In the early hours of Wednesday, Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched its colossal Starship rocket from Texas, with President-elect Donald Trump in attendance.
What Happened: The Starship rocket, standing at 400 feet (122 meters), took off from SpaceX’s Texas rocket development site at around 3:30 am (IST).
The rocket, designed to transport astronauts to the moon and Mars, saw its first stage booster, the 233-foot-tall (71-meter-tall) Super Heavy, detach from the second stage, Starship, at an altitude of about 40 miles (62 km), propelling the craft into space.
This launch marks a significant stride in SpaceX’s spaceflight capabilities, despite a failed attempt to land the booster back on Earth.
Trump, who was present at the SpaceX facility in Texas, observed the launch alongside Musk, underscoring the president-elect’s ongoing interest in space exploration.
Musk celebrated a milestone for SpaceX as the Starship successfully completed an ocean landing during its sixth flight test. “We will do one more ocean landing of the ship,” Musk stated on X formerly known as Twitter, adding, “If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower.”
The splashdown marks a crucial step in the Starship program, which aims to revolutionize space travel with reusable spacecraft.
Why It Matters: SpaceX has been making significant strides in the space industry. The company’s COO, Gwynne Shotwell, recently criticized regulators for impeding innovation at SpaceX.
Despite these challenges, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network is on track to become profitable in 2024, with the company producing 50-60 satellites weekly.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s European competitor, The Exploration Company, recently secured $160 million in funding further to develop its reusable space capsule, “Nyx.”
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Image via SpaceX
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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