The company described it as a successful third attempt to orbit space despite losing contact as the rocket re-entered the atmosphere - It reached orbital velocity, Musk says
rocket
"The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult"
"Yee haw, I am so thrilled," ULA CEO Tory Bruno said in the company's launch control room
To squeeze a bit more performance out of rocket engines, NASA is looking at a fundamentally different design with the RDRE
Bloodhound LSR is powered by a jet engine sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter plane as well as a rocket motor
Starship is the tallest, most powerful rocket ever built, capable of generating about 17 million pounds of thrust upon liftoff
Its eight-year voyage to the giant planet begins
The Long March 2D second stage delivered three military satellites in June 2022 before falling unexpectedly back to Earth last week
Ground controllers had to destroy the vehicle after its second stage engine failed to ignite, in what's a frustrating setback for Japan's space agency
The launch in November went off (mostly) without a hitch, as did the 25-day mission undertaken by an uncrewed Orion capsule