NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on Thursday that he looks forward to seeing what SpaceX learned from its first flight test of the Starship and Super Heavy rocket system, and looks forward to the next launch attempt
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2023) NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on Thursday that he looks forward to seeing what SpaceX learned from its first flight test of the Starship and Super Heavy rocket system, and looks forward to the next launch attempt.
Earlier on Thursday, the Starship rocket had a successful liftoff from the launch pad in Starbase, Texas, but exploded minutes later after it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly, according to SpaceX.
"Congrats to SpaceX on Starship's first integrated flight test! Every great achievement throughout history has demanded some level of calculated risk, because with great risk comes great reward. Looking forward to all that SpaceX learns, to the next flight test - and beyond," Nelson wrote on Twitter.
NASA's Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Jim Free said in a separate statement that he is encouraged by SpaceX's Starship flight test, adding that each test is necessary progress toward a human lunar landing, and he looks forward to learning from the data SpaceX captured as they continue to develop the Starship human landing system and prepare for their next flight test.
SpaceX said its teams will continue to review data and work toward the next flight test, which is expected to take place in several months.
The company has described the nearly 400-foot tall rocket as the most powerful ever built and capable of launching payloads to the Moon and Mars. The rocket is also designed to be fully reusable in all its stages.
On Monday, SpaceX postponed its highly anticipated debut launch of its Starship rocket system just minutes before liftoff due to a pressurization issue with its Super Heavy booster.
