Hawthorne: Elon Musk and SpaceX have released stunning images of Earth taken by SpaceX's Starship after it successfully completed its first space flight on Thursday, marking its third try.
In this test flight, the Starship, known as the most powerful rocket in the world, achieved its greatest distance and speed to date.
The Starship traveled through space at a speed of 26,000 km per hour, reaching an altitude exceeding 200 km above sea level. It circled halfway around the Earth before initiating its descent over the Indian Ocean. SpaceX reported that it was lost upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
Onboard camera footage showed the Starship in space, with the curve of the Earth in the background as it traveled at over 26,000 km/h."Wild that this is a real picture," tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, sharing an image of the rocket in space. On their official X page, SpaceX also posted several pictures with the caption "ship in space."
Following the mission, NASA administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on their “successful test flight”. “Congrats to @SpaceX on a successful test flight! Starship has soared into the heavens. Together, we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the Moon—then look onward to Mars,” he wrote on X.
Millions of people watched the launch live on X, which began at 8:25 am local time (6:55 pm IST) from SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas.
With a capacity for full reuse and a super heavy booster that generates amazing thrust, the Starship is 90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, measuring 397 feet in height. During its third test launch, the Starship achieved several objectives, including payload delivery testing and atmospheric re-entry.