Despite problems, SpaceX hails progress after third test of Starship rocket
Al Jazeera
The rocket, key to NASA’s future plans, was lost after re-entering Earth’s atmosphere but hit key milestones during flight.
The space travel company SpaceX has completed its most successful test yet of Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket — but as the unmanned rocket completed its flight, it was destroyed upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Thursday’s test flight was the third conducted with Starship rockets, ahead of planned missions with the United States space agency NASA to send astronauts to the moon.
SpaceX, a company founded and owned by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, livestreamed the latest Starship experiment, noting that the vessel flew farther and faster than it had in two previous tests.
However, as the rocket returned to Earth, it lost communication with SpaceX engineers. The livestream suddenly cut off, its final image showing the rocket’s heat shield flaring with friction. SpaceX later reported that the vessel did not survive the last leg of its flight. It was expected to splash down into the Indian Ocean.
Shortly after the mishap, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would investigate the failed re-entry, a standard practice whenever a space flight goes awry.
