The most important stories for you to know today
SpaceX on Sunday successfully “caught” its “Super Heavy” booster on its first attempt during a flight test, a first for the company and its most powerful spacecraft.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.
Starship lifted off from its launch tower into clear morning skies from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7:25 a.m. CT with all 33 of its Raptor engines firing flawlessly. Seven minutes into the flight test and after separating from the Starship’s vehicle, the rocket booster was successfully caught for the first time ever in “Mechazilla,” a mechanism with chopstick-like arms on a tower on the launch pad.SpaceX on Sunday successfully “caught” its “Super Heavy” booster on its first attempt during a flight test, a first for the company and its most powerful spacecraft. Starship lifted off from its launch tower into clear morning skies from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7:25 a.m. CT with all 33 of its Raptor engines firing flawlessly. Seven minutes into the flight test and after separating from the Starship’s vehicle, the rocket booster was successfully caught for the first time ever in “Mechazilla,” a mechanism with chopstick-like arms on a tower on the launch pad. SpaceX staff cheered as the booster descended onto Mechazilla with 13 engines burning before ultimately being caught with three engines burning. “The tower has caught the rocket!!,” SpaceX Founder Elon Musk posted on X with a clip of the moment the booster was caught.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.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.”. 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. SpaceX was not trying to recover the spacecraft and was attempting to demonstrate that it could bring Starship down to its target under control.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
SpaceX Starlink has 2,500 airplanes under contract after United megadeal, director saysPARIS — SpaceX nearly doubled its backlog of Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi orders with last week’s United Airlines deal, a company director said Tuesday.
Read more »
Cards Against Humanity Sues SpaceX Over Alleged Land DamageCard Against Humanity alleges that Elon Musk's SpaceX has been trespassing on and damaging their vacant land in Texas for at least six months, placing construction materials and debris without permission.
Read more »
SpaceX was pulling sunken Starship booster from the Gulf off StarbaseElon's SpaceX is pulling its sunk Starship Super Heavy booster from the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Boca Chica Beach, Texas
Read more »
SpaceX Launches Rescue Mission for Stranded Astronauts at ISSSpaceX launched a mission to rescue two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) after their Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty due to safety concerns. The capsule will bring NASA's Nick Hague and Russia's Alexander Gorbunov home, while two empty seats are reserved for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who have been waiting for a ride back.
Read more »
Watch SpaceX's Crew-9 astronaut mission arrive at the ISS todayMichael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
Read more »
SpaceX Asteroid Mission Launches Today in FloridaThe mission is heading out into space to study the impact of NASA's successful high-speed collision with an asteroid in 2022.
Read more »