SpaceX launches Starship rocket as it aims to orbit around Earth for first time
- On Monday, SpaceX launched its 400-foot Starship from Texas, successfully reaching orbit for the first time despite losing one engine during ascent. "Starship is orbital," Mission Control announced to cheers.
- The 14th full-scale launch from Texas saw all 33 Raptor engines ignite, generating roughly 16 million pounds of thrust. SpaceX previously conducted 13 suborbital tests, roughly half ending in explosions as engineers refined the hardware.
- Founder Elon Musk's rocket carried 26 advanced Starlink satellites to a 275 km altitude, where the craft plans to circle Earth six times over 10 hours. The satellites carry ten times the capacity of earlier models.
- The Super Heavy booster achieved a "fairly soft" splashdown in the Gulf after separating from the upper stage. SpaceX aims to certify the vehicle for NASA's Artemis IV mission, slated for no sooner than 2028.
- Musk emphasized extreme caution regarding debris over land, stating "our popularity would diminish very rapidly" if the spacecraft breaks apart over populated areas. SpaceX plans to phase out the Falcon rocket within several years as Starship proves its reusability.
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SpaceX's silver and black mastodon, more than 120 meters high, rose in the middle of a dense cloud of smoke shortly after 12H48 GMT, in which it is its 14th test flight.
The previous Starship tests, all conducted on less risky suborbital trajectories, had resulted in spectacular explosions. Not this time, since the mega-fusée managed to reach the Earth's orbit and deploy satellites.
The Starship mega-fusée reached the Earth orbit on Monday during its 14th test flight. A significant step forward for Elon Musk's company, three months after its resounding stock exchangeThe Starship mega-fusée by Elon Musk reached the Earth orbit on Monday during a test flight. A key success for the development of this gigantic launcher designed to send data centers into space and travel to the Moon and Mars. About 25 minutes after its morning …
It is the most important progress in recent years for the large SpaceX spaceship, which is very late on NASA's moon plans.
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