SpaceX on Tuesday launched another Starship rocket, but passed up catching the booster with giant mechanical arms.Unlike last month’s success, the booster was d
SpaceX on Tuesday launched another Starship rocket, but passed up catching the booster with giant mechanical arms.
At the same time, the empty spacecraft launched from Texas atop Starship soared across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world similar to October’s test flight. Skimming space, the shiny retro-looking craft targeted the Indian Ocean for a controlled but destructive end to the hourlong demo.
Among the new objectives: igniting one of the spacecraft’s engines in space, which would be necessary when returning from orbit. There were also thermal protection experiments aboard the spacecraft, with some areas stripped of heat tiles to see whether catch mechanisms might work there on future flights. Even more upgrades are planned for the next test flight.
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