SpaceX has effectively launched its large Starship rocket. The rocket lifted off from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 9:25 a. m. m. ET.
Liftoff was smooth, as Starship’s 33 “Super Heavy” thrusters fired in sync. The giant rocket heavily left the pad, climbed over the Gulf of Mexico, and then the Starship separated cleanly from the booster and entered orbit, where a series began. flight tests.
Starship’s Super Heavy booster appears to have been lost some time before landing in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, Starship itself has been on a stylish adventure in space. It was broadcasting video from high above the Earth, its network of Starlink satellites. The video also captured the start of the spacecraft’s re-entry into Earth’s environment over the Indian Ocean.
The signal was then lost and Starship did not re-establish contact after the reentry era ended. SpaceX says it believes the spacecraft broke apart when it fell to Earth.
Still, the test is great luck for SpaceX, which saw the rocket explode on two previous test flights.
“I’m absolutely blown away right now, what a day,” said Dan Huot, SpaceX’s chief communications officer, who hosted the webcast.
Starship is the largest rocket ever built. It’s about 400 feet tall and its first stage, known as Super Heavy, is powered by 33 Raptor engines that will have to work in combination to propel it into orbit.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk believes this massive device can take humans to the Moon and Mars. Its durable stainless metal frame makes it easy to reuse, at least in theory, and could be especially useful for launching satellites and others into orbit. gave billions of dollars to SpaceX to expand Starship as a lunar landing formula capable of taking astronauts to the lunar surface.