SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight on Saturday Hong Kong time, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon .

The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hourlong spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world.

The spacecraft reached its final the Indian Ocean – despite some engine trouble, before erupting in flames upon impact. That last part was not unexpected by SpaceX, with Musk calling it “an epic” launch and landing and telling his team via X that “you scored a goal for humanity”.

It’s the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But first comes the moon and Nasa’s Artemis program .

Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman flew in for the launch, saying Starship is now one step closer to the moon.

The last of the old space-skimming Starships lifted off in October. SpaceX’s third-generation Starship – a souped-up version dubbed V3 – soared from a brand-new launch pad at Starbase, near the Mexican border. Last-minute pad issues thwarted Thursday evening's launch attempt.

While the lift-off itself went well, not all of the engines fired as the booster attempted a controlled return. The spacecraft also had to make do with fewer engines, but kept heading eastward 194 kilometres up. A pair of modified, camera-equipped Starlinks ejected from Starship provided brief views of the spacecraft in flight – a remarkable first.

At 124 metres, the latest model eclipses the older Starship lines by several feet more than a metre and packs more engine thrust.

The revamped booster sports fewer but bigger and stronger grid fins for steering it back to Earth following lift-off, and a larger and more robust fuel transfer line to feed the 33 main engines. This fuel line is the size of SpaceX's Falcon 9 first-stage booster. The retro-looking, stainless steel spacecraft also has more of everything – more cameras and more navigation and computer power – as well as docking cones for future rendezvous and moon missions.

Nasa is following April’s successful lunar fly-around by four astronauts with a docking trial run in orbit around Earth planned for next year. For that Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with Starship, Blue Origin's Blue Moon or both.

A moon landing by two astronauts – Artemis IV – could follow as soon as 2028 using either Starship or Blue Moon, whichever lander is safer and ready first. It will be Nasa’s first lunar landing with a crew since 1972’s Apollo 17. The goal this time is a moon base near the lunar south pole, staffed by astronauts as well as robots. (AP)




Edited by Robert Kemp