Musk wants to go to Mars Starship mega rocket lifted off on new test flight in Texas
US President-elect Donald Trump (third from right) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) share their ambitions in space travel. (archive image)
Image: sda
Still on the ground, but ready: The SpaceX mega rocket "Starship".
Image: dpa
A prominent spectator with a familiar cap was present at the launch - US President-elect Donald Trump.
Image: dpa
US President-elect Donald Trump (third from right) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) share their ambitions in space travel. (archive image)
Image: sda
Still on the ground, but ready: The SpaceX mega rocket "Starship".
Image: dpa
A prominent spectator with a familiar cap was present at the launch - US President-elect Donald Trump.
Image: dpa
The "Starship" mega rocket from US aerospace company SpaceX took off on a new test flight on Tuesday. The launch took place in the presence of future US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
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- The largest rocket ever built has started another test flight.
- The unmanned "Starship" lifted off from the spaceport of the private space company SpaceX in the US state of Texas, as live images showed.
- The rocket is intended to one day take people to the moon and eventually even to Mars. The test should be completed on schedule after about an hour.
The rocket took off in the afternoon from the Starbase spaceport in Boca Chica, South Texas. Trump has made Musk his government advisor and shares plans for the conquest of space with him.
The aim of the "Starship" test flight is to repeat the maneuver from 13 October. In a world premiere, the first stage of the rocket system was successfully recaptured after it had propelled the space shuttle into space.
The "Starship" rocket system consists of a 70-metre-high first propulsion stage called Super Heavy and a 50-metre-long space shuttle called "Starship" with additional propulsion. It is the most powerful rocket in the world and, at more than 120 meters, is taller than the Statue of Liberty.
With "Starship", the SpaceX company is pursuing the goal of building a fully reusable rocket for future space missions. This should make them more cost-effective. "Starship" should make a manned mission to Mars possible in the not too distant future.
SDA