Starbase – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX outlines plans for Starship orbital test flight

May 13, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX has revealed the flight plan for the first orbital test launch of the company’s huge stainless steel Starship rocket, a 90-minute, around-the-world mission that will originate from South Texas and culminate with a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.

Upgraded Starship prototype makes first soft landing after test flight

May 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched and landed an upgraded prototype for the company’s next-generation Starship vehicle in South Texas on Wednesday, the company’s first Starship test flight since winning a $2.9 billion NASA contract to use the craft to land astronauts on the Moon.

Musk says methane leak doomed latest Starship test flight

April 5, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday that a “relatively small” methane leak caused the explosion of the company’s latest Starship test rocket last week on an experimental flight over South Texas.

SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship test flight ends in another explosion

March 30, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight apparently ended with another explosion Tuesday in South Texas, but dense fog obscured clear views of the launch and failed landing. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Tuesday it is working with SpaceX to determine if light debris reported in a nearby town came from the Starship test rocket.