SpaceX successfully launches most powerful rocket ever built into orbit for first time EVER in new milestone
Elon Musk’s Starship made it into orbit on its third attempt
After two failed attempts, Elon Musk has successfully launched the most powerful rocket ever built into space, marking a major new milestone for mankind.
The SpaceX Starship rocket launched from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday morning.
The rocket has now flown further than previous tests, with the flight expected to take an hour before it ends in an attempted splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The launch is intended to get astronauts back on the moon in 2026 and eventually ferry humans to Mars.
The rocket is being developed to return astronauts to the moon and ferry humans to Mars
X/SpaceX
The target launch time was pushed back several times Thursday morning, most recently to give officials more time to clear some wayward boats out of nearby keep-out zones for safety reasons.
Despite a windy start, Starship made history by successfully making it into orbit.
The rocket’s two previous missions ended with in-flight explosions, but this time around the rocket blasted off effortlessly, rising through the fog before successfully conducting the stage separation and sending the Starship spacecraft into space.
SpaceX has set out loftier goals for its third mission. These include opening and closing the door of the spacecraft once in space – which would be how the rocket deploys payloads such as satellites on future missions – and transferring fuel during the flight in a NASA demonstration, as well as relighting Starship’s engines while in space.
Starship is also flying a different flight path. The previous two flights were scheduled to "land" in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii; this mission is targeting the Indian Ocean.
"This new flight path enables us to attempt new techniques like in-space engine burns while maximizing public safety," SpaceX said.
Starship is both the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched. Sitting atop the Super Heavy booster, Starship stands 397 feet tall and is about 30 feet in diameter.
The rocket is powered by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The full system requires more than 10 million pounds of propellant for launch.
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The rocket’s two previous missions ended with in-flight explosions
X/SpaceXElon has said he’s more confident that this flight will not go the same way as his previous attempts.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but I think the probability of reaching orbit is good — 80 percent,” he said during a recent talk posted to social media. “Certainly the third flight is a much better rocket than flights one or two.”
Still, SpaceX officials have repeatedly said the company does not expect 100 percent accuracy on these early test flights.
“Each of these flight tests continue to be just that: a test. They aren’t occurring in a lab or on a test stand, but are putting flight hardware in a flight environment to maximize learning,” the company said in a statement posted to its website.
“This rapid iterative development approach has been the basis for all of SpaceX’s major innovative advancements.”