SpaceX on Friday launched the 15th flight of its Starship spacecraft from Texas. The company hopes it will be the first ’round-trip’ rocket trip to orbit and return to the same place from where it left Earth. This is an important test of Elon Musk’s effort to create a completely reusable rocket system. According to the plan, the uncrewed upper part of the Starship will re-enter the atmosphere after remaining in orbit for about a day. On Saturday, it will return to its launch tower, where it will make a safe landing under the control of the engine with the help of large mechanical arms of a special ‘catch-landing’ system.
But the ‘Super Heavy’ booster, for some unknown reasons, deviated from its return path and headed towards a fixed point over the Gulf of Mexico. There it remained in the air for a few moments and then exploded at some height above the sea surface.
SpaceX mission controllers were hopeful that they would be able to safely return the upper part of the Starship to base at the end of its flight. According to SpaceX, this vehicle reached orbit about 27 minutes after launch.
Important test of reusability
SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s goal is to develop a rocket system that can be completely reused, thereby reducing the cost of space flights. In this direction, bringing the upper part of the spacecraft safely back to the same platform from where it was launched would be a major success.
This was the 15th test flight of Starship since 2023 and the second such flight in which a constellation of Starlink satellites was sent into orbit. Thus, this mission is not only a source of revenue for SpaceX’s satellite-connectivity business, but also an important test for the rocket, which is still in development.
Source: ndtv.in
