SpaceX’s Mega Rocket Makes Its Fourth Test Flight From Texas

SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket blasted off from Texas on Thursday, marking the fourth test flight for the spaceship that NASA and Elon Musk are banking on to transport humans to the moon and Mars.

The world’s tallest and most powerful rocket, nearly 400 feet (121 meters) tall, remained empty as it soared above the Gulf of Mexico on a one-hour voyage east. The spacecraft on top was aiming for a half-lap around the planet, with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

SpaceX | AP News Image

SpaceX’s Mega Rocket Makes Its Fourth Test Flight From Texas

SpaceX hoped to avoid explosions this time by regulating the descents. The first-stage booster split from the spacecraft minutes after liftoff on Thursday morning and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico exactly as anticipated after igniting its engines.

“And we have splashdown!” Kate Tice, SpaceX launch commentator, announced Mission Control at the company’s headquarters in California.

It was a vital step in the company’s strategy to return Starship’s Super Heavy rocket to its launch site for reuse.

SpaceX came close to escaping an explosion in March but lost communication with the spaceship as it careened out of orbit and blew up short of its target. The booster also exploded in flight a quarter mile above the Gulf of Mexico.

SpaceX | AP News Image

SpaceX’s Mega Rocket Makes Its Fourth Test Flight From Texas

Last year’s two test flights ended in explosions after they took off from the southern edge of Texas near the Mexican border. The first cratered the Boca Chica Beach pad, hurling debris thousands of feet (meters) away.

SpaceX modified the software to increase the odds and changed the rocket-flyback configuration. On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration approved this fourth demonstration, stating that all safety conditions were met.

The Starship is designed to be completely reusable. That’s why SpaceX wants to regulate the booster’s arrival into the Gulf of Mexico and the spacecraft’s drop into the Indian Ocean – both are meant as practice for future landings. Nothing is being retrieved from Thursday’s flight.

NASA has ordered a pair of Starships for two astronaut lunar landing missions scheduled later this decade. Each moon crew will use NASA’s rocket and capsule to leave Earth, but they will link up with a starship in lunar orbit for the journey to the surface.

SpaceX | AP News Image

SpaceX’s Mega Rocket Makes Its Fourth Test Flight From Texas

SpaceX is already offering tourist excursions around the moon. The first private lunar customer, a Japanese tycoon, canceled the trip with his party last week, citing the frequently delayed itinerary.

Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, has higher ambitions. He envisions fleets of Spaceships launching people and the equipment required to construct a metropolis on Mars.

SOURCE – (AP)