BOCA โคCHICA, Texas (AP) – SpaceX‘s starship, the biggestโค adn most powerful rocket ever built, soared intoโค the evening โsky Thursday from the southern tip of Texas, completingโค its 11th test flight. While neither the booster nor the spacecraft were recovered, the mission marked meaningful progress in โขSpaceX’s development of the vehicleโ crucial for NASA’s Artemis program and the company’s ambitions to reach Mars.
The test flight, lastingโฃ just over an hour and originating from Starbase near the Mexican border, followed a similar trajectory to the successful August test, with increased maneuvering capabilities for โขthe spacecraft. SpaceX conducted tests during the spacecraft’s entry over theโค Indian ocean, practicing for future landings at the launch site. โขThe booster executed aโข controlled entry into the Gulf of Mexico as planned.
“Hey, welcome back to Earth, Starship,” SpaceX’s Dan Huot announced as employees celebrated. “What a day.”
This latest test is vital for NASA, which relies on the 403-foot (123-metre) reusable Starship to land astronauts on the moon by the end of the โdecade. The vehicle โis designed to โฃtransport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk watched the launch from outside Launch Control for the โคfirst time, describing the experience as “much more visceral.” The โflight carried eight mock satellites mimicking SpaceX’s Starlinks.
NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy praised the progress via X, stating, “Another major step towardโค landing Americansโฃ on the moon’s south pole.” SpaceX is also modifyingโ its Cape โฃCanaveral โขlaunch sites to accommodate Starships, alongside the Falcon rockets currently used for ISS โขmissions.
This test flight follows a string โฃof explosive failures, with the August mission representing a breakthrough. SpaceX continues to refine Starship’s capabilities asโ it pursues its long-term goals of interplanetary travel.
