Starship launch: Space X embarks on its fifth test flight

Starship launch: Space X embarks on its fifth test flight
Starship launch: Space X embarks on its fifth test flight

The US space company SpaceX captured the launch stage for the first time on the fifth test flight of its “Starship” rocket system. The 121 meter high rocket with an empty “Starship” capsule took off on Sunday at sunrise (local time) from south Texas near the Mexican border. A few minutes later, the 71 meter long launch stage landed back on the ramp, where it was caught by huge metal arms. “This is a day for the engineering history books,” commented Kate Tice from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne.

In the 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.

The Starship system has the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. The starting stage alone has 33 engines. 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 ultimately to Mars.

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