Rhiannon Adam: The Rocket I Was Meant to Board Breaks Apart

Rhiannon Adam was one of eight civilians selected for the dearMoon Project, a Yusaku Maezawa-funded SpaceX Starship flight around the Moon. On 20 April 2023, she shot this frame from the VIP viewing area at South Padre Island as the Integrated Flight Test 1 broke apart four minutes after liftoff. The image shows the dust cloud produced when the Raptor engines obliterated the concrete launchpad and tower. Adam describes the project consuming her professional life for two years before the cancellation, with clients stopping commissions and every conversation reduced to the impending flight.