Space: SpaceX's mega-rocket 'Starship' blasts off for a second test mission
On Saturday, November 18, SpaceX launched the Starship megarocket, the most powerful ever built, from the Boca Chica base for a second test flight closely scrutinized by NASA, which is counting on this spacecraft for its next missions back to the Moon.
The SpaceX rocket is making its second test flight this Saturday, November 18 from Boca-Chica, Texas. © REUTERS/Joe Skipper
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Nominal Starship trajectory," we could hear, this Saturday, November 18 shortly after 7 a.m. local time, on the live video feed of Elon Musk's company, a few minutes after the rocket took off. The Starship module, placed at the top of the rocket, successfully separated from the Super Heavy propulsion stage, which did not survive its scheduled descent and suffered an explosion, according to commentators of the video stream.
A Failed First Flight
A first test flight in the spring ended in a gigantic explosion over the Gulf of Mexico for Elon Musk's American aerospace company SpaceX, which hopes that its rocket will one day help colonize Mars. On April 20, Starship took off for the first time in its full configuration. But several engines had failed, and SpaceX had purposely detonated the rocket after four minutes.
Eventually reusable
The real innovation of Starship is that it must be fully reusable, with both stages designed to eventually return to land on their launch pad – thus reducing costs. Only the first stage of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is currently being recovered. Starship is both larger than NASA's new mega-rocket, SLS (98 m), which took off for the first time a year ago, and the legendary Saturn V, the rocket of the Apollo lunar program (111 m). Starship's takeoff thrust is also about twice as powerful as these two launchers.
(With AFP)
Read alsoSpace: seven months after its explosion, SpaceX's "Starship" rocket attempts a second test flight
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