Teslarati: SpaceX’s Starship completed its first successful flight test with an incredible liftoff on South Padre Island, Texas, after years of testing and regulatory hurdles.
After clearing the first attempt this week due to a frozen pressure valve, SpaceX rescheduled the test flight for April 20, and it was well worth the wait.
Starship’s initial test flight resulted in the culmination of years of development, testing and final FAA approval, which came late last week as SpaceX is expected to receive the first orbital launch set for Summer 2021.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
However, various delays set back the project this week, and its first liftoff was a truly spectacular one as Starship successfully pulled off the launch pad.
After launch, the Starship was expected to separate and continue its journey into space, while the Super Heavy Booster would return to Earth.
Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/4t8mRP37Gp
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 20, 2023
Several engines were lost, and the rocket suffered a rapid unscheduled disassembly prior to stage separation.
However, SpaceX will use the experience and data to work towards its next flight test.
With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve the reliability of Starship as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary.
This is a major achievement, and the liftoff encapsulates years of hard work by SpaceX that has rekindled the thirst for space exploration and catalyzed hopes of returning to space.
With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 20, 2023
Starship is the most important part of SpaceX’s mission to make life multiplanetary. It is designed to carry people and cargo beyond Earth and will contribute to NASA’s plan to land the United States on the Moon for the first time in five decades.
SpaceX will assist in the mission as it was awarded a $3 billion contract from NASA, and Starship will be used as a crewed lunar lander.
It’s almost poetic that Starship made its maiden voyage on 4/20, the day Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have long had a humorous relationship.