WASHINGTON, July — NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have achieved a significant milestone in their efforts to return humans to the Moon by 2028, after the world’s largest and most powerful reusable rocket, Starship, successfully completed its 13th test flight, including a satellite deployment and a controlled landing.
The achievement is being viewed as a crucial advancement for future lunar and Mars missions, as SpaceX continues to validate and improve the spacecraft’s technology for deep-space exploration.
The 407-foot-long Starship rocket was launched last Friday from SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Texas. It was the second test flight of the vehicle this year.
During the mission, the spacecraft traveled halfway around Earth and successfully deployed 20 Starlink satellites into orbit. After completing its planned operations, the rocket safely returned and landed in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX said that, unlike previous tests in which the spacecraft experienced difficulties during descent, Starship achieved its most precise atmospheric re-entry to date during this flight. The successful return demonstrated further progress in developing a fully reusable launch system.
SpaceX engineer Kate Tice described the achievement as highly encouraging. She said that several specially equipped Starlink satellites launched during the mission will capture images of the rocket’s heat shield, providing valuable data to engineers on Earth. The information will help improve Starship’s design and performance in future missions.
Meanwhile, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated the SpaceX team in a post on the social media platform X, saying the successful test would provide valuable experience for NASA’s upcoming Artemis III lunar mission.
Under NASA’s Artemis program, astronauts are expected to return to the Moon in the coming years. Beyond lunar exploration, SpaceX also aims to use Starship as a key vehicle for future Mars missions. To achieve these goals, the company is continuing a series of tests to evaluate and enhance the rocket’s technological capabilities.