SpaceX’s next-generation mega-rocket launched Thursday morning, roaring into orbit on an important test flight to demonstrate new technologies and techniques that will be important for future missions to the moon and beyond.
SpaceX said the flight was the rocket’s third and most ambitious test. The event was closely watched because the 400-foot-tall booster, known as Starship, is expected to play a key role in NASA’s plans to return to the moon.
The rocket lifted off at 9:25 a.m. ET from SpaceX’s Starbase Test Range in Boca Chica, Texas.
Approximately three minutes into the flight, the first stage booster, known as the Super Heavy, successfully separated from the Starship spacecraft above.
SpaceX plans to eventually make Starship a fully reusable vehicle, but that’s not the case with this test flight. Super Heavy is expected to fall to Earth and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
With this flight, SpaceX hopes to demonstrate that Starship can make a controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere before splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Before its finale, the test also includes several different objectives from the rocket’s previous two flights. SpaceX will attempt to ignite one of Starship’s Raptor engines while in space, open and close the vehicle’s payload door, and transfer propellant between Starship’s two tanks in orbit.
Many of these technologies could help SpaceX run future missions to deploy satellites or prepare for lunar missions as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
Starship was selected by NASA to carry astronauts to the moon’s surface on the Artemis III mission, scheduled to launch in 2026.
Starship’s debut flight last April was a destructive one, ending with the rocket exploding minutes after liftoff. The second Starship launch in November achieved several milestones, including the separation of the first stage booster and upper spacecraft, but the company ultimately lost contact with the spacecraft.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
