SpaceX’s Starship Achieves Orbit and Returns to Earth’s Atmosphere in Ambitious Test Flight
The rocket accomplished two firsts on its third and most ambitious test flight to date: Starship was able to approach orbit and made its first return to Earth’s atmosphere.
Thursday morning saw the launch of SpaceX’s next-generation mega rocket, which thundered into orbit during a critical test flight intended to showcase new technologies and procedures that will be essential for upcoming moon and beyond missions.
Commemorating SpaceX’s 22nd anniversary of founding, the rocket underwent its third and most ambitious test flight, according to the corporation. The roughly 400-foot-tall launcher, known as Starship, is anticipated to be a key component of NASA’s return-to-the-moon program, so the event was closely followed.
At 9:25 a.m. ET, the rocket took off from SpaceX’s test facility, Starbase, located near Boca Chica, Texas. Compared to earlier Starship testing, SpaceX accomplished two significant firsts on this mission: first, the spacecraft attained orbit, and then, more than 40 minutes later, it made its first return to Earth’s atmosphere.
During their live broadcast of the event, SpaceX officials declared, “This is the furthest and fastest that Starship has ever flown.”
Data, however, indicates that the spacecraft may have been lost on its return to Earth, prior to reaching the Indian Ocean splashdown that SpaceX had intended for.
Following the test flight on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it was looking into a “mishap” that included the Starship spacecraft and the rocket’s Super Heavy first-stage booster.
The organization released a statement saying, “There have been no reports of public injuries or property damage.” “To make sure the company complies with its FAA-approved mishap investigation plan and other regulatory requirements, the FAA is supervising the SpaceX-led mishap investigation.”
Before Starship can resume its flight, the FAA must wrap up its investigation and SpaceX must implement any corrective measures it finds necessary.
Even with the unanticipated conclusion, SpaceX described the day as “phenomenal.”
Super Heavy, according to SpaceX during its livestream, splashed down “hard” in the Gulf of Mexico after failing to complete a last burn as it returned to Earth.
During the trip, SpaceX also wanted to demonstrate a number of additional procedures and abilities, such as opening and closing the payload door of the spacecraft and moving propellant between two of Starship’s tanks while it was in orbit. The business stated that in order to ascertain whether those goals were met, post-flight data analysis will be necessary.
In space, SpaceX also planned to ignite one of Starship’s Raptor engines, but in the end, it decided to omit that part.
Numerous methods tried during Starship’s third flight would aid SpaceX in deploying satellites in the future and pave the way for moon landings as part of NASA’s Artemis program.
Many of the goals, according to the corporation, will contribute to Starship becoming a totally reusable system. Although it was not the goal of this test mission, that is SpaceX’s ultimate strategy.
NASA chose Starship to be the spacecraft that would transport humans to the moon for the future Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2026.
A few minutes after takeoff, the rocket detonated, ending Starship’s maiden mission in April of last year. The first-stage booster and upper-stage spacecraft were successfully separated during a second Starship launch in November, but the company lost communication with the vehicle soon after.