SpaceX launched another test flight of its Starship rocket on Tuesday, aiming to further advance the capabilities of the world’s most powerful launch system. Despite a smooth liftoff from Texas, the company aborted the planned mid-air catch of the rocket’s booster stage using giant mechanical arms, directing it instead to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
The decision to forego the booster catch came just four minutes into the flight. SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot stated that not all criteria for a successful catch were met, prompting the flight director to command the booster to head towards the Gulf for a controlled splashdown. “The booster impacted the water three minutes after the decision,” Huot noted, without specifying the exact issues encountered.
Meanwhile, the upper stage of the Starship continued its journey, soaring across the Gulf of Mexico on a trajectory similar to October’s test flight. The sleek, stainless-steel spacecraft performed a near-loop around the globe, culminating in a controlled descent into the Indian Ocean after an hour-long mission. This flight aimed to test new objectives, including igniting one of the spacecraft’s engines in space—an essential step for future orbital missions.
SpaceX maintained a similar flight path to previous tests but introduced changes to both the mission profile and timing. Launching in the late afternoon allowed for better observation conditions during the spacecraft’s descent on the other side of the world. The spacecraft also carried thermal protection experiments, with certain areas deliberately left without heat tiles to assess alternative re-entry mechanisms for future flights.
This latest test marks a significant step in SpaceX’s ambitious plans to utilize Starship for missions to the Moon and eventually Mars, in collaboration with NASA. The company continues to iterate on the design and performance of the rocket, with even more upgrades planned for upcoming test flights. Each launch brings SpaceX closer to realizing a fully reusable launch system capable of carrying astronauts and cargo to deep space destinations.
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SpaceX launches Starship rocket but aborts booster catch attempt
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