The third test of the mega rocket in Starship, is also as an important one for both SpaceX and NASA as its practical use for Artemis.
SpaceX lifted it off at 9:25 a.m. ET from the Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas.
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Roughly three minutes into the flight, the first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, successfully separated from the upper-stage Starship spacecraft.
SpaceX Starship
While eventually SpaceX plans to make Starship fully reusable, that is not the case with this test flight. Super Heavy is expected to fall back to Earth and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX hopes it can demonstrate Starship’s control in re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere and eventual touchdown in the Indian Ocean with this flight. Beyond that splash in the ocean, however many different objectives remain from the rocket’s two previous tests. SpaceX will try to fire one of Starship’s Raptor engines while in space, open and close the vehicle’s payload door, transfer propellant betweendifferent tanks in orbit over two of starships tanks.
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All of this technology could help SpaceX complete future missions to send satellites into orbit, as well as lay the groundwork for moon missions within NASA’s Artemis program.
NASA has chosen Starship to carry astronauts down to our lunar surface during its upcoming Artemis III mission, which could lift off in 2026.
The first and only time Starship flew last April ended in disaster, with the rocket exploding several minutes after launch. A second launch of Starship in November saw several milestones achieved but the company eventually lost contact with the vehicle.By the time Starship burst into summer that year, so many people had criticized company founder Elon Musk for spending money on rockets when he could have been building his electric car business.
