SpaceX: Mega Rocket Completes Fourth Test Flight
SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful mega-rocket, completed the fourth test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The rocket is 400 ft (122 meters) tall and is promising to bring humanity to the Moon and Mars. The altitude reached was almost 130 miles (209 kilometers) and a speed of 16,000 mph (25,750 kph).
“Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said via X.
The planned flight took hours for a half-lap around the planet and with a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean. In minutes after the lift-off, the first-stage booster was separated and splashed into the gulf, after the engines were fired. The Starship is designed to be fully reusable. Reusage plans of the company include the return of Starship’s Super Heavy booster back to its launch, although nothing has been recovered from this flight.
“What a show it has been,” said SpaceX launch commentator Kate Tice from Mission Control at company headquarters in California.
The company is also selling tourist trips around the Moon. Also, NASA ordered a pair of Starships for two crewed moon-landing missions later this decade.
Three other previous test flights ended in explosions after lift-off, as Starship’s two stages failed to separate and the company ordered a controlled detonation.
SpaceX was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Hawthorne, California, United States. The company sees a revolutionary advance in spaceflight with the fully reusable Starship.
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