SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship lifts off in a heavy haze for a test flight in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday. Eric Gay/Associated Press SpaceX’s mega Starship rocket completed its first full test flight Thursday, returning to Earth without exploding after blasting off from Texas. It was the fourth launch of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, standing nearly 400 feet tall.
The three previous flight demos ended in explosions. This time, the rocket and the spacecraft managed to splash down in a controlled fashion, making the hourlong flight the longest and most successful yet. “Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said via X.
Starship was empty as it soared above the Gulf of Mexico and headed east on a flight to the Indian Ocean. Within minutes, the first-stage booster separated from the spacecraft and splashed into the gulf precisely as planned, after firing its engines. The spacecraft reached an altitude of nearly 130 miles, traveling at more 16,000 mph, before beginning its descent.
Live views showed parts of the spacecraft breaking away during the intense heat of reentry, but a cracked camera lens obscured the images. The spacecraft remained intact enough to transmit data all the way to its targeted splashdown site in the Indian Ocean. It was a critical milestone in the company’s plan to eventually reuse the rocket that NASA and Musk are counting on to get human.