Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX vowed to continue pursuing success after finally launching Starship on the 10th attempt.
According to CNN, SpaceX successfully launched the 10th test flight of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket booster on Tuesday, August 26, after multiple failed attempts earlier this year.
The over 400-foot-tall rocket, a key for SpaceX's commercial success and NASA's plans to send astronauts back to the Moon, was launched from Starbase in Texas at 6:30 pm local time for roughly an hour-long flight.
During the rocket's 10th test flight, it achieved several key milestones, including the first-ever payload deployment, relighting the Raptor engine in orbit and a heat shield stress test.
After the successful test flight, SpaceX said, “Moving into the critical reentry phase, Starship was able to gather data on the performance of its heat shield and structure as it was intentionally stressed to push the envelope on vehicle capabilities.”
“Using its four flaps for control, the spacecraft arrived at its splashdown point in the Indian Ocean. Over the course of a flight test campaign, success will continue to be measured by what we are able to learn, and Starship’s tenth flight test provided valuable data by stressing the limits of vehicle capabilities and providing maximum excitement along the way,” the statement added.
Following Starship's previous flight in May, Musk expressed his desire for a successful mission to initiate a series of rapid tests. So, if the richest person in the world continues with his plan he announced earlier this year, the 11th test flight of Starship and its Super Heavy booster could happen by late September.
