SpaceX’s Starship rocket has achieved a significant milestone by completing its first-ever full flight, marking a breakthrough for the prototype system that holds promise for sending people to Mars. In previous missions, the nearly 121-meter-tall rocket faced setbacks, with three missions ending in explosions or disintegration.
However, this time, Starship successfully survived re-entry and executed a controlled descent into the Indian Ocean just 65 minutes after launching from the US state of Texas. This achievement marks a significant step forward in the development of a rocket system that could one day facilitate human exploration of Mars.
“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 wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.
“Today was a great day for humanity’s future as a spacefaring civilization!” he added.
Starship took off from the company’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7:50 am (12:50 GMT), embarking on its journey into space and traversing halfway across the globe. It ascended to an altitude of nearly 211 kilometers (130 miles), reaching speeds exceeding 26,000 km/h (16,000 mph) before initiating its descent.
During reentry, parts of the spacecraft broke off due to the intense heat, with debris even causing damage to the camera lens captured in the live broadcast. Despite these challenges, the spacecraft remained sufficiently intact to transmit data to its intended splashdown site in the Indian Ocean.
The success of this mission marks a critical milestone in SpaceX’s endeavor to develop a reusable rocket, which both NASA and Elon Musk are relying on to facilitate human exploration of the moon and eventually Mars. NASA has contracted a modified version of Starship for use as the final vehicle to transport astronauts to the lunar surface under the Artemis program, underscoring the need for SpaceX to demonstrate the rocket’s safety and reliability.
“Congratulations SpaceX on Starship’s successful test flight this morning!” NASA chief Bill Nelson wrote on X. “We are another step closer to returning humanity to the Moon through #Artemis — then looking onward to Mars.”
SpaceX is committed to a strategy of conducting real-world tests rather than relying solely on laboratory simulations. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, has identified the development of a “fully and immediately reusable orbital heat shield” as the next challenge. Further tests are promised as SpaceX endeavors to construct a reusable satellite launcher and moon lander.
The success of SpaceX’s Starship development holds significant implications, particularly as NASA aims to utilize it for returning astronauts to the moon by 2026, positioning itself in competition with China’s lunar exploration goals, which include sending astronauts to the moon by 2030.
China has recently made notable advancements in its lunar program, such as achieving a second landing on the moon’s far side in a sample retrieval mission.
Starship’s previous test flights have faced challenges. Its first launch in April 2023 ended in explosion minutes after liftoff, approximately 40 km (25 miles) above the ground. The second attempt in November also resulted in failure, exploding after reaching space.
While the rocket’s third test flight in March showed improvement by reaching a greater distance, it ultimately broke apart during atmospheric re-entry, approximately 64 km (40 miles) above the Indian Ocean.
