(TheConservativeTimes.org) – SpaceX has launched the world’s most powerful rocket on its fourth flight, which has successfully sent the rocket into space and then back into the atmosphere through a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The Super Heavy first-stage booster successfully pulled off a “soft” landing in the Gulf of Mexico and this marked the first time that both flights were able to accomplish their primary objectives. “Despite the loss of many (heat-shield) tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!” Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX said.
The rocket, which is almost four hundred feet tall, took off from the Voca Chica, Texas Starbase flight facility using its thirty methane-burning Raptor engines. Elon Musk was able to watch the launch from the launch control center, even with his child sitting on his lap, as the Super Heavy-Starship made its debut into space.
The rocket is by far the most powerful launcher ever built; during the initial stages of flight, it generates over sixteen million pounds of thrust.
The third, and previous, test flight in March left the Starship completely decomposed after flying into the atmosphere. However, this time the rocket was steady when plunging back to Earth with super-heated plasma visible across the whole rocket as it came back down into the water.
The Super Heavy Booster and the Starship are both meant to be fully reusable, so their missions here were to get them back to Earth safely and fully intact.
“The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy,” SpaceX said on its website when talking about this latest test flight.
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