Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its sixth Starship test flight to space on Tuesday from Texas, eyeing an array of improvements on the rocket as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump watched in person.
The roughly 400-foot-tall (122-meter-tall) rocket system, designed to land astronauts on the moon and ferry crews to Mars, lifted off at 4 p.m. CT (2200 GMT) from SpaceX’s sprawling rocket development site in Boca Chica, Texas.
The first stage, called Super Heavy, is due to return to land by falling into giant mechanical arms on its launch tower, while Starship travels around Earth for a planned daytime splashdown in the Indian Ocean some 90 minutes later.
The roughly 400-foot (122-meter) tall rocket system is designed to land astronauts on the moon and ferry crews to Mars. The first stage, called Super Heavy, on Tuesday is due to boost Starship into space before returning to land, while Starship travels around Earth for a planned daytime splashdown in the Indian Ocean some 90 minutes later.
In a launch last month, Starship’s first stage booster returned to land for the first time by falling into giant mechanical arms at the launch site, a key step in its reusable design that the company will repeat on Tuesday, but “faster/harder,” Musk wrote on social media.
Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, was a prominent supporter of Trump’s presidential election campaign, appearing with him at rallies and backing him with at least $119 million in political support. Musk stands to benefit from Trump’s victory, with the billionaire entrepreneur expected to wield extraordinary influence to help his companies and secure favorable government treatment.
