Raumfahrt: Riesen-Rakete Starship schafft es erstmals in Erdumlaufbahn

Elon Musk's private space company SpaceX successfully launched its massive Starship rocket from a launch site in Texas, marking the first time the rocket had reached Earth's orbit. The largest rocket ever built, the Starship, blasted off, then steered the upper stage into a 275-kilometer orbit above Earth before landing in the Pacific Ocean three hours later.

The lower stage had already landed in the sea near the launch site. Originally, the mission was planned to last ten hours, during which the rocket would adjust its orbit and orbit the Earth six times. However, after successfully entering orbit, SpaceX announced the Starship would return to Earth, much earlier than planned. Musk gave a "successful" test, while NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX, praising the company for a safe, responsible, and inspiring flight.

SpaceX also successfully deployed Starlink satellites, which were to unfold their antennas, deploy solar panels, and establish communication links with Earth and other Starlink satellites. The Starship system is larger than the Statue of Liberty and consists of two parts, the Super Heavy booster and the upper Starship stage, each designed for reuse after returning to Earth.

NASA plans to send astronauts to the Moon using the Starship, while SpaceX aims to reach Mars in the future. The Starship system made its first test flight in April 2023, which completely exploded after a few minutes. Subsequent tests had the upper stage reach space and land safely in the Indian Ocean, but previous tests had fallen significantly short of expectations.