After four failed attempts, a prototype of Starship missile from US company SpaceX successfully landed on Wednesday after a test flight. Shortly after the landing, a video broadcast showed flames at the base of the SN-15 missile, which a SpaceX commentator described as not unusual.
The fire was quickly extinguished after it had descended. The goal of the tests was a gentle vertical landing of the 50-meter long missile. SpaceX uses desert-like terrain in the US state of Texas on test flights.
SN-15 stands for “Serial Number 15” – Four previous models blew up during or shortly after landing.
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In December, the prototype was due to a problem with the fuel system Explodes on landing. The founder of SpaceX said that the speed of the unmanned missile on approach was too high Elon Musk distance Test with.
Musk, the founder of SpaceX, hopes that the new missile will someday bring people and goods to Mars. In 2023, it should already be used to circumnavigate the moon, which Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa wants to participate in. On the occasion, Musk recently confirmed that the Starship missile would be “safe enough” to carry people within two years. And the US space agency NASA also wants to use the Starship rocket for the planned landing on the surface of the moon.
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