SpaceX Launches Sixth Starship Test Flight

The launch reportedly went well, but SpaceX had to abandon plans to catch the first-stage super heavy booster.

SpaceX conducted its sixth Starship test flight Tuesday.

CEO Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump were present to observe from the control room.

The launch reportedly went well, but SpaceX had to abandon plans to catch the first-stage super heavy booster.

Instead, SpaceX opted for a standard ocean splash-down.

The spacecraft launched from Brownsville, Texas at 4pm.

Objectives from this flight included reigniting its raptor engine while in space, conducting heat shield experiments and testing changes for reentry.

The goal of the launch was to catch the 33-engine booster, but SpaceX did not specify why the test was aborted.

The Starship is being tested with a goal to eventually take passengers to the moon.