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SpaceX managed to return the super-heavy rocket carrier to the launch complex
The first stage of the starship is a super-heavy launch vehicle. This is what makes the desire to send the main parts of spaceships into space. Returning the launch vehicle to the launch pad is a landmark achievement for Elon Musk's space program.
SpaceX landed a rocket at its launch facility for the first time. On Sunday, the fifth test launch of Starship entered orbit. The manned rocket for exploring the Moon and Mars circled the Earth and landed successfully in the Indian Ocean.
One of the key achievements was that the system managed to capture and softly land the first stage of the starship - the super-heavy one. This is what makes us want to send the main parts of spaceships into space.
Nathan Eismont, a senior researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explains the space innovation:
"This is a truly incredible achievement. For the first time in space. There have been semi-successful attempts before, but the success of the last attempt was that the first stage was successfully returned to the mast, ensuring the launch, and moved directly to the launch pad. And after many modifications due to previous unsuccessful launches, it was successful. This means that Musk's program can continue and, perhaps, his promise to send an expedition to Mars will be successfully realized. This is truly amazing. All the other returns were returns of much less powerful stages. The mass is about four times lighter, which is a significant difference. - If Musk's plan is realized, he will take part in the Artemis project. This is a flight to the moon. The project assumes that people will be sent to the surface of the moon naturally with a return, and a further development of this project is a human flight to Mars with a return. Musk has promised to achieve this by 2030. So far, this seems to be a mobilization period, but, judging by his achievements, it may indeed be a success, but it may be a little later. His latest experiment, a test flight, shows he can meet the deadline to send a mission to Mars by 2030.
Last June, SpaceX attempted its fourth launch of its Starship rocket. Then the first stage of the Super Heavy rocket shot out of the Gulf of Mexico.