Startbase (Texas, USA), 28 Sept. (LaPresse/AP) – SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, has launched Starship into orbit for the first time, with the aim of completing six orbits around the Earth to demonstrate its readiness for NASA’s Artemis lunar programme. Previous test flights had merely skimmed the edge of space, lasting no more than an hour. If all goes well, the test is expected to last nearly 10 hours and conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, near Chile. The rocket took off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 26 of the newest and most advanced Starlink satellites, which are set to join the 11,000 older models already providing internet service. This is the fourteenth mission in three years. Previous test flights had not ventured beyond the Indian Ocean and had often ended in crashes and fires after briefly reaching space.
Space: SpaceX launches Starship for first orbital test
Startbase (Texas, USA), 28 Sept. (LaPresse/AP) – SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, has launched Starship into orbit for the first time, with the aim of completing six orbits around the Earth to demonstrate its readiness for NASA’s Artemis lunar programme. Previous test flights had merely skimmed the edge of space, lasting no more than an hour. If all goes well, the test is expected to last nearly 10 hours and conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, near Chile. The rocket took off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 26 of the newest and most advanced Starlink satellites, which are set to join the 11,000 older models already providing internet service. This is the fourteenth mission in three years. Previous test flights had not ventured beyond the Indian Ocean and had often ended in crashes and fires after briefly reaching space.