Elon Musk's 'Starhopper' prototype blasts off for its most ambitious test yet

Elon Musk's Starhopper has taken another major step toward reality. The prototype ship blasted off from the Boca Chica, Texas test site on Tuesday evening just after 5 p.m. local time (6 p.m. ET) for its 150-meter untethered flight test. While it was at first enshrouded in smoke and flames, the water tower-shaped vehicle emerged moments later to be seen rising high above the ground without any obstructions to the view. The successful test comes after SpaceX was forced to abandon its attempt on Monday to allow for a last-minute inspection of the craft's igniters. Musk tweeted his congratulations to the SpaceX team not long after Tuesday's achievement wrapped up.