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Elon Musk's SpaceX Launches Giant Starship Rocket, But Booster Catch Fails

The catch was called off just four minutes into the flight for unspecified reasons.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX Launches Giant Starship Rocket, But Booster Catch Fails

Elon Musk's SpaceX's Launches Giant Starship Rocket, But Booster Catch Fails (Image: X/spaceX)

Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its sixth Starship test flight from Texas on Tuesday, however, skipped catching the booster with mechanical arms and opted for a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico instead.

The catch was called off just four minutes into the flight for unspecified reasons. However, the empty spacecraft soared across the Gulf, mirroring October’s successful test flight.

Also, read| Scientists Say Nuclear Bomb Can Avert Life-Threatening Asteroids

Donald Trump, 45th President of America attended the launch and talked about his growing connection with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. ‘This test flight built upon last month’s successful catch, but SpaceX will refine its technology further. The next test flight promises even more upgrades, he added. ”


The flight achieved several new objectives including igniting one of the spacecraft’s engines in space which is crucial for returning from orbit.

Thermal protection experiments were also conducted, testing catch mechanisms for future flights. The spacecraft descended nose-first before flipping and splashing down upright in the Indian Ocean.

It was said that SpaceX aims to reuse the entire 400-foot Starship, driving down costs and speeding up cargo and crew transport to the moon and Mars.

Also, NASA has invested over $4 billion in SpaceX’s Starship program for back-to-back moon missions later this decade as Elon Musk envisions a fleet of Starships building a Martian city.

Also, read| California Rejects SpaceX’s Rocket Launch Proposal Citing Elon Musk’s Politics: Musk Reacts

Topics
Booster Catch Elon Musk Indian Ocean spacex SpaceX rocket launch Starship

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