The most formidable rocket ever constructed has taken flight, marking a pivotal moment for SpaceX as it gears up for humanity’s return to the moon. Spearheaded by Elon Musk, this mission is a significant step forward in space exploration.
On Friday night, the Starship Flight 12 soared into the skies from SpaceX’s launch facility at Starbase, Texas, showcasing the advancements of the aerospace giant.
This cutting-edge spacecraft, fully reusable and comprised of two sections, is engineered to transport both humans and cargo into space. Notably, the mission operates without a crew on board, as SpaceX remotely manages the entire flight.
Flight 12 introduces the latest iteration, Starship Version 3, which incorporates enhancements derived from previous missions. Key upgrades include more efficient Raptor 3 engines, improved fuel systems, and enhanced thermal protection.
Elon Musk’s team envisions this Starship version as NASA’s choice for the lunar lander in the Artemis program. Scheduled for 2028, Artemis IV will utilize this spacecraft to deliver astronauts to the moon’s surface.
Looking ahead, SpaceX’s ambitious goal for Starship V3 is to facilitate the journey of both people and cargo to Mars, ultimately establishing the first self-sustaining settlement on the Red Planet.
Starship was designed to be refueled in orbit so it can make the long journey to Mars.
Friday’s test flight is a suborbital mission, meaning it will not go into full orbit, and was said by SpaceX to be the first pivotal step in testing how the new Starship’s hardware behaves under real flight conditions.
This is a breaking story. More details to follow.
SpaceX Starship 12, the company’s third version of the craft, launched successfully at 6.30pm ET on May 22
SpaceX Starship 12, the company’s third version of the craft, launched successfully at 6.30pm ET on May 22
Starship 12 featured two key parts, the ‘Super Heavy,’ the bottom booster stage with 33 powerful Raptor engines, and the Starship, the upper part sitting on top of the booster that has its own engines. The spacecraft is what would carry astronauts to space.
Overall, the rocket stands as tall as a 50-story building.
The test flight had several key goals, starting with a successful liftoff from Starbase, Texas at 6.30pm ET.
From there the Super Heavy booster separated after a few minutes of flight, conducted a ‘boostback’ burn to slow itself down and then performed a landing burn to splash down gently in the Gulf of America.
Unlike previous SpaceX missions, this rocket booster did not try to land back at the launch site as the company’s other reusable rockets have.
Meanwhile, the upper Starship stage continued into space, where it successfully deployed 22 dummy Starlink satellites 20 minutes into the flight.
Cameras inside the craft captured the moment as each communications panel slid out of the cargo hatch and was sent off into orbit as the SpaceX crew back on Earth cheered and chanted ‘USA’ from the company’s control center in Texas.
Starship 12 is also scheduled to conduct a restart of one of the craft’s engines while in space, however, some minor issues with the engines during launch may end up scratching that part of the test.
SpaceX Starship 12, the company’s third version of the craft, launched successfully at 6.30pm ET on May 22
SpaceX Starship 12, the company’s third version of the craft, launched successfully at 6.30pm ET on May 22
Flight 12 will then re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, testing its heat shields, in which one panel was deliberately removed to see how the craft would hold up under such stress.
The whole flight is scheduled to take roughly one hour.
Starship 12 was initially set to launch on Thursday, but the mission was postponed after several attempts to fix a mechanical issue just 40 seconds from takeoff.
Musk revealed after the failed attempt that a hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract from the craft.
