Giant SpaceX rocket launches, explodes minutes later over Gulf of Mexico

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KVEO) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday but failed minutes after rising from the launch pad.Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites; both the booster and spacecraft on top were to be ditched into the sea.Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre