SpaceX says the fourth test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built was a big success. Starship completed a test flight without explosions for the first time, with both the spacecraft and the booster completing controlled landings, the AP reports.
- The 400-foot-tall Starship was launched at 8:50am Eastern from the company's Starbase in southern Texas. Starship consists of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, sometimes referred to as "Ship," per Space.com.
- As planned, Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico after separation. "It's a big step forward from previous test flights when the booster was destroyed in flight," says Jonathan Amos at the BBC.
- An hour later, the Ship portion reentered the atmosphere halfway around the world from the launch site. Cameras showed that it sustained damage during descent, but SpaceX said it executed its landing burn over the Indian Ocean as planned, Space.com reports. "Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X, congratulating the team on an "epic achievement."
"The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy," SpaceX had said on its website. "The primary objectives will be executing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and achieving a controlled entry of Starship." The spacecraft broke up over the Indian Ocean in March during the third test flight. The first two test flights ended in explosions minutes after liftoff.
This story has been updated with new developments. (More Starship stories.)
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