Prototype survives toughest re-entry yet, splashes into Indian Ocean
\n washington
\nElon Musk\u2019s SpaceX on Tuesday launched its giant Starship rocket for the 10th test flight, aiming to overcome past setbacks and prove key milestones for the reusable Mars-bound system.
\nThe 403-foot-tall vehicle blasted off from SpaceX\u2019s Starbase in south Texas at 7.30pm EST (2330 GMT), testing new heat shield tiles, a redesigned engine landing system, and a satellite deployment mechanism.
\nAs planned, Starship\u2019s upper stage separated from its Super Heavy booster, which ditched into the Gulf of Mexico instead of attempting a tower catch. The spacecraft then re-entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere before splashing down in the Indian Ocean \u2014 surviving a re-entry phase that destroyed earlier prototypes.
\nIn another first, Starship successfully deployed mock Starlink satellites using its \u201cPez-like\u201d dispenser system, a milestone missed in previous tests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prototype survives toughest re-entry yet, splashes into Indian Ocean washington Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX on Tuesday launched its giant Starship rocket for the 10th test flight, aiming to overcome past setbacks and prove key milestones for the reusable Mars-bound system. The 403-foot-tall vehicle blasted off from SpaceX\u2019s Starbase in south Texas at 7.30pm EST (2330 GMT), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-499497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n