The spacecraft flew higher, farther and faster on this third flight on Thursday. However, re-entry into the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean was not successful, and the missile is now believed to have been destroyed.
Millions watched the launch broadcast, at 13:25 GMT, via live video on Channel X, and the NASA director, on the same platform, congratulated SpaceX on the success of the test flight. The spacecraft is seen as a key part of NASA's Artemis program, as well as Musk's intentions to colonize Mars.
The first two flights took place in April and November 2023: in the first, SpaceX had to explode a few minutes after launch because the two stages did not separate, and in the second, the propellant separated from the main module, but it ended up exploding. Over the ocean.
For this third flight, Spacex had big ambitions and wanted to open and close the cargo doors to test the ability to put satellites into orbit, as well as experiment with re-entry. The camera on board the missile shows that the missile traveled through space, reaching a speed of more than 26 thousand kilometers per hour and an altitude of more than 200 kilometers. The missile was able to travel half the globe and then began its descent into the Indian Ocean, and stopped sending signals 49 minutes after its launch. Despite everything, Musk is happy with the achievement and explains in X that “the spacecraft will make life multi-planetary,” citing Science Alert.
And remember, SpaceX is betting on a strategy of testing rockets in the real world, rather than just conducting laboratory tests. Each spacecraft, which is still in the prototype stage, costs $90 million to build.
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