“Starship” launch stage captured again for the first time | tagesschau.de

The US space company SpaceX wants to one day fly people to Mars with the “Starship” rocket system. A breakthrough was achieved on the fifth test flight: the first rocket stage returned to the launch platform for the first time.

The US space company SpaceX has succeeded for the first time in recovering a stage of its “Starship” rocket after a test flight. The 121 meter high rocket with an empty “Starship” capsule took off at sunrise from Boca Chica in south Texas.

As seen in a video from the company, after a nearly nine-minute test flight, the rocket’s first stage returned to the launch pad, where it was caught by the tower’s “rod” arms.

“Day for them history books”

“This is a day for the engineering history books,” commented Kate Tice from SpaceX headquarters. In the four previous test flights, billionaire Elon Musk’s company had forgone such a maneuver and allowed the launch stage to fall into the sea.

The capsule, separated from the launch stage, landed in the Indian Ocean after a flight around the Earth. This part of the test was aborted during the test flight in June after parts came loose.

Explosions during previous tests

During a first test in April 2023, the entire rocket system exploded after just a few minutes. During a second test in November 2023, the two rocket stages separated and the upper one continued to fly, but shortly afterwards both exploded separately.

During a third test in March, the “Starship” reached space for the first time, but was also unable to complete the flight as hoped. During a fourth test flight in June, the “Starship” made a controlled landing for the first time, but it didn’t go quite as hoped. SpaceX always emphasizes that the goal of the tests is to collect data.

First to the moon – then to Mars

The Starship system features the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It consists of the approximately 70 meter long “Super Heavy” booster and the approximately 50 meter long upper stage, also called “Starship”. The starting stage alone has 33 engines. The system is designed so that the spacecraft and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. The system, which is around 120 meters long in total, will be able to transport well over 100 tons of cargo in the future.

The US space agency NASA has ordered two “Starships” to land astronauts on the moon this decade. SpaceX intends to use Starship to transport people and supplies to the Moon and eventually Mars.