Tengrinews.kz - SpaceX, the American company owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has conducted the sixth test launch of its Starship spacecraft.
The launch carried, out from the Boca Chica spaceport in Texas, was streamed live on the company’s social media platform, X.
Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/rSLQ2DDy63
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
According to SpaceX, the test flight aims to enhance the capabilities of the Starship and its Super Heavy booster while advancing efforts toward full system reusability. Key objectives include the booster’s return to the launch pad, reigniting the Starship’s Raptor engine in space, testing heat shield experiments, and updated atmospheric reentry maneuvers over the Indian Ocean.
Starship’s Raptor engine burn is complete and Starship has entered a coast phase pic.twitter.com/xJHlg2eDTs
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
On October 13, SpaceX announced that it had successfully "caught" and landed the Super Heavy booster for the first time during the fifth Starship test flight. This milestone marked a significant step toward achieving a fully reusable launch system.
In June, SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of Starship in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the spacecraft lost control at an altitude of approximately 50 kilometers, it remained largely intact and managed a controlled splashdown.
The Super Heavy booster is the most powerful rocket ever built, capable of carrying up to 250 metric tons in a single-use configuration or 150 metric tons with reuse.
Elon Musk has pledged to send five Starship spacecraft to Mars by 2026. If these unmanned missions are successful, crewed flights to the Red Planet could become a reality within four years.
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