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SpaceX on Friday successfully completed the 12th test flight of its massive Starship rocket system, with the spacecraft making a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean after a high-risk mission that included several technical glitches during flight.The launch took place shortly after 5.30 pm local time (2230 GMT), as SpaceX tested the latest third-generation version of Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket system.Despite issues during the mission, SpaceX employees celebrated the flight’s completion during the company’s livestream. Soon after the splashdown visuals showed the spacecraft surrounded by fire and heavy smoke as it descended into the Indian Ocean.”Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the twelfth flight test of Starship!” the company posted on X after the spacecraft safely splashed down. The company had not planned to recover either the Super Heavy booster or the upper-stage spacecraft during this mission. The final descent into the Indian Ocean was fiery but controlled, according to SpaceX.During the flight, the upper-stage Starship successfully performed a complex maneuver in space, flipping upright and reigniting its engines for controlled re-entry, even though one of the engines malfunctioned during the mission. The spacecraft also deployed 22 mock satellites as part of the test. Two of the mock satellites attempted to capture images of Starship’s heat shield to help engineers analyse the spacecraft’s performance during re-entry.However, the mission was not entirely smooth.SpaceX officials said the spacecraft did not achieve its intended orbit after one of its engines failed during an early burn phase.”I wouldn’t call it nominal orbital insertion,” SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said during the livestream. However, he added that the trajectory remained ‘within bounds’ of earlier calculations.The Super Heavy booster also encountered problems after separating from the upper stage. According to Huot, the booster failed to complete its planned ‘boost-back burn’ and fell uncontrollably into the Gulf of Mexico.Although SpaceX had not intended to recover the booster, the company had hoped for a more precise return.Friday’s test flight came a day after an earlier launch attempt was aborted because of a last-minute technical issue involving a hydraulic pin connected to the launch tower arm.SpaceX chief Elon Musk later said on X that the issue had been fixed overnight.The latest Starship design is larger than previous versions and stands more than 407 feet (124 metres) tall when fully stacked.The mission also comes at a crucial time for SpaceX as the company faces growing attention following reports that it is preparing for a potentially record-breaking initial public offering expected later this year.Starship remains central to Nasa’s Artemis programme, under which SpaceX has been contracted to develop a modified version of the spacecraft capable of landing astronauts on the Moon.NASA aims to return humans to the lunar surface before the end of 2028, while China is also racing toward a crewed Moon mission targeted around 2030.Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch and appeared during the pre-launch programme.”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,” Isaacman said.SpaceX and Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin are both competing to develop lunar landing systems for NASA’s future Moon missions.However, industry experts have repeatedly expressed doubts about whether the ambitious timelines for lunar missions can be achieved, given the complex technical challenges that still remain.
