In a remarkable feat, Elon Musk‘s space company SpaceX achieved a significant milestone – its first-ever catch of its rocket booster. SpaceX achieved this feat on the fifth test flight of its Starship rocket. This feat is crucial in SpaceX’s mission to create a fully reusable rocket system.
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How Did SpaceX Achieve This Feat?
SpaceX’s starship rocket took off from the company’s Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas at 8:25 am ET. The rocket’s massive “Super Heavy” booster roared to life and, just under seven minutes after liftoff, returned to the launch site, where it was caught by the tower’s “chopstick” arms.
Meanwhile, the upper portion of the Starship rocket separated from the booster, continuing its flight into space. It traveled halfway around the planet before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean, successfully concluding the test as planned.
It is important to note that no crew was aboard this flight, and SpaceX intends to refine the system over hundreds of missions before it launches with astronauts. Starship is the company’s tallest (397 feet tall) and most powerful rocket ever launched, with 16.7 million pounds of thrust.
Why Is Today’s Launch of SpaceX’s Starship Significant?
Remarkably, Starship’s four previous test flights have surpassed the milestones achieved by its predecessor. Today’s feat of Starship is vital in terms of space travel, as a reusable rocket system could revolutionize space travel by significantly reducing costs and enabling routine flights of cargo and people beyond Earth.
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