SpaceX has achieved a significant milestone with a successful test flight of its next-generation Starship rocket, marking a departure from previous setbacks.
The launch of the world’s largest and most powerful rocket occurred from its Texas facility shortly after 18:30 local time (00:30 BST), commencing a high-stakes, hour-long flight.
During the flight, certain engine components appeared to undergo explosions, and side flaps of the rocket experienced burning and erratic movement.
NASA intends to utilize Starship for its Artemis program, aiming to transport humans to the Moon by 2027.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is investing billions in Starship’s development, with each launch estimated to cost $100 million, expressed his approval on X, stating, “Great work by the SpaceX team!!”
This success follows three prior Starship launches this year that resulted in significant failures, including a rocket explosion on the launch pad in June.
Starship is the most substantial and potent rocket constructed to date, comprising a Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft.
The signs were auspicious from the outset of Tuesday’s test flight. All 33 engines of the booster ignited successfully, and after approximately seven minutes, the booster detached from the spacecraft and descended into the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship continued its ascent, reaching an altitude of nearly 200 km above Earth, before proceeding to orbit the planet.
SpaceX stated its intention to subject the rocket to rigorous testing to evaluate its operational limits, and certain sections of the rocket’s flaps visibly burned and fluctuated considerably during the descent phase.
The company envisions Starship as a future fully reusable transport system capable of facilitating human missions to both the Moon and Mars.
“This was a great day for SpaceX, executing its full mission for the first time and deploying some test dummy satellites along the route,” noted Dr. Simeon Barber, a planetary scientist at the Open University.
He further added that SpaceX will have compiled a comprehensive dataset encompassing all phases of the mission, from launch through orbital cruise and landing, representing a substantial advancement for the company.
The initial iteration of the rocket successfully completed five launches, but subsequent attempts to launch the upgraded version culminated in significant explosions.
In March, one such explosion led to the grounding of flights and resulted in debris scattered over the Bahamas, with fragments landing in the Turks and Caicos Islands within the Caribbean.
However, SpaceX successfully executed the “chopstick” maneuver, employing mechanical arms to capture the returning rocket booster.
Earlier, in June, a Starship rocket exploded on the launch pad in Texas during preparations for a test flight.
The stakes are also elevated for NASA, which has contracted with SpaceX to adapt Starship for human lunar missions as part of the Artemis program in 2027, although most analysts consider this timeline optimistic.
“This is also a big step forward for Nasa’s Artemis program, but there’s still a lot of development work to happen to get this spacecraft ready and to be rated to carry humans safely to the Moon,” Dr. Barber says.
Mr. Musk aims for Starship to achieve certification for human travel as early as next year, with plans for uncrewed missions to Mars commencing within the next 12 months.
SpaceX’s guiding principle involves embracing rapid iteration and learning from failures. Rather than adopting a conservative strategy, the company has prioritized swift progress, viewing rocket explosions as opportunities to gather performance data.
However, following three consecutive failures this year, concerns arose regarding SpaceX’s future and whether Mr. Musk’s attention had been diverted by involvement in U.S. politics.
The world’s wealthiest individual emerged as a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign, and the two maintained close ties until a rift occurred in June.
Starship’s return to Earth on Tuesday, while visibly weathered, signified a pivotal advance for the company, underscoring its capability to safely and reliably transport humans to the Moon.
According to Dr. Ken Kremer, a research scientist and founder of the website Space UpClose, Tuesday’s accomplishment “gets the program back on track – getting to the Moon is another question.”
He suggests that the U.S. achieving a lunar landing by 2027 is “extremely unlikely. I don’t want to say it’s impossible but it’s extremely unlikely.”
The U.S. is engaged in a race with China to reestablish human presence on the Moon, and some experts suggest that even with Starship’s progress, China is likely to achieve this milestone first.
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