Starship, SpaceX's megarocket, sees its first stage sink into the sea after takeoff, failing to reproduce a decisive maneuver

A sixth test of the Starship megarocket failed on Tuesday, November 19, in the United States, under the eyes of President-elect Donald Trump. The objective was to repeat a successful maneuver for the first time in October, namely catching the first stage of the rocket using mechanical arms.

This time, SpaceX did not attempt the maneuver, and the first stage of the megarocket ended up in the sea. Elon Musk's company announced shortly after takeoff that the criteria were not met to attempt this complex operation which should make the rocket fully reusable.

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 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, the American Space Agency, which is counting on it to bring its astronauts back to the surface of the Moon.

Elon Musk “honored” by the presence of Donald Trump

During the last test, the rocket gained a new admirer in the person of Donald Trump. In his victory speech on presidential election night, he described watching the theft and thinking “in a movie”.

“I called Elon. I said, “Elon, was that you?” He told me: “Yes”. I said, “Who else can do this? Can Russia do it? No. Can China do it? No. Can the United States do it, apart from you? No” “traced the president-elect. “I said, 'That's why I love you, Elon, it's awesome!' »

Mardi, the president-elect arrived wearing his iconic red cap, and Elon Musk said « honoré » of his presence.

The SpaceX boss spent tens of millions of dollars to support the Republican's campaign and landed an advisory position in exchange – ignoring possible conflicts of interest, SpaceX having numerous ongoing contracts with the US government.

A successful test in October

Takeoff for this sixth flight took place at 4 p.m. local time (11 p.m. in Paris) from the company's Starbase space base in the far south of Texas. The objectives were largely similar to the previous test. The rocket consists of the Super-Heavy first stage (70 meters high) and, above it, the Starship (50 meters), which by extension gives its name to the entire launcher.

After propelling the ship, Super-Heavy is supposed to detach from it and begin its descent. In October, rather than ending his course in the sea, as in the past, he had succeeded in an unprecedented maneuver: returning to his firing point. Just before hitting the ground, mechanical arms installed on the launch tower, nicknamed “the wands”, closed around him and immobilized him.

For its part, the Starship continued its flight until landing in the Indian Ocean. The same choreography was on the agenda on Tuesday, with however a daytime landing for the vessel, in order to encourage visual observations. Tests on the heat shield were also planned. But this time, Super Heavy ditched in the Gulf of Mexico where it disintegrated.

March in perspective

All these flights represent real challenges for a machine of this size. Several of the first tests ended in explosions. And in a video posted at the end of October by Elon Musk, showing him playing a video game, a man reporting on the fifth test in the background talks about how SpaceX was at “one second” to order the rocket to crash next to the launch tower.

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.

“The first Starships to Mars will take off in two yearsElon Musk recently said. These flights will be unmanned in order to test the reliability of an intact landing on Mars. » “If these landings go well, the first crewed flights to Mars will take place in four years”added the boss, known for his very optimistic predictions.

Donald Trump has said he wants to send such missions to Mars before the end of his term. For his new space sidekick, the goal is to build on the Red Planet “a self-sufficient city, within twenty years”.