For the first time in history, a Starship rocket has landed after being caught by the robotic arms of its launch tower, U.S. company SpaceX announced Saturday. It is a breakthrough moment in the development of the vehicle, which is key to future trips to the Moon, the AP noted.
Starship returned to Earth on Saturday at exactly the same spot from which it began its journey 22 hours earlier: the Starbase facility in Texas.
Because the rocket’s first stage (the booster) exploded shortly after Friday’s launch, the company failed to achieve its goal of a double catch, the AP noted.
SpaceX representatives said the landing proves the full reusability of the Starship system, which is intended for travel to the Moon and Mars. Although Friday’s attempt to recover the booster failed, the company already has three successful catches of that component to its name, which confirms the effectiveness of the technique it has adopted, the AP observed.
The agency recalled that the company’s owner, Elon Musk, plans to send a fleet of Starship vehicles to build a city on Mars.
The world’s largest and most powerful rocket, standing 124 meters (about 407 feet) tall, lifted off late Friday afternoon from the SpaceX base near the U.S.-Mexico border.
During the flight, 26 advanced Starlink satellites were released. Starship continued its flight around Earth at an altitude of 265 kilometers (about 165 miles), transmitting live images of the ship itself and the planet via the Starlink system. The ship circled Earth 14 times.
It was the 15th flight of the full-scale Starship system conducted by SpaceX since 2023, and only the second flight in which orbit was reached. The company said all elements of the spacecraft, including the crucial heat shield, performed properly.
Source: PAP
