Starship’s sixth flight was completely successful. This is another success of Elon Musk and his company SpaceX. During the flight, new heat shields were tested that will better protect the ship’s body from high temperatures and plasma. This time, however, the mission was a bit different than the previous one. Although the set reached the intended height, Booster SuperHeavy and Starship ultimately fell into the water.
Well, after reaching the assumed orbit, Booster started landing, was not intercepted by Mechazilla, but settled in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and then exploded in a spectacular way. SpaceX announced that there were some small problems after the set separation and the decision was made to launch the first stage. The remaining parts of the mission went perfectly.
Beautiful flight of the Starship rocket. Getting closer to returning to the Moon
Meanwhile, the ship itself Starship began landing over the Indian Ocean and ultimately fell to it. However, the vehicle was not lost, as SpaceX announced that it would be recovered and reused in the future. By recovering Booster and Starship, it will be possible to significantly reduce the costs of space missions. The next flight of the set is planned for early next year.
Starship is a real colossus. The world’s largest rocket is over 120 meters high. The first stage is Super Heavy, 71 meters high, which remains equipped with 33 Raptor engines. SpaceX uses methane as fuel, and the oxidant is liquid oxygen.
Booster and Starship land in the water during the sixth mission
The second stage is simply called Starship. Its height is 50 meters and we know that SpaceX plans to create it in several versions. These will be crew and cargo variants. However, with a view to landing people on the Moon again, it will be developed as a special lander, for which NASA has allocated nearly $3 billion.
Starship is expected to get even bigger over time. SpaceX wants to create a rocket that will ultimately (with the Super Heavy Booster) be about 150 meters high. In this version she will be able to carry loads weighing up to 200 tons into space. Currently, the most powerful Falcon Heavy is able to “pull” approximately 63 tons into low Earth orbit.
NASA wants to return to the Moon in 2027
The return to the Moon is to become a fact in 2027. NASA is to send a crew of four people to the surface of the Silver Globe. There is to be at least one woman on board the Starship. It is highly probable that a woman will be the first in the 21st century to set foot on the surface of our planet’s natural satellite.
Source: geekweek.interia.pl
