SpaceX’s giant rocket launched on another test flight Thursday, this time reaching enough speed for the spacecraft to coast toward its goal halfway around the world.
This flight surpassed two previous test flights, both of which ended in explosions within minutes of takeoff.
Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, rose from the tip of southern Texas near the Mexican border and took off over the Gulf of Mexico. There were no people or satellites on board.
After a few minutes, the booster seamlessly separated from the spacecraft and splashed into the bay. The spacecraft continued eastward for a scheduled one-hour flight and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
This rocket and futuristic-looking spacecraft stands 397 feet (121 meters) tall, easily exceeding NASA’s past and present moon rockets.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk congratulated the team. “SpaceX has come a long way,” Musk said via X (formerly Twitter). This rocket company was founded exactly 22 years ago Thursday.
NASA watched intently: space agency needs Starship to land successfully astronaut on the moon In the next two years or so. The new moonwalker, the first since last century’s Apollo mission, will descend to the moon’s surface in a spacecraft, at least for the first few times.
