According to reports, SpaceX launched the 400-foot-tall (122 meter) Starship vehicle on Sunday. This launch took place at around 6 pm Indian time. The rocket was flown from the Starbase launch site in South Texas in the US.
SpaceX’s plan was to return the Starship rocket’s first stage booster, known as Super Heavy, to its launch mount. The booster had to reach a launch tower. And it happened as was expected.
According to reports, the Super Heavy booster made a successful landing on the launch tower about 7 minutes after liftoff. The system installed on the tower captured the booster. During this, the SpaceX engineer doing live commentary said that this is a day for the engineering history books. Excited by the success, SpaceX employees were shouting loudly. They were raising slogans. A SpaceX spokesperson even said that it looked like magic.
Another success achieved!
The success of SpaceX was not limited to just this. The first stage booster carried SpaceX’s 165-foot-tall upper stage, called Starship, into the sky. It was to travel through space and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. As per plan, 65 minutes after launch, Starship fired its engines and touched down and began hovering over the ocean.
What is Starship Rocket?
Starship is a reusable rocket. It mainly has two parts. The first is the passenger carry section, which will house the passengers, while the second is the super heavy rocket booster. Including the starship and booster, its length is about 400 feet (122 meters). Whereas the weight is 50 lakh kilograms. According to the information, the Starship rocket is capable of generating a thrust of 16 million pounds (70 meganewtons). This is almost twice as much as NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
