Starship completes 1st test flight since SpaceX IPO
SpaceX’s Starship megarocket completed a test flight on Friday, the first since Elon Musk’s company went public on Wall Street in June.
The ship splashed down into the Indian Ocean, which was celebrated by SpaceX employees watching along from the firm’s headquarters in Starbase, Texas.
“Starship is intact, floating in the ocean and transmitting telemetry!” Musk said on X.
This was the world’s most powerful rocket’s 13th flight.
Previous tests had ended with Starship in flames or exploding at splashdown, or breaking up in midair.
What do we know about the latest SpaceX Starship test?
Starship, which is around 122 meters (400 feet) tall, deployed 20 Starlink satellites into suborbital space.
After briefly contacting SpaceX’s network of around 10,000 orbiting satellites, they reentered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up as planned.
The hourlong test “will provide critical data as we prepare to expand our Starlink constellation” of the company’s satellite internet service, SpaceX said.
By the end of 2026, SpaceX aims to use the Starship rocket to expand its Starlink network with the latest V3 satellites, providing coverage in remote areas where traditional cellular networks are unavailable.
SpaceX’s Starship megarocket completed a test flight on Friday, the first since Elon Musk’s company went public on Wall Street in June.
The ship splashed down into the Indian Ocean, which was celebrated by SpaceX employees watching along from the firm’s headquarters in Starbase, Texas.
“Starship is intact, floating in the ocean and transmitting telemetry!” Musk said on X.
This was the world’s most powerful rocket’s 13th flight.
Previous tests had ended with Starship in flames or exploding at splashdown, or breaking up in midair.
What do we know about the latest SpaceX Starship test?
Starship, which is around 122 meters (400 feet) tall, deployed 20 Starlink satellites into suborbital space.
After briefly contacting SpaceX’s network of around 10,000 orbiting satellites, they reentered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up as planned.
The hourlong test “will provide critical data as we prepare to expand our Starlink constellation” of the company’s satellite internet service, SpaceX said.
By the end of 2026, SpaceX aims to use the Starship rocket to expand its Starlink network with the latest V3 satellites, providing coverage in remote areas where traditional cellular networks are unavailable. (DW)
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