This is the fourth attempt for the American company
The company’s Starship rocket SpaceX, the world’s largest and most powerful, launched today from Texas for a fourth test flight with the goal of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere without disintegrating, as it did in previous attempts.
The launch took place at 7:50 a.m. local time from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, in the southern tip of the State of Texas.
THE missile this one, which reaches 120 meters, consists of two parts, the Super Heavy propulsion system and, above, the Starship spacecraft. It is intended to be used to carry NASA astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, which is why the US space agency is closely monitoring its progress.
Minutes after launch, the Super Heavy detached from the craft and began its controlled return to Earth. For the first time, according to the company, it managed to land in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship spacecraft continues its flight. If all goes well, it will return smoothly and end up in the Indian Ocean, the EPA stressed.
On the previous test flight, three months ago, the craft broke through the limits of the Earth’s atmosphere but its signal was lost 49 minutes after launch, when it began its return to Earth. SpaceX explained that it lost control of its orientation due to some stuck valves, but expressed satisfaction that it was able to collect a lot of data during the short flight. Since then, many “improvements” have been made to the boat.
The first test flight took place in April 2023.
Successfully completed
The Starship spacecraft, intended for missions to the Moon and Mars, managed to land in the Indian Ocean for the first time, SpaceX announced after completing its test flight, which lasted about an hour.
“The docking is confirmed,” billionaire Elon Musk’s company wrote on Platform X. During the live broadcast of the flight, however, it appeared that the spacecraft was losing some parts before completing its course.
“Congratulations and a huge thank you to the amazing teams at SpaceX,” said Gwen Shotwell, the company’s number 2.
“Congratulations to SpaceX on the successful test flight of Starship,” NASA chief Bill Nelson also said. “We have taken another step towards returning humanity to the Moon,” he added.
This was Starship’s fourth test flight, the goal of which was to return the spacecraft safely to Earth after the previous three failed.