Elon Musk's mammoth SpaceX Starship on Monday completed its 11th test flight from a Texas launch site in the US.
This was the last test flight before SpaceX starts test-launching a new version of the giant rocket equipped with more features for Moon and Mars missions.
The Starship was launched Monday from SpaceX's south Texas launch facilities just after 6:25 pm local time (2325 UTC). The rocket included the Starship upper stage stacked atop its Super Heavy booster.
After sending the Starship stage to the edge of space, Super Heavy returned for a controlled entry in the Gulf of Mexico 7 minutes after takeoff.
After its flight, the upper stage splashed down as planned into the Indian Ocean.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said on X that the mission was "another major step toward landing Americans on the Moon's south pole."
Upgrades on the way for Starship
SpaceX, in future tests, expects to launch a more advanced Starship prototype tailored with upgrades essential for long-duration missions in space, the company said on Monday.
The upgraded prototype "is really the vehicle that could take humans to the Moon and Mars," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at a conference in Paris last month.
Previous tests of the enormous Starship rocket have resulted in explosions of the upper stage.
But the streak of failed test flights ended after Starship's last mission in August. Monday's flight was similar to the previous ones and deployed mock Starlink satellites.
Until August's successful test flights, doubts surrounded Starship's capabilities to lead Moon missions.
NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon, and Musk's SpaceX has a multibillion-dollar federal contract to develop a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander.
The manned Artemis III mission is intended for mid-2027; however, refueling still remains one of many testing objectives required before the rocket carries humans to the moon.
Source: Deutsche Welle
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
