LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- SpaceX launched the sixth test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Tuesday.
Starship took off from the company's Starbase facility near Brownsville in the U.S. state of Texas at about 4:01 p.m. Central Time.
Starship's Raptor engines ignited during hot-staging separation. Several minutes after liftoff, the Super Heavy booster initiated its landing burn and softly splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship successfully ignited one of its Raptor engines while in space for the first time. About one hour and five minutes after launch, Starship splashed down in the Indian Ocean.
Objectives of the new test include the Super Heavy booster once again returning to the launch site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine while in space, and testing a suite of heat shield experiments and maneuvering changes for ship reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean, according to SpaceX.
However, SpaceX did not achieve the return of the booster back on the launch site as planned. Instead, SpaceX opted to land the ship's Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico. The reason remains unclear.
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, collectively referred to as Starship, represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond.
SpaceX completed its fifth test flight of its giant Starship rocket on Oct. 13, achieving the return of its booster back on the launch pad for the first time. A pair of giant metal pincers, which SpaceX calls "chopsticks," successfully caught the Super Heavy booster midair.
Through various test flights, SpaceX aims to recover and rapidly refly Super Heavy boosters and Starship spacecraft for future missions. Quickly reusing rocket parts is considered essential to drastically reducing the time and cost of getting cargo or manned ships to space. ■