Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, has completed the fourth launch of the Starship spacecraft, which will be used for future trips to the Moon and Mars. For the first time, the spacecraft successfully returned to Earth, according to SpaceX's Twitter (X) account.
Flight 4 liftoff from Starbase pic.twitter.com/K32AdCND5O
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 6, 2024
The launch of the Starship rocket was carried out from the Starbase launch site located in Boca Chica, Texas. The operation began at 03:50 p.m.Kyiv time.
Slow motion liftoff of Starship on Flight 4 pic.twitter.com/9itFbrfxW7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 6, 2024
The moment of the spacecraft launch
During the flight, the company tested the ability of Super Heavy and Starship to land on water. Almost two hours after the start of the operation, the heavy rocket made a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft landed in the Indian Ocean.
Super Heavy has splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico pic.twitter.com/hIY3Gkq57k
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 6, 2024
The landing of the heavy rocket Super Heavy
It's worth adding that SpaceX successfully managed to return both stages to Earth for the first time.
Starship
Starship is a reusable rocket system with a height of up to 120 meters. The system consists of a spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster. Overall, it is the tallest rocket ever built.
Previous Starship launches were not as successful as today's. Sometimes the rocket exploded or disintegrated.
