SpaceX has finally launched its latest full-scale prototype of its Mars-bound Starship rocket — and this time, for the first time, it stuck the landing.

The 165-foot stainless steel spacecraft, dubbed SN15, launched from the space company's test facilities in South Texas Wednesday evening at 5:25 pm local time.

It climbed to ten kilometers, first obscured inside a cloud, then reemerging above it. It then started its descent horizontally after turning its engines off, before relighting them to turn itself upright again.

Then SN15 softly landed on the landing pad below. Several minutes of tense waiting followed.

Flames could be seen coming from the bottom skirt of the prototype after landing, causing remotely controlled water hoses to attempt to put out the fire for several minutes — long after SpaceX concluded its official webcast of the event.

But it didn't explode — unlike SN10, which landed on March 3, but blew up several minutes later.

"Starship landing nominal!" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted after the fire was put out.

It's a colossal achievement for the Elon Musk-led company, proving that Starship is capable of launching — and landing — without blowing itself to pieces.

SN15 is the fifth full-scale prototype to take to the skies. All four prototypes preceding it have met an early demise, exploding in huge balls of fire.

The prototype featured "hundreds of design improvements across structures, avionics/software and engine," according to Musk. The prototype's predecessor SN11 exploded on March 30 inside a massive wall of fog due to a methane leak.

Now, SpaceX can focus on getting Starship into orbit, boosted by a second gigantic rocket called Super Heavy.

More on Starship: Cops Clear Beach in Preparation for Starship Launch


Share This Article