SpaceX’s megarocket Starship launches on fourth test flight

BOCA CHICA AND MEDFORD COLONIA, United States: Starship, SpaceX´s massive prototype rocket launched for its fourth test flight on Thursday, and is now attempting to fly halfway around the globe before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

The most powerful launch system ever built, vital to Nasa´s plans for returning astronauts to the Moon and for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk´s hopes of one day colonizing Mars, blasted off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas at 7:50 am (1250 GMT).

Three previous attempts have ended in Starship´s fiery destruction, all part of what the company says is an acceptable cost in its rapid trial-and-error approach to development.

“The payload for these flight tests is data. Building upon what we achieved during Starship´s third flight test, our primary goal today is to get through the extreme heat of reentry,” SpaceX posted on X.

Super Heavy is the booster, while Starship refers to both the upper stage and the two stages combined.

The flight path will be similar to the third test, which took place in March and saw Starship fly for 49 minutes before it was eventually lost as it re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

Since then SpaceX says it has made several software and hardware upgrades, and hopes to achieve a soft splashdown for the booster stage in the Gulf of Mexico, and a “controlled entry” for the upper stage.