Creator: NASA/Keegan Barber
The mission represents a critical milestone for a rocket system that may deliver humans to Mars.
On June 7, 2024, SpaceX’s Starship rocket successfully completed its inaugural flight, marking a milestone for the prototype system that might deliver humans to Mars.
Three previous attempts ended with the approximately 121-metre (400-foot) rocket exploding up or disintegrating, but Starship survived re-entry and fell into the Indian Ocean 65 minutes after launch from Texas.
Starship landed softly in the water despite losing numerous tiles and a flap! Musk posted on his social networking site, X.
“Today was a great day for humanity’s future as a spacefaring civilization!” he said.
Starship launched from the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, Starbase at 7.50am and flew halfway around the world.
Before descending, it reached about 211 kilometers (130 miles) at over 26,000km/h (16,000mph). A live feed showed bits of the spacecraft breaking off during reentry, and a flying debris even damaged the camera lens.
Spacecraft was undamaged enough to send data to its Indian Ocean splashdown location.
The mission was crucial to the company’s development of a reusable rocket that NASA and Musk hope will send humans to the moon and Mars.
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