“Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its Starship rocket system on its sixth test flight in Texas. The newly elected US President Donald Trump was present at the company’s launch site in Texas.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its Starship rocket system on its sixth test flight in Texas. The newly elected US President Donald Trump was present at the company’s launch site in Texas.
Source: Reuters
Details: The 122-meter-tall rocket system designed to land astronauts on the moon and ferry crews to Mars launched Tuesday night from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas site.
The uncrewed spacecraft was sent on a crash course in the Indian Ocean, and the launch vehicle returned to Earth less than seven minutes later.
Reuters notes that Trump’s involvement in the Starship launch signals a deepening alliance with Musk, who will benefit from Trump’s election victory and the billionaire is expected to wield extraordinary influence to help his companies and secure favorable treatment from authorities.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has been a prominent supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing alongside him at rallies and giving him at least $119 million in political support.
“I’m on my way to the great state of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever lifted not only into space, but off the ground,” Trump wrote on social media, wishing Musk the best of luck with the launch.
On Nov. 13, Trump named Musk co-head of a new government efficiency project that the SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO said would rid the federal government of wasteful spending and burdensome regulations that he called burdensome.
The FAA’s regulation of commercial rocket launches has been a source of frustration for Musk, who has complained that the agency is hindering his company’s progress toward Mars.
But the FAA’s approval of Starship’s launch license on Tuesday, a little more than a month after the rocket’s previous flight, was the fastest regulatory turnaround for SpaceX as the agency develops new launch approval processes to keep pace with the U.S. space industry.
On Tuesday, Musk listed four main goals for the test flight — restarting the Starship’s space engine in flight, which is key to its maneuverability in space, and making a more visible landing in the ocean during the day, whereas past attempts have taken place at night.
“Thousands of small design changes are also being tested,” Musk said.
SpaceX hopes to make rapid progress on Starship development during Trump’s second term. The administration’s space program is expected to give NASA’s Artemis program, which is supposed to return astronauts to the surface of the moon, more focus on the more ambitious goal of landing humans on Mars, Musk’s top space ambition.