Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, expects that Starship will be used to transport humans to Mars in the future, and NASA has already agreed to utilise it to transport humans back to the moon through its Artemis programme by 2025.
In a historic test, SpaceX launched the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, but it detonated just minutes later.
Starship took off from Boca Chica in southern Texas three days after its debut flight was cancelled due to a last-minute malfunction. Thousands of people watched from nearby.
The rocket system, however, did not split as intended and exploded less than four minutes into flight.
According to SpaceX, Starship encountered a “rapid, unscheduled disassembly prior to stage separation.”
Despite this, SpaceX officials judged the ambitious mission a success because it was the first time Starship and its enormous booster rocket took to the skies.
Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, complimented the team on a “exciting test launch.”
Musk had tried to keep expectations low beforehand, claiming that it had a 50% chance of reaching orbit on the first try.
However, more launches are planned, and he expects they will be successful before the end of the year.
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“Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months,” Musk tweeted following the test on Thursday.
SpaceX’s world-record rocket
The Starship consists of two stages: a Super Heavy rocket that generates the necessary power to reach orbit, and a spacecraft designed to one day return humans to the moon and, eventually, Mars.
The ship and booster, which each have 33 rocket engines, have a combined height of 120 metres.
The vehicle was expected to split from the launcher and complete a full orbit of the Earth during Thursday’s test.
What may have been…
Starship would have completed a full orbit of the Earth and splashed down into the Pacific if it had been totally successful.
The rocket, known as rocket 7, would have been dumped into the Gulf of Mexico.
The entire flight would have taken approximately 90 minutes.
Fortunately, there was no cargo, let alone passengers, aboard Starship for Thursday’s launch.
Musk thinks that Starship will one day be used to transport satellites into space, as well as humans to the moon and Mars.
NASA has agreed to utilise it to return men to the lunar surface through its Artemis programme by 2025.
The maiden orbital test of the Starship comes after the US aviation authority granted SpaceX a five-year permit, stating that it exceeded all safety and environmental standards.