SpaceX Starship megarocket blasts off before expected return for reuse
Flight 15 expected to orbit Earth about 14 times over 22 hours, before company catches it at Starbase, Texas SpaceX’s Starship megarocket blasted off from Texas on Friday afternoon as the aerospace company sought to make history with a double catch of its reusable rocket. Starship, the world’s largest rocket, standing at 407ft, is expected to orbit Earth about 14 times over the course of 22…
SpaceX’s Starship megarocket lifted off from Texas on Friday afternoon, aiming to make history with a double catch of its reusable rocket. The world's largest rocket, standing at 407 feet, was designed to orbit Earth approximately 14 times over 22 hours before being caught at SpaceX’s launchpad in Starbase, south Texas. Consisting of two main parts—the lower booster with 33 Raptor engines and the Starship at the top—the rocket was on its 15th flight.
The company had planned for both components to return to the tower, but the booster, named Super Heavy, experienced an abort and splashed down in the sea, a reason unknown. The Starship continued on its journey through space. While this test did not achieve the double-catch goal, it marked a significant milestone for SpaceX. If successful, it would be the first time the company has caught the rocket’s 171-foot upper stage.
Previous tests had primarily focused on retrieving the booster. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been pushing for rapid reusability of Starship, hoping it will enable humans to reach the moon and potentially Mars. NASA has contracted SpaceX, along with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, to provide lunar landers for the 2028 manned lunar mission.
SpaceX has been conducting a series of test flights in recent years, some of which have ended in explosions due to design flaws. The most recent flight, in September, marked a victory as the spacecraft reached Earth’s orbit for the first time, although an engine failure occurred during ascent.
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