SpaceX Starship rocket prototype achieves first safe landing

SpaceX successfully landed its prototype Starship rocket on its fifth attempt, a livestream Wednesda

A prototype of SpaceX's Starship rocket soared into the south Texas sky in a high-altitude test launch on Wednesday, then flew back to Earth to touch down safely for the first time, after four previous return-landing attempts ended in explosions. The feat marked a key milestone for the private rocket company of billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk in its development of a resusable heavy-lift launch vehicle to eventually carry astronauts and large cargo payloads to the moon and Mars. The Starship SN15 blasted off from the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, along the Gulf Coast and reached its planned maximum altitude of 10 kilometers (6 miles), then hovered momentarily in midair before flying nose-down under aerodynamic control back toward Earth. Maneuvering itself back into vertical position under rocket thrust as it approached the ground, the 16-story, three-engine vehicle than descended to a gentle touchdown on its landing gear.