SpaceX launches Starship V3 for the first time, but loses booster on return
Key takeaways
- Space X has launched the upgraded third version of its Starship rocket for the first time, though the test launch did not go perfectly for Elon Musk s spaceflight company.
- The 407-foot rocket the most powerful ever built lifted off from Space X s company town Starbase, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. local time.
- The booster pitched away from the Starship vehicle and headed back to Earth, where it was supposed to perform a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Space X has launched the upgraded third version of its Starship rocket for the first time, though the test launch did not go perfectly for Elon Musk s spaceflight company.
The 407-foot rocket the most powerful ever built lifted off from Space X s company town Starbase, Texas, at 5:30 p.m. local time. Just a few minutes later, the upper stage ship separated from the Super Heavy booster and continued on into space.
The booster pitched away from the Starship vehicle and headed back to Earth, where it was supposed to perform a simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico. But the booster s engines did not properly re-ignite for the sustained burn that is meant to deliver it back to the launch site. The booster then tumbled down to the water, where it likely exploded.