SpaceX launches more powerful Super Heavy-Starship rocket

SpaceX launched its upgraded Super Heavy-Starship rocket from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Friday evening, marking the first flight of Version 3 of the massive vehicle. The rocket generated up to 18 million pounds of thrust, twice the power of NASA’s SLS moon rocket, but encountered engine issues during ascent. One of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 Raptor 3 engines shut down early, and additional engines failed to perform as expected during the booster’s attempted return to the Gulf of Mexico for splashdown. The Starship upper stage, equipped with six third-generation Raptor engines, also faced a shutdown of one vacuum-optimized engine early in the climb. Despite these setbacks, the flight computer extended the operation of the remaining five engines, allowing the upper stage to reach an acceptable sub-orbital trajectory. The mission successfully deployed 22 Starlink satellite simulators, two of which carried cameras to assess the health of Starship’s heat shield tiles during future flights. The launch followed a last-minute scrub on Thursday due to a launch pad glitch and two earlier weather delays. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who observed the launch, congratulated SpaceX and Elon Musk, calling it ‘a hell of a V3 Starship launch’ and emphasizing progress toward lunar and Martian missions. The flight also marked the first use of SpaceX’s second Texas launch pad, designed to handle repeated launches of the world’s most powerful rocket. The Super Heavy booster’s attempt to return to the Gulf for splashdown failed, as multiple Raptor engines did not fire as planned, causing it to drop short of its target. SpaceX engineers will now analyze the data to address the issues before planning additional test flights. The company aims to use Starship for launching next-generation Starlink satellites, government payloads, and eventually crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.