NASA has big ambitions for human spaceflight, and none are greater than its desire to land humans on the Moon and, eventually, Mars. To achieve those dreams, the agency will need a new generation of battle tanks that can carry its astronauts (and lots and lots of equipment) to our celestial neighbors.
While the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) will play a critical role in this extraordinary feat, SpaceX’s reusable Starship and Super Heavy booster – the world’s most powerful launch system – will likely be the workhorse of space’s future. of humanity. And today, that workhorse has successfully overcome a major obstacle toward the goal of the Red Planet.
At 8:50 a.m. EDT, the ship took off from the SpaceX starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The 65-minute flight successfully achieved orbit insertion, as well as a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia. Although the ship suffered some damage on reentry, this fourth test flight was considered a success by Elon Musk, CEO of the company.
“Despite the loss of many tiles and a damaged aileron, Starship made it to a soft landing in the ocean!” https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1798718549307109867. “Congratulations to the SpaceX team on an epic achievement!!!”
Starship’s fortunes in 2024 have fared better than last year, as the first two flight tests ended in explosions. The third test flight in March successfully achieved orbital insertion, but proceeded to break up on reentry. After making several changes to the software and hardware, SpaceX finally managed to build a Starship that survived reentry and achieved a smooth splashdown of the rocket’s first stage, known as Super Heavy.
Unlike humanity’s first race to the Moon, which was funded entirely by the Cold War superpowers, the return to the lunar surface and the long-awaited trip to Mars will be a joint effort between space agencies and companies. such as SpaceX – NASA has already ordered a couple of Starships for future moon landing missions – and Boeing, whose Starliner took astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time yesterday. With Starship playing a central role in NASA’s plans for the future of space, it’s no surprise that agency administrator Bill Nelson also congratulated the SpaceX team.
“Congratulations to @SpaceX on the successful Starship test flight this morning!” https://twitter.com/SenBillNelson/status/1798719358816186391. “We are one step closer to returning humanity to the Moon through #Artemis—then looking toward Mars.”
Although Starship’s first stop will be the Moon, SpaceX designed the rocket from the ground up for its final destination: the Red Planet. For example, the Raptor engines that power both the Super Heavy and the Starship burn liquid oxygen and liquid methane, that is, fuel that can be obtained from Mars itself.
But the Moon still comes first. NASA expects Starship to land astronauts on the lunar surface in September 2026, the planned date for the Artemis III mission. Since Starship will have to undergo more testing before that critical mission – NASA stated that the spacecraft will not carry astronauts until it has “met all NASA requirements and high crew safety standards” – SpaceX is moving forward urgently, and Musk says the company plans to conduct six more test flights in 2024.
Once the first hurdle is overcome, SpaceX can prepare for the arduous task of setting foot in worlds beyond our own.
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff from him at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.
