Miami (USA) .- The space company SpaceX published this Tuesday several images of the thirteenth test flight of the Starship spacecraft, which successfully splashed down last week in the Indian Ocean, days after the launch was suspended due to a failure during engine ignition and bad weather.
Elon Musk’s company shared -on the social network X- some photographs and videos of the splashdown moment, which took place almost an hour and a half after Starship took off from Texas last Friday.
In the shared footage, it can be seen how the powerful rocket descends vertically and in a controlled manner toward the sea surface, upon which it settles before tipping over onto its side on the water and remaining afloat.
SpaceX clarified that the ship remains in the Indian Ocean, while the recovery team collects images of the rocket.
The two Starship postponements
In addition to the thirteenth test launch of the powerful rocket, it was also the second for the Super Heavy booster, which constitutes the first of the two stages of the space vehicle, and the first in which the Starship was equipped with twenty new-generation Starlink V3 satellites.
More Read
Aside from fine-tuning the performance of the third version of the Starship and the booster, the test also placed the V3 satellites into orbit.
Super Heavy V3 booster landing with its 33 engines and the collection of crucial data on heat shield performance during Starship’s reentry.
We recommend reading:
More Read
The launch took place after two postponements: the first one, on July 16, due to an ignition failure in several engines that forced the operation to be aborted, and the second one motivated by poor weather conditions.
SpaceX in competition for the Moon
This was the second test flight of the third Starship model so far this year, following the one that took place in May.
NASA is closely monitoring the program, as it needs this third version of the spacecraft to transport astronauts to the lunar surface for the Artemis mission.
The crewed mission to the Moon was postponed to early 2028, partly due to delays in the development of the rocket.
SpaceX competes directly with Blue Origin, the aerospace company of tycoon Jeff Bezos, which offers its Blue Moon system as an alternative.
