SpaceX ‘catches’ giant Starship rocket booster in fifth flight test
Giant leap in space exploration
SpaceX launches its enormous rocket on its boldest test flight yet, catching the returning booster back at the pad with mechanical arms.
SpaceX pulled off a feat of technical wizardry on Sunday, not only flying a 233-foot rocket booster back to its launch site but also catching it out of the air with two giant mechanical arms.
It occurred during the fifth test flight of the Starship rocket and was a huge step forward for the ambitions of SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, which include one day transporting people to Mars.
In the more immediate future, NASA is paying SpaceX US$4 billion to use Starship to take astronauts to the surface of the moon during two upcoming missions in its Artemis programme.
SpaceX’s recent feat has captured the attention of enthusiasts worldwide. The launch itself was a magnificent display, with a booster rocket possessing double the power of the Apollo programme’s Saturn V piercing the dawn sky with a luminous blue-tinged flame. However, it was the subsequent landing of SpaceX’s fifth Starship test flight’s booster stage that truly stole the show.
Awe-inspiring
Descending from the fringes of space just a kilometre above Earth’s surface, the colossal 71-metre steel cylinder embarked on a daring descent, still hurtling through the atmosphere at speeds akin to the sound barrier. In a mesmerising display of precision, the booster reignited 13 of its 33 engines, orchestrating a graceful deceleration to a mere couple of hundred kilometres per hour before deftly balancing on the thrust of just three engines, akin to a broom handle delicately poised on a finger.
Guided by these engines, the mammoth structure navigated its way back to the 146-metre-tall gantry tower, its launch point a mere seven minutes earlier. As it approached the tower at a seemingly precarious angle, the tower’s colossal arms enveloped the booster, securing it in a breathtaking mid-air capture, suspending it high above the Texan landscape with intermittent flames dancing around its base – a sight both surreal and awe-inspiring.
This triumphant landing serves as a testament to the ingenuity of SpaceX’s engineers, spearheaded by the visionary Elon Musk. The successful reusability of the booster stage hints at the imminent realisation of SpaceX’s ambitious plans to deploy a massive reusable booster for frequent launches of the Starship spacecraft, promising a substantial increase in payload capacity for SpaceX and its diverse clientele, including the US government.
The potential reduction in launch costs per tonne is poised to be dramatic, building upon the considerable cost reductions already achieved by SpaceX’s semi-reusable Falcon 9 rockets, as estimated by Citigroup. The advent of the fully reusable Starship heralds a new era in space travel, potentially rivalling the transformative impact witnessed in the 1960s during the space race.
Looking ahead, SpaceX’s rigorous testing regime aims to validate the Starship’s engine capabilities in space, solidifying its orbital manoeuvres and landing procedures. With a track record of frequent test flights, SpaceX is poised to accelerate its pace of innovation, inching closer towards operational readiness within a few years.
It occurred during the fifth test flight of the Starship rocket and was a huge step forward for the ambitions of SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, which include one day transporting people to Mars.
In the more immediate future, NASA is paying SpaceX US$4 billion to use Starship to take astronauts to the surface of the moon during two upcoming missions in its Artemis programme.
SpaceX’s recent feat has captured the attention of enthusiasts worldwide. The launch itself was a magnificent display, with a booster rocket possessing double the power of the Apollo programme’s Saturn V piercing the dawn sky with a luminous blue-tinged flame. However, it was the subsequent landing of SpaceX’s fifth Starship test flight’s booster stage that truly stole the show.
Awe-inspiring
Descending from the fringes of space just a kilometre above Earth’s surface, the colossal 71-metre steel cylinder embarked on a daring descent, still hurtling through the atmosphere at speeds akin to the sound barrier. In a mesmerising display of precision, the booster reignited 13 of its 33 engines, orchestrating a graceful deceleration to a mere couple of hundred kilometres per hour before deftly balancing on the thrust of just three engines, akin to a broom handle delicately poised on a finger.
Guided by these engines, the mammoth structure navigated its way back to the 146-metre-tall gantry tower, its launch point a mere seven minutes earlier. As it approached the tower at a seemingly precarious angle, the tower’s colossal arms enveloped the booster, securing it in a breathtaking mid-air capture, suspending it high above the Texan landscape with intermittent flames dancing around its base – a sight both surreal and awe-inspiring.
This triumphant landing serves as a testament to the ingenuity of SpaceX’s engineers, spearheaded by the visionary Elon Musk. The successful reusability of the booster stage hints at the imminent realisation of SpaceX’s ambitious plans to deploy a massive reusable booster for frequent launches of the Starship spacecraft, promising a substantial increase in payload capacity for SpaceX and its diverse clientele, including the US government.
The potential reduction in launch costs per tonne is poised to be dramatic, building upon the considerable cost reductions already achieved by SpaceX’s semi-reusable Falcon 9 rockets, as estimated by Citigroup. The advent of the fully reusable Starship heralds a new era in space travel, potentially rivalling the transformative impact witnessed in the 1960s during the space race.
Looking ahead, SpaceX’s rigorous testing regime aims to validate the Starship’s engine capabilities in space, solidifying its orbital manoeuvres and landing procedures. With a track record of frequent test flights, SpaceX is poised to accelerate its pace of innovation, inching closer towards operational readiness within a few years.
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