SpaceX’s Starship Launch Marks Key Milestone Despite Booster Setback

On Tuesday, SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket from Texas. The rocket's mission marked a significant step forward in its spaceflight capabilities. However, there was a setback when the booster failed to land as planned. US President-elect Donald Trump was at SpaceX's Boca Chica facility to watch the launch.

The Starship rocket is 400 feet tall (122 meters). It is designed for missions to the Moon and Mars. The launch took place at 4 pm CT (2200 GMT, 3:30 am IST). The first-stage booster, called Super Heavy, separated from the second stage, Starship, at around 40 miles (62 km) above Earth. The separation sent Starship into space.

Instead of landing, Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. This unexpected splashdown indicated that something went wrong. A live stream by space blogger Everyday Astronaut later showed the booster exploding into a fireball after hitting the water.

Despite the failure with the booster, the rest of the mission was successful. Starship orbited Earth and splashed down in the Indian Ocean about an hour later. During the flight, Starship also restarted one of its engines in space for the first time. This was an important milestone, as SpaceX had failed to do this in previous flights.

Trump's presence at the launch reflects a stronger relationship with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Musk is expected to benefit from Trump's presidential victory. Musk was an active supporter of Trump's campaign, contributing over $119 million in political support. With this alliance, Musk could influence government policies that benefit his companies, SpaceX and Tesla.

On November 13, Trump appointed Musk as co-leader of a government efficiency project.

The project aims to reduce wasteful spending and regulations, especially in the space industry. Musk has been vocal about his frustration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates rocket launches. Despite his criticism, the FAA approved the launch quickly, just over a month after the previous test flight.

Musk had four main goals for this mission: to restart Starship’s engine during flight, to land in the ocean during the daytime, to test Starship's heat resistance during reentry, and to improve the booster landing speed. He also mentioned testing thousands of smaller design changes.

SpaceX is aiming for fast progress in Starship’s development during a second Trump administration.

The new administration is expected to focus on ambitious space goals, like NASA's Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon and Musk’s goal of landing humans on Mars.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said that the company could launch 400 Starship missions in the next four years, matching the number of Falcon rockets launched so far.