SpaceX's 12th Starship test flight took place just two days after Elon Musk announced that he was taking the company public.
The test flight of SpaceX's Starship went ahead after the initial launch attempt was called off over technical issues the evening priorImage: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP
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SpaceX on Friday launched its latest edition of the Starship spacecraft as Elon Musk's rocket company is nearing a record-breaking public listing.
The voyage experienced a few minor issues, but SpaceX employees erupted in cheers in a livestream.
The third-generation Starship, dubbed V3, blasted off from the southern tip of Texas at just after 5:30 pm local time (2230 GMT).
The test ended about an hour later when the mammoth rocket reached the Indian Ocean before erupting in flames upon impact.
"You scored a goal for humanity," Musk wrote on X.
The Starship exploded spectacularly upon splashdown in the Indian OceanImage: SpaceX/Handout/AFP
At just over 407 feet (124 meters) when fully stacked, the latest design is bigger than the older Starship lines.
It's the 12th test flight of the rocket designed for future NASA missions to the moon and even Mars.
NASA's new Moon mission
Ahead of the launch, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said during the pre-launch SpaceX program: "We're looking forward to seeing this fly, because hopefully at some point in the not too distant future we're going to join up in Earth orbit."
NASA is preparing to land humans on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years through the Artemis Program, as China targets 2030 for its first crewed mission.
The space agency is paying both SpaceX and Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, billions of dollars to build the lunar landers for Artemis astronauts.
There was relief and joy after the Artemis II mission came to a successful end. The crew was in space for almost 10 days and flew to the moon and back. Their spacecraft splashed down safely off the coast of California.
Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls/REUTERS
Artemis II mission is a success
After a journey of almost 10 days to the moon and back, the Artemis II crew returned safe and sound.
Image: Bill Ingalls/NASA/Anadolu/picture alliance
Countdown to lunar flyby
The first lunar mission in more than 50 years launched on April 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The goal was not to land on the moon but to orbit it and break a new record. During a flyby, the crew saw the far side of the moon — a view which only two dozen Apollo astronauts had seen before.
Image: Jim Watson/AFP
Making history
The oldest member on board was Commander Reid Wiseman, born in 1975 (center). He was joined by 50-year-old Canadian Jeremy Hansen (left), the first Canadian citizen to travel to join a moon mission, spacecraft pilot Victor Glover (49, right), the first Black person to travel to the moon, and 47-year-old Christina Koch, the first woman to make the trip.
Image: NASA/AP Photo/picture alliance
'You look amazing. You look beautiful'
On April 3, for the first time since the start of the Artemis II mission, the crew of four astronauts sent back images from the spacecraft. The view of Earth from space filled them with excitement. "Trust us, you look amazing, you look beautiful," NASA astronaut Victor Glover said from his vantage point on the Orion capsule.
By April 4, the crew had already traveled more than half of the roughly 300,000 kilometers (186,400 miles) to the moon. This photo shows astronauts Hansen (left) and Koch going about their daily routine in the capsule. The selection of beverages wasn't much different from what people enjoy on Earth: coffee, tea, smoothies and lemonade.
Image: NASA/AFP
Most expensive toilet in the world?
The Universal Waste Management System cost some $23 million to make, making it surely the most expensive toilet in the world. It encountered problems at the beginning of the mission, but these were soon fixed.
Image: James Blair/NASA
Powerful computers
The Orion capsule had two computers, in case one failed. Each is 20,000 times faster than the single computer in the original Apollo spacecraft which went to the moon in 1969, with 128,000 times more memory.
Image: NASA/AFP
Moon calling earth
The Artemis crew traveled further from Earth than any humans before them, flying past the far side of the moon. They flew over 250,000 miles before turning back.
Image: NASA/ZUMA/picture alliance
Excitement on earth and in space
As the crew made its way back to Earth, visitors at the San Diego Air and Space Museum watched with anticipation and awaited the landing with some trepidation as this is one of the most risky phases of such a mission.
Image: Grace Hie Yoon/Anadolu/picture alliance
'A beautiful sight'
Speaking with the astronauts late Friday, Mission Control sent an encouraging message: "You are now closer to the moon than you are to us on Earth." Koch said the crew could see the moon out of the docking hatch, calling it "a beautiful sight."
Image: NASA/AFP
Joy and relief after successful mission
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke with the crew after they were extracted from their Orion spacecraft shortly after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
