New York, Nov. 20, (dpa/GNA) – The unmanned Starship, the largest rocket ever built, set off on another test flight on Tuesday.
Live images showed the rocket system lifting off from the spaceport of the private space company SpaceX, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, in Texas.
The Starship – consisting of the approximately 70-metre-long Super Heavy booster and the approximately 50-metre-long upper stage, also called Starship – was designed to enable manned missions to the moon and Mars.
The system has been developed in such a way for the spaceship and rocket to be reused after returning to Earth.
SpaceX had planned for the lower rocket stage to return to the launch site again during the test flight, but the booster landed a few minutes after take-off in a controlled manner in the Gulf of Mexico.
Among the spectators at the event was US President-elect Donald Trump. Musk has been a close confidante of Trump since the US election in early November.
The test flight follows several others. During a first test in April 2023, the entire missile system exploded after just a few minutes. During a second test in November, the two rocket stages separated and the upper stage continued to fly, but shortly afterwards both exploded separately.
In March, the rocket successfully reached space for the first time, but was then destroyed as it returned to Earth, while the fourth test, in June, saw the Starship make its first controlled landing, but issues remained.
SpaceX has emphasized that the aim of the tests is to collect data.
Last month, the Starship reached space altitude and made a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean. That test also aimed to return and catch the lower rocket stage at the launch tower in Texas using grippers – which was successful.
GNA