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Elon Musk’s SpaceX conducted its tenth test flight of the massive Starship rocket on Tuesday, aiming to address previous challenges and demonstrate critical milestones for the reusable Mars rocket system.
The 403-foot-tall vehicle lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase in southern Texas at 7:30 p.m. EST (23:30 GMT), incorporating new heat shield tiles, an upgraded engine landing system, and a satellite deployment mechanism.
Image: Reuters
As scheduled, Starship’s upper stage separated from its Super Heavy booster, which fell into the Gulf of Mexico instead of attempting a tower catch. The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and safely splashed down in the Indian Ocean, passing through a re-entry phase that had previously destroyed earlier prototypes.
In a first, Starship successfully released mock Starlink satellites using its “Pez-like” dispenser system, a significant achievement that was missed in earlier tests.
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