SpaceX launches powerful Starship for 3rd time into space

Elon Musk’s SpaceX firm has successfully launched its powerful Starship rocket for the third time into space, but it disintegrated upon returning to Earth.

While approaching its landing point in the Indian Ocean, the module was destroyed.

Musk and SpaceX’s Starship rocket travelled halfway around the Earth before it re-entered the atmosphere.

The rocket consists of a spacecraft also called Starship.  A rocket booster took off from SpaceX’s private Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, USA at 8:25am (13:25 GMT).

Starship started its descent into Earth’s atmosphere, forty-five minutes after the launch.

Before approaching the Indian Ocean, Starship reached an altitude of over 200km as it coasted across the Atlantic and South Africa.

Communication with Starship ended at about the 49-minute mark.

The SpaceX firm confirmed that the rocket had not survived re-entry and it likely disintegrated and descended into the ocean.

According to Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, one of the objectives of these initial flights, was to get Starship to orbital velocities, which are about 28,000 kilometers per hour (17,500 miles per hour).

This particular flight was not, by design, intended to make it around the Earth. The ascent was smooth.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the test flight concluded on Thursday. The FAA was investigating a “mishap” involving the Starship vehicle and the rocket’s first-stage booster, which is known as Super Heavy.