STARBASE: SpaceX completed a largely successful test flight of its next-generation Starship rocket on Friday, deploying a fleet of mock satellites and conducting a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, a high-stakes debut for the newly upgraded rocket as Elon Musk’s company prepares to go public.The latest uncrewed Starship launch, designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and send future NASA missions to the moon, has achieved a major milestone after months of testing delays. The results could also boost investor confidence ahead of SpaceX’s initial public offering next month, which is expected to be the largest ever.Starship, the fully reusable spacecraft that SpaceX spent more than $15 billion to develop, is critical to Musk’s goals to cut launch costs, expand Starlink operations and pursue a range of goals from deep space exploration to orbital data centers, all factoring into his $1.75 trillion IPO valuation target.Friday’s launch marked SpaceX’s 12th Starship prototype test flight since 2023 and the first of its V3 iteration, a major upgrade to the cruise ship and its Super Heavy booster, and the first launch from a launch pad designed for the new rocket.a meaningful stepSpaceX is counting on a successful test flight to reinforce its case that the largest and most powerful rocket ever built is close to commercial readiness after years of explosive setbacks and development delays. Friday’s test appears to have achieved most of its primary goals.The towering vehicle, consisting of an upper-stage Starship crew vehicle stacked on top of a Super Heavy booster rocket, lifted off at around 5:30 pm Central Time (2230 GMT) from the SpaceX facility at Starbase, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville.Minutes later, the two stages completely separated, and despite losing one of its six engines, the Starship vehicle continued to soar into its cruise stage before releasing its simulated satellite payload before surviving a fiery atmospheric reentry and splashdown. Its flight lasted just over an hour in total.This is a Reuters report
