SpaceX Starship soars 407 feet from Texas as NASA monitors lunar lander test

Texas: SpaceX’s Starship rocket soared from the company’s launch base at the southern tip of Texas on Wednesday, reaching a height of 407 feet (124 metres) in a key test flight.

NASA closely monitored the launch, a critical step toward certifying Starship as a lunar lander for future moon crews under the Artemis program.

The flight came after a last-second abort last week. SpaceX said six of the 33 engines on the first-stage Super Heavy booster failed to ignite, forcing the scrub. Engineers replaced the faulty engines ahead of this attempt.

The company has been working to resolve ongoing propulsion issues. During the previous Starship flight in May, engine trouble also prevented the booster from making a controlled return to the launch pad.

Despite the shortened hop, the successful liftoff provides data SpaceX and NASA need as they prepare Starship for orbital tests and eventually for carrying astronauts to the Moon.