Third test flight of SpaceX’s mega rocket ends with loss of spacecraft

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

SpaceX’s mega rocket blasted off on another test flight from Texas but the spacecraft was lost at the end of the hourlong trip. The company said it lost contact with the spacecraft as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. After launching Thursday, the booster separated seamlessly from the spaceship and splashed down into the Gulf of Mexico and the spacecraft continued eastward. Thursday’s launch outperformed the previous two test flights, which lasted just minutes before blowing up. No people or satellites were on board the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket.