A prototype rocket SpaceX hopes to send to Mars one day completed its first successful high-altitude test Wednesday by safely touching down on a landing pad.
Other prototypes of the Starship rocket technically launched successfully in four previous tests, though Wednesday’s rocket was the first to reach a high altitude and land in one piece.
“Starship serial number 15 (SN15) successfully completed SpaceX’s fifth high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from Starbase in Texas,” the company released in a statement.
The prototype, which is powered by three Raptor engines, traveled for about four minutes and reached an altitude of nearly 6 miles over Boca Chica, next to the Gulf of Mexico.
HISTORY!!!!!!! On their 19th anniversary of being a company, @SpaceX proved their Starship vehicle’s wacky landing maneuver works!!! They NAILED THE LANDING!!! That was incredible!!! Congrats @elonmusk and the rest of the team!!!! That was unreal!!! pic.twitter.com/LYAE2Jr6KF
— Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) May 5, 2021
BLUE ORIGIN AUCTIONING ONE SEAT TO EDGE OF SPACE
The previous rockets were successfully launched, but they either exploded during landing or after they reached the ground.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk lauded the successful landing, saying Wednesday, “Starship landing nominal!”
NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract on April 17 to create a model of the Starship that can take astronauts to the moon’s surface within the next decade.
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SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon capsule returned to Earth on Sunday following the arrival of Crew-2 astronauts to the International Space Station on April 24.
