SpaceX launches Starship rocket, fails to recover booster
SpaceX had planned to catch and reuse both stages of its biggest rocket for the first time. But the booster exploded over the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft continued into orbit.
Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully launched its Starship spacecraft into orbit on Friday, but failed to recover the booster rocket as planned. The company aims to develop a fully reusable rocket system. The Starship consists of a spacecraft mounted on a booster rocket, both designed to be reusable. The launch occurred from the SpaceX South Texas Starbase site.
While the mission was uncrewed, Starship is designed to carry both crew and cargo. The booster rocket exploded above the Gulf of Mexico instead of landing back at the launch site. The upper stage, housing the 26 satellites, continued into orbit and is scheduled to return to Earth on Saturday, where it will be caught by mechanical arms upon landing at the launch pad, marking the first time the spacecraft would return to Earth.
SpaceX is working towards a goal to conduct Starship launches once a week by early 2027, having received billions of dollars in NASA funding and investing at least $15 billion from the company. The mission delivered the 26 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink network.
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