The American SpaceX company has stacked the biggest rocket ever constructed.
The vehicle’s two segments – an upper-stage called Starship and a booster called Super Heavy – were connected together at the firm’s Starbase R&D facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
Standing roughly 120m (400ft) in height, the SpaceX rocket dwarfs any previous launch system.
When it eventually lifts off, it will produce about twice the thrust of the vehicles that sent men to the Moon.
The main engines on Apollo’s famous Saturn V rockets delivered some 35 meganewtons (nearly 8 million pounds of force) off the pad. The new SpaceX Super Heavy booster should achieve around 70 meganewtons.
A massive crane was needed to join the two segments together. They were held in position for an hour before then being separated again.
