SpaceX Mega Rocket Test Flight Ends With Loss of Spacecraft

SpaceX’s mega rocket blasted off on another test flight Thursday and made it farther than two previous attempts, but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth. The company said it lost contact with the spacecraft as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean, about an hour after liftoff from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Two test flights last year both ended in explosions minutes after liftoff. Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, headed out over the Gulf of Mexico after launch Thursday. Minutes later, the booster separated seamlessly from the spaceship and splashed down into the gulf and the spacecraft continued eastward. No people or satellites were on board. An hour later, SpaceX commentators said contact had been lost with the spacecraft. “The ship has been lost. So no splashdown today,” said SpaceX’s Dan Huot. “But again, it’s incredible to see how much further we got this time around.” Read more: What NASA Can Teach SpaceX About Environmentally Friendly Rocket Launches Earlier during the flight, SpaceX’s Elon Musk had congratulated his team.“SpaceX has come a long way,” Musk said via X, former Twitter. The rocket company was founded exactly 22 years ago Thursday. The rocket and futuristic-looking spacecraft towers 397 feet (121 meters), easily exceeding NASA’s past and pre...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news