(Boca Chica) SpaceX’s Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful in the world, took off from Texas on Thursday for a fourth test flight aimed at making a more controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere after about an hour of flight than in previous tests, which ended in explosions.
Liftoff took place at 7:50 a.m. (8:50 a.m. Eastern) from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica in far south Texas.
During its last flight, less than three months ago, the spacecraft was well beyond the edge of space, but its signal was lost 49 minutes after liftoff as it descended toward Earth.
The development of Starship is being carried out vigorously by the company of billionaire Elon Musk by quickly launching prototypes without cargo, in order to correct the problems encountered in flight as soon as possible.
The Starship spacecraft must ultimately be used to transport NASA astronauts to the Moon, for the first time since 1972. The American space agency is therefore closely following its development.
The rocket consists of two stages: the Super Heavy propulsion stage and, above it, the Starship, which by extension gives its name to the entire rocket. The latter measures a total of 120 meters high.
A few minutes after takeoff, Super Heavy detached from the ship and began its return to Earth. For the first time, it then successfully landed in the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX announced. The ship continued on its way.
During its last flight, less than three months ago, the spacecraft had gone well beyond the edge of space, but its signal was lost 49 minutes after takeoff, as it descended back to Earth.
The cause was identified as the loss of control of its orientation in flight due to clogged valves, SpaceX explained, while welcoming all the data recovered during this flight.
Several vehicle “upgrades” have been added since then. The first test flight was carried out in April 2023.
This time, the objectives were to achieve a smooth landing of Super Heavy in the Gulf of Mexico – accomplished – and a “controlled entry” into the vessel’s atmosphere. If he completes his mission, he must end his journey in the Indian Ocean.
“With each test flight, SpaceX aims for increasingly ambitious objectives,” NASA underlined after the third flight. She particularly welcomed the completion of a fuel transfer test during this mission.
Liquid oxygen had been transferred from one tank to another within the rocket, SpaceX confirmed.
Developing this feature is essential because to reach the Moon, Starship will need to refuel once in space, by attaching itself to another previously filled ship that serves as a space gas station.
NASA is counting on Starship in particular for its Artemis 3 mission, planned for 2026: a modified version of the vehicle must then serve as a lunar lander for its astronauts.
In addition to its disproportionate size, the great innovation of this rocket is that it must ultimately be entirely reusable.
Elon Musk wants to make it the main instrument to achieve his ultimate goal: the establishment of an autonomous colony on Mars, in order to make humanity a multiplanetary species.
In the meantime, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa was due to board a trip around the Moon (without landing) this year. But the mission, announced with great fanfare in 2018 and named “DearMoon,” was ultimately postponed to a later date.
And last week, Mr. Maezawa said that project was canceled: “There is no clear outlook for when we will be able to take off,” he wrote.
SpaceX dominates the space launch market, with no less than 14 takeoffs of its Falcon 9 rockets in May alone.