SpaceX launched another Starship rocket on Tuesday, but did not catch the booster with the giant mechanical arms as they had done previously. Instead, the booster was directed to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico. The plan to catch the booster was called off just four minutes into the test flight from Texas for unspecified reasons, and the booster hit the water three minutes later. SpaceX said the necessary conditions for a successful booster catch were not met, so the flight director did not command the booster to return to the launch site. At the same time, the empty spacecraft that launched from Texas on top of Starship traveled across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world, similar to a test flight in October. The shiny, retro-looking spacecraft then descended into the Indian Ocean for a controlled but destructive end to the hour-long demonstration. This was the sixth test for the world's biggest and most powerful rocket, which SpaceX and NASA hope to use to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars.

Liftoff of Starship's sixth flight test pic.twitter.com/uNLPuD6Ia0

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 20, 2024

The Starship spacecraft had a successful launch in the late afternoon to ensure daylight for its descent. The mission included igniting one of the spacecraft's engines in space, which is necessary for future returns from orbit. Thermal protection experiments were also conducted, with some areas stripped of heat tiles to test potential catch mechanisms. The spacecraft descended nose-first during the final stage of entry before flipping and splashing down upright in the Indian Ocean. Even more upgrades are planned for the next test flight.

Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/rSLQ2DDy63

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024

The president-elect, Donald Trump, attended the launch, indicating a growing partnership between him and SpaceX's founder, Elon Musk. SpaceX aims to eventually return and reuse the entire 400-foot Starship, which would lower the cost and speed up cargo and passenger transportation to the moon and Mars. The recycling of SpaceX's Falcon rockets has already saved the company time and money. NASA is paying SpaceX over $4 billion to land astronauts on the moon via Starship on consecutive missions later this decade. Musk plans to send a group of Starship spacecraft to construct a city on Mars in the future. This was the sixth time a complete Starship has been launched since 2023. The initial three attempts unfortunately ended in explosions.