New Delhi:
Elon Musk and SpaceX shared stunning photos of Earth captured by Space X's Starship as it completed its first successful flight through space on Thursday, which was its third attempt. The Starship, the world's most powerful rocket, achieved its farthest and fastest flight during this test launch, although it was lost on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, according to SpaceX.
High-definition images from an onboard camera showed the spacecraft in space, with the curve of the Earth visible in the background as it shot up at speeds of more than 16,000 miles per hour.
“Wish this was a real photo,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted, sharing a photo of the rocket in space. SpaceX also shared several images on their official X page with the caption “ship in space.”
Wild this is a real photo pic.twitter.com/V2LWqTOydY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2024
Ship in space pic.twitter.com/ge5vJ0q9jW
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 16, 2024
After the mission, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on their “successful test flight.” “Congratulations to @SpaceX on a successful test flight! The spaceship has risen into the sky. Together we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the moon – and then look beyond to Mars,” he wrote on X.
Congratulations with @SpaceX on a successful test flight! The spaceship has risen into the sky. Together we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the moon – and then look beyond to Mars. https://t.co/VXq8Vp1sAc
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) March 14, 2024
The launch took place from SpaceX's starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 8:25 am local time (6:55 pm IST), and was streamed live on X to millions of viewers.
The spaceship, which stands 397 feet tall (39 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty), is designed to be completely reusable and features a super-heavy booster that produces remarkable thrust. During its third launch test, the Starship fulfilled several objectives, including testing its payload delivery and atmospheric re-entry capabilities.
After launch, the Starship zoomed through space at a speed of 26,000 km per hour and reached an altitude of more than 200 km above sea level. He made his journey halfway around the Earth before beginning his descent across the Indian Ocean.
However, 49 minutes into the flight, ground control lost all signals from the spacecraft, leading to the declaration that the ship was “lost”, likely destroyed before it could undergo a planned hard landing. The lower stage booster also failed to achieve a successful water landing.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk remains optimistic about the spaceship's potential. “Starship will make life multiplanetary,” he wrote on X.
A spaceship will make life multiplanetary pic.twitter.com/Ul7ksiAHBZ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2024
SpaceX's first integrated test ended abruptly in April 2023 when the spacecraft failed to separate its stages, destroying the rocket over the Gulf of Mexico. A second test in November of the same year showed slight improvement, but ended in an explosion over the ocean.
Each spaceship costs SpaceX about $90 million to build. Despite setbacks, SpaceX's real-world testing approach has been successful in the past with Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules. With NASA planning a moon mission in 2026 and China targeting 2030, SpaceX must demonstrate Starship's capabilities, including safe flight and refueling in orbit, to remain competitive.