SpaceX has finally scored a successful Starship test flight and reached a major milestone, with Starship deploying mock satellites for the first time ever.
SpaceX’s Starship has launched mock satellites for the first time during its 10th flight test. The mission took off around 7:30 pm EDT from the company’s sprawling Starbase facilities in Texas. Separation between the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage occurred three minutes into the test flight.
The Starship prototype released eight test satellites approximately 30 minutes after launch. The successful deployment indicates the important role the rocket will play as SpaceX continues to expand its Starlink business. The plan is to use the massive rocket to dispatch more satellites per batch than the company’s Falcon 9.
CEO Elon Musk, however, has loftier plans for Starship. He is vocal about using the spaceship, designed to be reusable, to transport people and materials for colonizing planet Mars.
The 171-foot-tall Starship reentered over the Indian Ocean about an hour into the mission. SpaceX wants even the heat shield tiles to be multi-use, which is a tall order, given the great amount of heat generated by friction during the high-speed reentry. Musk confirmed that the hexagonal tiles represent one of the most challenging aspects of the rocket’s development.
The Spaceship prototype performed an upright landing west of Australia before toppling over and exploding. SpaceX also scheduled a water landing for the booster in the Gulf of Mexico to test an alternative method to the launch tower’s catch-arms.
