{"id":243,"date":"2026-05-23T12:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T06:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadnews.net\/?p=243"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:13:23","slug":"spacexs-enormous-starship-splashes-down-after-test-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadnews.net\/?p=243","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX’s enormous Starship splashes down after test flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, United States, May 23, 2026 (AFP) – SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft splashed down into the Indian ocean Friday after the company performed a test flight of the latest version of the enormous rocket.<\/em><\/p>\n

The voyage was not without a few glitches, but SpaceX employees shown on a livestream roared in delight following the trial flight that comes as the firm prepares a potentially record initial public offering.<\/em><\/p>\n

The mammoth rocket blasted off into space at just after 5:30 pm local time (2230 GMT).<\/em><\/p>\n

The company did not intend to recover either the booster or the upper stage, and the final splashdown was fiery but controlled, as planned.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the twelfth flight test of Starship!” the company wrote on X.<\/em><\/p>\n

The third-generation Starship spacecraft carried out a maneuver that saw it flip upright and reignite its engines for control, despite one being out of commission.<\/em><\/p>\n

It also deployed its 22 mock satellites, including two that attempted to photograph the spacecraft’s heat shield for analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n

The vehicle had coasted through space but was not in exactly the correct orbit after one of its engines malfunctioned during an initial burn.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I wouldn’t call it nominal orbital insertion,” company spokesperson Dan Huot said, adding however that it was “within bounds” of a previously analyzed trajectory.<\/em><\/p>\n

After the Super Heavy booster separated from the upper stage as expected, Huot said on the livestream that the booster failed to complete its so-called boost-back burn.<\/em><\/p>\n

The booster fell swiftly back to Earth, uncontrolled, into the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX wasn’t planning to recapture the booster anyway, but was still hoping for a precision return.<\/em><\/p>\n

– NASA administrator onsite –<\/em><\/p>\n

Friday’s flight followed an aborted trial one day prior.<\/em><\/p>\n

The countdown clock stopped and started until it was determined that the last-minute red flags could not be addressed in time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Musk quickly posted on X that “the hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.” SpaceX said that issue was corrected overnight.<\/em><\/p>\n

The company is facing extra scrutiny after SpaceX filed earlier this week with US financial regulators to go public, likely in June, in what is expected to become a record IPO.<\/em><\/p>\n

Friday marks Starship’s 12th flight overall, but the first in seven months.<\/em><\/p>\n

The latest design is bigger than its predecessor, standing at just over 407 feet (124 meters) when fully stacked.<\/em><\/p>\n

There’s a lot riding on SpaceX’s progress: the company is under contract with NASA to produce a modified version of Starship to serve as a lunar landing system.<\/em><\/p>\n

The US space agency’s Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon, as China forges ahead with a rival effort that’s targeting 2030 for its first crewed mission.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ahead of launch, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman appeared during the pre-launch SpaceX program and said “we’re looking forward to seeing this fly, because hopefully at some point in the not-too-distant future we’re going to join up in Earth orbit.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Both SpaceX and rival Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-owned firm also vying to develop a lunar lander, have realigned their strategies to prioritize projects related to Moon missions.<\/em><\/p>\n

NASA is aiming to test an in-orbit rendezvous between its spacecraft and one or two lunar landers in 2027 and carry out a crewed lunar landing before the end of 2028.<\/em><\/p>\n

But a lot needs to happen before then — and industry experts have voiced repeated skepticism that SpaceX and Blue Origin can achieve benchmarks in time.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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