SpaceX reveals series of images capturing impressive moments during the latest Starship test

SpaceX has just completed the sixth test of the Starship project, the most powerful rocket ever launched into space. The rocket carrying the Starship spacecraft was launched from SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas at 4 p.m. on November 19 (5 a.m. on November 20, Hanoi time). The rocket is about 122 meters tall and is designed to take astronauts to the Moon and Mars.

Immediately after the test, the space travel company led by billionaire Elon Musk posted a series of photos of this historic mission on social media, including impressive photos showing the rare moment when the upper stage of the Starship spacecraft separated from the first stage of the Super Heavy rocket with absolute precision and according to plan, with almost no deviation.

The moment of separation occurred over the Gulf of Mexico, about 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the mission, as Super Heavy generated 17 million pounds of thrust to send the 400-foot-long Starship hurtling toward space. After the rocket separated, the spacecraft continued into orbit, splashing down in the Indian Ocean about 65 minutes after launch. President-elect Donald Trump traveled to Texas to watch the flight in person.

After a few minutes, Super Heavy reduced power and began its descent. It was hoped that the 70-meter-long rocket would repeat the feat of its previous test flight on October 13, when it was caught by a robotic arm – dubbed the 'wand'. However, flight data was inconsistent for this landing, so the Super Heavy booster was forced to be directed to 'edge down' into the Gulf of Mexico.

Overall, SpaceX considers the overall mission a huge success, and will use the data collected from Starship to help refine and improve the ship's vehicle and flight systems.

NASA is planning to use a modified version of the Starship spacecraft to send the first woman and first person of color to the moon on the Artemis III mission, which could happen as early as September 2026.

SpaceX is also planning to further improve the power of Starship by adding several more powerful Raptor engines to the 33 that are currently part of the main booster.