The Starship megarocket, developed by SpaceX, took off Tuesday in Texas for a 6th test flight, in the presence of the company’s boss, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump. But SpaceX failed to catch the first stage of its rocket which ended up in the sea.
The sixth test flight of this giant rocket took off at 4:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. Swiss time) from the company’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, under the eyes of the President-elect of the United States.
SpaceX aims to use Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, to colonize Mars. The development of the spacecraft is also closely monitored by NASA, which is counting on it to bring its astronauts back to the Moon.
Criteria not met
The objectives of this new test flight were largely similar to the previous one last month. The rocket is made up of the Super Heavy first stage (70 meters high) and, above it, the Starship spacecraft (50 m), which by extension gives its name to the entire launcher.
After propelling the ship, Super Heavy detaches from it and begins its descent. In October, rather than ending its course in the sea, it had succeeded in an unprecedented maneuver. He had returned to his launch pad by slowing down with the help of retrorockets, and just before hitting the ground, mechanical arms installed on the launch tower – nicknamed “wands” – had closed on him and immobilized.
>> A lire : SpaceX succeeds in its bet and catches up with the first stage of its Starship megarocket after a flight
But this time, SpaceX announced shortly after takeoff that the criteria were not met to attempt the operation and Super Heavy ditched in the Gulf of Mexico where it disintegrated.
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Decisive tour de force
For its part, the Starship continued its flight, with the aim of landing in the Indian Ocean. This time it must take place during the day in order to encourage visual observations. Tests on the thermal shield are also planned.
SpaceX had to demonstrate in October that it was not a fluke, but rather a decisive tour de force towards the reuse of this heavy launcher.
This strategy aims to be able to launch more machines more quickly, and for much less money than if it was necessary to use new equipment each time.
March in two years?
The development of Starship is being carried out vigorously by the company, launching prototypes without cargo, in order to quickly correct the problems encountered in real flight situations. SpaceX, however, revealed that it was transporting cargo for the first time on Tuesday: a banana.
“The first Starships to Mars will take off in two years,” recently said Elon Musk, known for his very optimistic predictions. “If these landings go well, the first crewed flights to Mars will take place in four years.”
An objective shared by Donald Trump, who wants these missions to take place before the end of his mandate.
>> The United States postpones the return of astronauts to the Moon until 2026:
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