SpaceX Launches Starship Rocket and Deploys First Developed Satellites from Starlink

SadaNews - The giant Starship rocket, owned by SpaceX, launched on Friday in another test flight that spanned half the globe, this time deploying 20 of the most advanced Starlink satellites.

At a height of 407 feet (124 meters), Starship lifted off from the company's launch pad in the southernmost part of Texas, with NASA following the flight that nearly touched space, a critical step towards using Starship to land crews of astronauts heading to the moon.

The hour-long flight ended with an extremely smooth landing in the water, so much so that the spacecraft remained afloat in the Indian Ocean as SpaceX's live broadcast was coming to a close, prompting cheers from the staff at the launch site.

Elon Musk's SpaceX had replaced six of the 33 engines in the first-stage booster after some failed to ignite last week, leading to a last-minute launch cancellation.

The previous Starship flight in May also faced engine issues, preventing the booster from landing properly.