SpaceX blasted its massive Starship into space for its fourth test on Thursday from south Texas.
Elon Musk’s space corporation’s primary goal is to survive a scorching hot re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere. According to Reuters, the rocket fragmented during the same intense phase as the Starship’s previous attempt.
Launched from the space company’s Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica Village on Texas’ Gulf Coast, the two-stage spacecraft featured the Starship cruise ship atop its imposing Super Heavy rocket booster.
SpaceX Starship Attempts Fourth Launch
It’s the most recent test mission in Elon Musk’s company’s test-to-failure rocket development campaign.
Every starship rocket that has reached its testing goals has either exploded or disintegrated in the atmosphere.
The rocket’s first launch in April 2023 exploded minutes after takeoff, about 40 km (25 miles) above the earth. Furthermore, in the November effort, Starship made it to space for the first time before exploding shortly after.
In March, the spacecraft completed a significantly longer mission than planned in an attempt to return from orbit, breaking apart in Earth’s atmosphere.
The rocket will fly again on Thursday, but its goal is to travel farther than it did in its previous test.
The rocket system’s first stage, “Super Heavy,” fired its 33 Raptor engines in order to take off. After that, it was supposed to split off from the Starship’s second stage and launch itself farther into space.
