Tue Nov 19 23:12:00 UTC 2024: ## SpaceX Starship’s Ambitious Test Flight Ends with Booster Splashdown
**Brownsville, Texas –** SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, conducted another ambitious test flight on Tuesday, November 19th, achieving a near-global loop but failing to recover its booster. Unlike last month’s successful booster catch, this launch saw the booster intentionally splash down in the Gulf of Mexico after a flight director called off the recovery attempt four minutes into the flight. SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot cited unmet criteria for the catch, but did not detail the specific reasons.
The spacecraft itself successfully completed its mission, executing a nearly hour-long flight that took it across the Gulf of Mexico and into a controlled descent over the Indian Ocean. This flight mirrored October’s test in its overall path, but differed in timing and objectives. The launch occurred in the afternoon to allow for daylight observation of the descent, and included the successful ignition of an engine in space, a crucial element for orbital returns. Furthermore, experiments were conducted on the spacecraft’s thermal protection, some areas lacking heat tiles to gauge the effectiveness of future catch mechanisms.
President-elect Donald Trump attended the launch, further cementing the relationship between himself and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. SpaceX aims to reuse the entire 400-foot Starship, a goal that would significantly reduce the cost and increase the speed of lunar and Martian missions.
This was the sixth fully assembled Starship launch since 2023; the first three resulted in explosions. NASA has contracted SpaceX for over $4 billion to use Starship for crewed lunar missions later this decade, and Musk has larger ambitions for the rocket, envisioning a Martian city built using a fleet of Starships. SpaceX plans further upgrades and tests for future launches.
First Piper 