SpaceX's Third Test of Its , Starship Succeeds Ahead, of Crewed Lunar Mission.
'The Independent' reports that SpaceX's third test of its
Starship has ended successfully, with the spacecraft
falling to Earth somewhere in the Indian ocean. .
The successful test follows two
failed tests which lasted only a few
moments before ultimately exploding.
The third test saw the Starship successfully launch,
separate from its booster, arrive in space, open its
payload door and then fly halfway around the Earth.
This means that the test successfully
accomplished all of the major tests
SpaceX had laid out prior to launch.
Starship is the largest and most
powerful rocket ever built, with
a towering height of 397 feet. .
CEO Elon Musk said prior to launch that the
company had made thousands of upgrades and
fixes to improve the chances of a successful test.
CEO Elon Musk said prior to launch that the
company had made thousands of upgrades and
fixes to improve the chances of a successful test.
The spacecraft launched from
the southern tip of Texas
near the Mexican border. .
The spacecraft launched from
the southern tip of Texas
near the Mexican border. .
The test flight outperformed previous
tests, reaching an altitude of 100
miles and nearing orbital speed.
'The Independent' reports that NASA is heavily invested in
the success of Starship, as the spacecraft plays an integral
role in the agency's plan to return astronauts to the moon.
The highly anticipated missions will
mark the first crewed missions to the
moon since last century's Apollo program.