SpaceX rocket booster successfully 'caught' on first attempt during flight test
- by KPBS
- Oct 13, 2024
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Published October 13, 2024 at 8:25 AM PDT
Facebook — SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 13, 2024
Starship, which was crewless, coasted in space for nearly 45 minutes before splashing down in the Indian Ocean at 9:30 a.m. CT an hour and five minutes into the flight test. A flash from the spacecraft once it landed in the ocean was seen on SpaceX’s livestream of the vehicle’s reentry.
“Ship landed precisely on target! Second of two objectives achieved,” Musk said in another post on X with a clip of Starship landing in the ocean.
The success of the flight is a significant step for the company as it aims to one day use Starship to carry astronauts and supplies into Earth’s orbit, as well as onto the Moon and planets such as Mars. The largest rocket ever built, Starship is 397 feet tall, including the rocket booster, which SpaceX says is “fully reusable.”
Significant improvements have been made to the spacecraft since its first launch in April 2023, when the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff. Starship's heatshield was reworked, SpaceX says: Its thermal protection system was replaced with newer tiles and included additional protections between the flaps and a backup layer.
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