SpaceX's attempt to recover its entire Starship back at the launch pad was thwarted when the booster malfunctioned and ended up in the water Friday, but the spacecraft still soared into orbit in its boldest test yet.

SpaceX planned to use the same return-flight and “chopstick”-arm technology to recover Starship’s lower-stage booster rocket, but the maneuver was aborted shortly after launch.

“It’s hard to overstate the significance” of the Starship launch scheduled to take place on Friday, analyst says

The original goal was to retrieve every single piece of the rocket for the purpose of future recycling, something yet to be achieved anywhere in the world.