SpaceX launches Starship on first mission aimed at completing six Earth orbits
New York: SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket towards orbit on Monday in a major test of the vehicle’s readiness for future NASA lunar missions.
The spacecraft was intended to circle the Earth six times from an altitude of about 275 kilometres during a flight lasting nearly 10 hours. The mission was scheduled to end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Chile.
SpaceX said the flight would proceed only if all systems were confirmed to be functioning properly. Any decision to abort the orbital attempt would have brought the mission to an early conclusion over the Indian Ocean.
The rocket carried 26 of the company’s latest Starlink satellites, which were to join a constellation of more than 11,000 older spacecraft providing internet services.
Monday’s launch marked the 14th full-scale Starship flight from SpaceX’s facility at the southern tip of Texas. Previous test flights travelled only as far as the Indian Ocean, with several ending in fiery crashes after briefly reaching space.
The first-stage booster was not scheduled to return to the Texas launch site. Instead, it was expected to fall into the Gulf of Mexico a few minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said the company is taking a cautious approach to the first orbital attempt to prevent debris from falling over populated areas. The company plans to attempt a return of both stages to the launch site only after establishing that the spacecraft can complete an orbital flight safely.
If the mission succeeds, the next Starship could be guided back to the launch tower, where large mechanical arms would attempt to catch the hovering spacecraft. Musk has said the odds of a successful catch are roughly even or slightly better. A successful test could allow the vehicle to be flown again by the end of this year or early next year.
The 407-foot rocket was designed for full reusability, a feature SpaceX says will help reduce launch costs. Engineers recently recovered the previous Starship from the Indian Ocean and used inspections of the spacecraft to modify the heat shield of the vehicle launched on Monday.
The orbital test is a crucial milestone in SpaceX’s plans to qualify Starship for missions to the Moon and Mars.
NASA’s Artemis III mission could take place as early as next summer and is expected to involve three launches and a series of dockings in Earth orbit. An Orion spacecraft carrying astronauts is scheduled to link up with a lunar lander, with SpaceX’s Starship also expected to play a role in the mission.
Artemis IV, currently scheduled for no earlier than 2028, is expected to carry astronauts to the lunar surface using either Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander or Starship, depending on which vehicle is ready first.
Musk initially developed Starship with the goal of transporting large numbers of people and supplies to Mars. The company is currently prioritising lunar missions and plans to use the spacecraft for launching large batches of satellites, eventually reducing its dependence on Falcon 9 rockets.
SpaceX is also nearing completion of a second Starship launch site at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, while a third facility is planned in Louisiana.
(Inputs from AP)