SpaceX’s Starship rocket completed its first full test flight on Thursday, returning safely to Earth after lifting off from Texas and flying up to 400 feet in the air.
The Starship rocket SpaceX It completed its first full test flight on Thursday, returning to Earth unexploded after taking off from Texas. This was the fourth time that the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, which rises almost 211 kilometers high.
The three previous demonstration flights ended in explosions. On this occasion, both the rocket and the spacecraft managed to land in a controlled manner, making the hour-long flight the longest and most successful so far.
“Despite the loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made a soft landing in the ocean!” said SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk.
The Starship rocket was empty as it rose above the Gulf of Mexico and headed east on a flight toward the Indian Ocean. Minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster separated from the spacecraft and landed in the Gulf of Mexico as planned. The spacecraft reached an altitude of almost 211 kilometerstraveling to more than 26,000 km/hbefore beginning its descent.
Successful flight but not without mishaps
Although some parts of the spacecraft broke off during the intense heat of reentry, it remained intact enough to transmit data back to its landing site. planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean. This milestone is crucial in the company’s plan to eventually reuse the rocket, something in which NASA and Musk trust to take humanity to the Moon and then to Mars.
SpaceX has been working to avoid explosions on flights of previous tests. In March, they came close to doing so, but lost contact with the spacecraft when it exited space and exploded before reaching its target. The booster also broke in mid-flight, at a height of 402 meters above the Gulf of Mexico.
The two test flights last year also ended in explosions shortly after taking off from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. SpaceX has improved the software and made changes to the rocket’s return flight to increase the chances of success. The Federal Aviation Administration approved this fourth demonstration flight, ensuring that all safety requirements were met.
Starship is designed to be completely reusable, so SpaceX seeks to control the entry of the propellant into the Gulf of Mexico and the descent of the spacecraft into the Indian Ocean, as practice for future landings. Nothing was recovered on this flight, but the success marks an important step toward the company’s ambitious space exploration goals.
