Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
SpaceX has successfully conducted a test launch of its massive spacecraft rocket. The rocket lifted off from the company's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 9:25 a.m. ET.
Liftoff went smoothly because all 33 of the spacecraft's “super heavy” booster engines fired simultaneously. After the massive rocket broke free from the pad and rose above the Gulf of Mexico, Starship completely separated from its booster and rode into orbit to begin a series of flight tests.
Starship's Super Heavy booster appears to have been lost shortly before landing in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, the Starship itself moved smoothly into space. It uses the Starlink satellite network to broadcast video from high above the Earth. The video also captured the spacecraft re-entering Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
Afterwards, the signal was lost, and Starship did not reconnect even after the re-entry period ended. SpaceX said it believed the spacecraft broke up as it fell toward Earth.
Nonetheless, the test was a huge success for SpaceX, which had seen its rocket explode on two previous test flights.
“I’m really, really blown away right now. It’s been an amazing day,” said Dan Huot, SpaceX communications manager, who hosted the live webcast.
Starship is the largest rocket ever built. Standing nearly 400 feet tall, the first stage, known as Super Heavy, is powered by 33 Raptor engines, all of which must work together to propel it toward orbit.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk believes this giant machine could carry humans to the moon and Mars. The durable stainless steel construction makes it easy to reuse, at least in theory, and could dramatically reduce the cost of launching satellites and people into orbit. NASA invested billions of dollars in SpaceX to develop Starship as a lunar landing system that could send astronauts to the lunar surface.