the next booster in development already has a better chance of flight. "But this is surely a setback in those ambitions," Byrne said.