SpaceX’s toughest rocket blasted off Thursday on a test flight and went farther than on its last two attempts, only to be destroyed on its fiery re-entry to Earth.
About 40 minutes after the rocket lifted off from Boca Chica, Texas, the astronautical company lost the rocket’s signal as it flew over the Gulf of Mexico, nearly achieving its purpose before becoming a fireball. It reached temperatures in excess of 2,500 degrees as it rose and splashed across the Indian Ocean.
Last year, two test flights exploded within minutes of liftoff due to main engine shutdowns and a liftoff malfunction.
“Today is a phenomenal day,” said one SpaceX commentator. The spacecraft made it into space as soon as it entered and went deep enough into the atmosphere to experience excessive heating, which is a huge accomplishment for the company.
A few minutes after liftoff, the booster gently separated from the spacecraft and fell into the gulf as the spacecraft moved east. There were no astronauts or satellites aboard this mission.
“The shipment was lost. So there will be no landing today,” said SpaceX’s Daniel Huot. “But again, it’s amazing to see how much progress we’ve made this time around. “
SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on X that “SpaceX has come a long way” and congratulated his team.
The rocket company, founded 22 years ago on Thursday, made history with Starship’s progression. The spacecraft surpasses NASA’s moon rockets with a height of 397 feet, from 39 stages, and produces twice the force of NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket.
“The spacecraft will be multiplanetary,” Musk posted on X.
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As “the most rugged launch vehicle ever developed in the world, capable of carrying up to 150 fully reusable metric tons and 250 expendable metric tons,” the Starship is “designed to carry equipment and shipping to Earth orbit, to the Moon, Mars and beyond, according to SpaceX.
Since its inception, SpaceX has made 319 launches and 283 landings in total.