SpaceX has successfully launched its massive Starship rocket, in what was a critical test of Elon Musk’s hopes of colonising Mars.
The 120-metre rocket is the biggest and most powerful spacecraft ever built, capable of producing 7.5 million kilograms of thrust – roughly double that of Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS).
The fourth major flight test saw both parts of the rocket return to Earth for the first ime, with the Super Heavy booster splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico and the main Starship making it all the way to the Indian Ocean.
It came less than three months after SpaceX launched a Starship prototype into orbit but failed to return it to Earth.
SpaceX said that “data was the payload” for today’s mission, hailing it as a success despite not being able to recover the rocket. Elon Musk described it as an “epic achievement.
”You can watch a live stream of the Starship launch below.
