Despite some engine failures along the way, SpaceX completed a mostly successful test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Friday evening.
The upper-stage spacecraft survived the re-entry into the atmosphere and performed the final maneuver to simulate a landing over the Indian Ocean even though only two, instead of the planned three, engines fired.
It then, as expected, toppled over and exploded in a ball of fire.
That will boost confidence for both NASA, which is looking to use Starship as the lander to take its astronauts to the surface of the moon, and for investors looking to buy stock in SpaceX, which is planning an initial public offering next month.
The rocket booster, known as Super Heavy, successfully performed its main task of pushing the upper-stage spacecraft to space. One of the 33 engines on the booster failed during the upward journey.
Subsequent engine burns needed to bring the Super Heavy back for a soft return did not work as expected, and video from the booster as it returned it to Earth showed it descending quickly and apparently crashing into the Gulf of Mexico.
On the upper-stage, one of the six engines also malfunctioned. The other engines fired longer than usual, and it was able to make it to space.
It was the 12th test flight of Starship and the first launch of a major new iteration of the vehicle, known as Version 3. SpaceX officials have described it as almost a different rocket, incorporating numerous changes designed to improve reliability and performance.
As it was coasting above Earth, Starship deployed 20 dummy versions of its next-generation Starlink satellites. In addition, two modified versions of the current Starlink satellites were also deployed, which included tests of upcoming technology and also cameras to capture pictures of Starship as it moved through space.
Because of the problems with the upper-stage, SpaceX skipped a planned relight of one of the engines. That is a maneuver that will be needed for future orbital missions to slow it down for a return to Earth.
On this test flight, the trajectory was designed so that Starship would definitely safely re-enter the atmosphere over the ocean even if it suffered a major malfunction.
What is Starship?
Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has said that it will be fully reusable, with both stages returning to the launch site to be caught by giant mechanical arms.
If SpaceX pulls off this vision, Starship could revolutionize the space industry, enabling launches of bigger, heavier satellites and other cargo at lower costs.
The 407-foot-tall vehicle consists of an upper-stage spacecraft, also called Starship and often shortened to Ship, and a powerful booster stage with 33 engines, known as the Super Heavy.
What’s new with this version of Starship?
In a post on its website, SpaceX described a long list of improvements, including a new version of the company’s Raptor engines that is more streamlined in design and lighter but also more powerful. The plumbing, thermal protection and power systems around the engines in the Super Heavy booster have also been redesigned.
On the booster, there are now three larger grid fins, which help guide the booster during its re-entry through the atmosphere, instead of the four fins on earlier boosters.
On the upper-stage spacecraft, improvements include hardware that will be used for docking and for transferring propellants from one Starship to another.
Why is this important for NASA’s Artemis moon program?
NASA hired SpaceX to provide a version of Starship that is to take its astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon. However, with Starship’s development running behind schedule, NASA raised the possibility that it could switch to a lander from Blue Origin, the rocket company started by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.
In February, Jared Isaacman, the NASA administrator, announced an overhaul of the Artemis return-to-the-moon program. Instead of trying to land on the moon during Artemis III, that mission will now remain in orbit around Earth so that NASA can practice docking between the Orion spacecraft and one or both of the lunar landers.
NASA is now aiming for that first moon landing to occur in 2028, during its Artemis IV mission.
Why is this important for SpaceX?
SpaceX, which values itself at $1.25 trillion, is aiming to go public as early as June and could raise $50 billion to $75 billion, in what could be the largest I.P.O. of all time.
Part of that valuation is built on the idea that the company will expand manufacturing and artificial intelligence data centers to space and eventually fulfill Mr. Musk’s dream of sending people to Mars. Starship has been central to that vision, with the company stating in an update this month that changes to this next version of the rocket would allow for the deployment of “orbital data centers, and the ability to send people and cargo to the moon and Mars.”
On Wednesday, SpaceX revealed some of its financial figures and stated that it lost more than $4.9 billion last year. While much of that was because of its heavy spending on A.I., the company also lost $657 million from operations of its space segment, which encompasses its launch business.
Ryan Mac contributed reporting.
Kenneth Chang, a science reporter at The Times, covers NASA and the solar system, and research closer to Earth.
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