Nicki MinajPhoto: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Some Starships Were Not Meant to Fly

by · VULTURE

Is it bossed up to attend the launch of a spaceship that never takes off? Nicki Minaj took time out of her busy schedule of yelling on X and praising the Trumps to attend the launch of a SpaceX rocket that never took off. Elon Musk’s SpaceX attempted to launch its Starship megarocket into space yesterday from its location in Starbase, Texas, and Minaj was in attendance, wearing a “Starship” shirt, which sounds a lot like her song “Starships.” She even went on the SpaceX livestream, where a host asked what the Barbz will think of her attendance. Minaj theorized that “they’re gonna be excited and they’re probably gonna wanna come themselves next time.” She then opined, “This is historic. This is a major moment, y’all.” Finally, she added, unprompted, “Shout-out to Elon. Elon, thank you for everything you’re doing for humanity.”

The company ultimately had to reschedule the launch for today because the “hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract,” per Musk’s social media. The stakes are high for SpaceX, as the company is about to launch on the stock market, aiming for the highest initial public offering that Wall Street has ever seen, per the BBC. All that for a rocket that can’t launch?

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