SpaceX's Starship survives return to Earth, achieves demo landing on fourth test
FILE PHOTO: SpaceX?s Starship rocket prototype is pictured in the rocket launch area in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., May 12, 2024. REUTERS/Veronica Gabriela Cardenas/File Photo
:SpaceX's giant Starship rocket survived reentry through Earth's atmosphere on Thursday and splashed down in the Indian Ocean as planned during its fourth test mission after launching from south Texas.
The two-stage spacecraft, consisting of the Starship cruise vessel mounted atop its towering Super Heavy rocket booster, rocket broke apart during its last attempt in March to survive a blazingly hot re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.
Starship Thursday morning blasted off from the company's Starbase launch site near Boca Chica Village on the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is the latest trial mission in the test-to-failure rocket development campaign of Elon Musk's company.
