Summary
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its first planned trip around Earth. The Starship is designed to be fully reusable and will carry 26 new internet satellites before landing in the Pacific Ocean.Key Facts
- Starship launched from South Texas early Monday morning.
- The flight is expected to last about 10 hours and include six orbits around Earth.
- The rocket will deploy 26 new Starlink V3 satellites during the mission.
- The first stage booster, called Super Heavy, successfully landed in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Modifications were made to the Super Heavy booster to prevent ice buildup after previous issues.
- This mission moves Starship from shorter test flights to actual orbit around Earth.
- SpaceX hopes to make Starship quickly reusable in the future.
- The company plans to eventually catch the rocket during launch but will not try this yet.
