SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off from Texas for test flight, deploys 20 Starlink satellites in suborbital space

Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX on Friday (local time) launched its Starship rocket from Texas, successfully sending its first batch of 20 upgraded Starlink internet satellites into suborbital space. The flight marked the company's 13th Starship test mission as it works toward launching regular commercial operations by the end of the year.

The Starship rocket system, which is roughly 400 feet tall (122 metres tall), blasted off around 6:50 pm (Eastern Time) from the company's Starbase town in Texas, Reuters reported.

The latest test flight was postponed after a launch was aborted on 16 July and was delayed again on Thursday due to dense cloud cover brought by Tropical Storm Bertha.

SpaceX launches 13th test flight: Here's what we know

During the mission, Starship launched 20 of Starlink's V3 satellites, a significantly more capable version offering greater bandwidth and faster internet speeds. The satellites briefly connected with SpaceX's existing network of roughly 10,000 orbiting satellites before following the spacecraft's suborbital trajectory back into Earth's atmosphere, where they burned up as planned.

The test flight featured the latest version of the rocket, which is significant to SpaceX's plans, which include the expansion of the Starlink satellite internet service, landing humans on the moon for NASA by 2028, and subsequently deploying thousands of artificial intelligence-processing satellites in orbit.

Starship rocket sees successful splashdown

The mission, which lasted for approximately an hour, concluded after Starship's reentry through Earth's atmosphere with seemingly minimal scarring on its heat shield, marking an improvement over previous tests and a step towards Musk's goal of making the rocket fly and return as routinely as an airplane.

The approximately 14-story-tall spacecraft reignited its engines to maneuver into an upright position before splashing down in the Indian Ocean, replicating the landing profile it is expected to use for future missions returning to Texas.

As the spacecraft passed over the dark side of Earth, a camera mounted on the rocket and livestreamed by SpaceX captured thunderstorms flashing with lightning about 118 miles (190 km) below.

SpaceX said that earlier in the flight, roughly 10 minutes after liftoff, as Starship accelerated to nearly 16,400 mph (26,400 kph), its Super Heavy first-stage booster failed to complete a smooth return to Earth and struck the Gulf of Mexico with greater force than intended.

According to a graphic displayed during the livestream, five engines failed to reignite to slow the booster's descent. During a similar test in May, four engines also failed to restart, causing the booster to strike the Gulf with significant force.

During Friday's test livestream, SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said, "We were targeting a softer splashdown, and as you saw, it came in with quite a bit of velocity still."

NASA eyes Musk's Starship rocket for Artemis III

NASA is counting on Starship to complete its testing phase and reach orbit soon so the four-member Artemis III crew, comprising three Americans and one Italian astronaut, can rehearse docking their spacecraft with it next year.

Beyond NASA's lunar ambitions, SpaceX founder Musk envisions using Starship to establish a city on Mars. The company has also begun accepting reservations for future tourist missions to both Mars and the Moon.

By the end of the year, the Musk-led company aims to use the mammoth Starship rocket to expand its Starlink network with the V3 satellites, adding enough capacity for regular cell phones to connect directly to satellites for service outside normal cellular coverage areas.

(with agency inputs)