Key Points
Following a test launch yesterday, the Super Heavy booster that launches Starship returned to Earth and landed at its Mechazilla launch tower, succeeding in the first ever attempt at this maneuver..
After a series of increasingly complex test flightswhich began in 2019 with brief tests on a vehicle dubbed Starhopper that initially lifted just a few meters off the groundSpaceX has moved on to more ambitious tests of the Starship capsule and Super Heavy rocket...
The most recent test before yesterdays was in June, when both the rocket and the spacecraft managed, despite some serious issues, to survive reentry into Earths atmosphere and practice ocean landings, with Super Heavy simulating its future return to the launch tower by maneuvering in a controlled descent to a specific spot over the Gulf of Mexico...
Although SpaceX is still in the testing stages with Starship, the aim is to use Super Heavy and Mechazilla tower to avoid having to build new rockets for each launch, thus greatly reducing the cost of launches and, consequently, making them more frequent..
The ultimate aim with Super Heavy, SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk told CNN, is to return the rocket to the launch pad within minutes of its return, allowing the vehicle to take off again once refueled, in as little as 30 minutes after landing...
You might be interested in
Launch to explosion: Re-live Starship Super Heavy's few minutes of glory | Video
21, Apr, 23Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas.
Musk's SpaceX to conduct maiden orbital flight of its future Mars vehicle Starship
05, Apr, 23The Starship Super Heavy will complete a full orbit before reentering Earth's atmosphere and splashing down.
Ahead of Starship Super Heavy launch, Elon Musk says 'approval should happen...'
14, Nov, 23As SpaceX gears up for the second test flight of the Starship Super Heavy rocket, CEO Elon Musk said he was informed that government clearance for the launch should come in time for the November 17 launch date.
Starship Super Heavy destroyed itself intentionally: Here's what happened after launch
21, Apr, 23The fully configured Starship powered by the Super Heavy rocket lifted off from billionaire Elon Musk’s aerospace facility Starbase in Boca Chica only to explode mid-air minutes later.
Starship Super Heavy launch canceled moments before lift-off, Musk says 'learned a lot'
17, Apr, 23The spacecraft was scheduled to launch from the Starbase facility of SpaceX in Boca Chica in Texas on a maiden orbital flight.
Starship Super Heavy explodes mid-air, Elon Musk says learned a lot, hints next flight
20, Apr, 23SpaceX founder Elon Musk congratulated the Starship team after the lift-off, and said that they have learned a lot from Thursday's flight that could not make it to orbit.
Focused on launch readiness, SpaceX hopes of orbital launch next week
12, Apr, 23This will be the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket.
SpaceX halts first Starship launch attempt due to issues with Super Heavy booster
17, Apr, 23SpaceX had to scrub the launch of its Starship launch vehicle due to issues that arose with its Super Heavy booster stage.