Photographer Captures SpaceX Rocket Explosion That Ended Her Moon Trip Dream
Listen to the story
Rhiannon Adam is a photographer. She was chosen to fly around the Moon. She would travel on a SpaceX starship. This is a big space rocket. Adam spent a long time getting ready for the trip.
On 20 April 2023, she watched a test flight of the rocket. She stood in a special VIP area. This means a place for important guests. The area was on South Padre Island in Texas. She looked across to Boca Chica. This is a nature area near the launch site.
Four minutes into the flight, the rocket broke apart. It did not finish its test. Adam took a photo at that moment. The photo shows the end of her Moon trip plans.
Adam says this was the end of her adventure. Her dream to fly around the Moon stopped. She still has the photograph. It shows an important moment in space history.
Vocabulary15 words
- starship
- a very big rocket made for space travel
- VIP
- a very important person; special guest
- nature
- land with plants and animals; not a city
- launch
- when a rocket goes up into space
- test flight
- a flight to see if something works well
- aboard
- on a vehicle, like a plane or rocket
- adventure
- an exciting trip or experience
- photographer
- a person who takes photos as a job
- chosen
- picked to do something special
- rocket
- a vehicle that flies into space
- explode
- to break apart suddenly with force
- preparation
- getting ready for something
- moment
- a short time; one point in time
- dream
- something you really want to happen
- space
- the area outside Earth's air
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Fly around the Moon 2. It broke apart 3. A VIP area on South Padre Island
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Rhiannon Adam is a _____. She was chosen to fly around the _____.
She would travel on a SpaceX _____. Adam spent a long time getting ready for the trip.
On 20 April 2023, she watched a _____ of the rocket.
She stood in a special _____ area. This means a place for important guests.
The area was on South Padre Island in Texas. She looked across to Boca Chica, a _____ area.
Four minutes into the flight, the rocket _____ apart.
Adam took a photo at that _____.
Adam says this was the end of her _____.
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