NASA’s Houston base provides one of the many iconic aspects of Texas’ identity, but in recent years the government’s aerospace agency has stepped back and encouraged private companies to push space exploration further. One of the winners of this new approach from NASA was SpaceX. The company, run by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has so far received more than $2 billion from the government to test new technologies.
While NASA has scaled back operations, Texas is still in the spotlight as Boca Chica, TX has served as the test headquarters for four Space X launches. The most recent was held on June 6 and was a huge success. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest version.
How did the latest starship launch go?
By all accounts, this launch was a huge success for Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Starship development flagship. The starship is designed for repeated space exploration and even cargo or passenger launches. The starship is known for its powerful launch system and, once perfected, will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration interplanetary flights.
Starship was successfully launched, a move the company has gotten right in the past. From there, the spacecraft undertook a full test mission around the planet before heading back to land. Landings have plagued SpaceX operations in past launches and were a source of stress before this launch.
This time the craft successfully landed in the Indian Ocean, which is a significant milestone for Musk and SpaceX. According to the company, the craft was damaged by black tiles that peeled off when the craft re-entered the atmosphere – but that was to be expected.
“Despite the loss of many plates and a damaged flap, the starship made it to a soft landing in the ocean!” Musk said in a social media post.
Previous SpaceX launches have not been as successful
SpaceX’s first spacecraft launch was in April 2023. But the party didn’t last long, as the spacecraft ran into trouble just 24 miles above the Gulf of Mexico when a fuel leak caused a fire in the Super Heavy booster, according to the company.
This malfunction resulted in SpaceX losing communication with the spacecraft and later losing control of the spacecraft itself. After the ship lost control, the Autonomous Flight Safety System took over and detonated the craft in less than four minutes.
In November, the starship took off again and entered space for the first time, according to the SpaceX website. However, during the flight he encountered problems with the supply of liquid oxygen. One engine failed and the vehicle caught fire.
According to SpaceX’s website, the failure was “determined to be a blockage in the filter where liquid oxygen is supplied to the engines, which resulted in a loss of inlet pressure to the engine oxygenator pumps, ultimately resulting in one engine failing in a manner that resulted in the loss of the vehicle.”
SpaceX at the center of many controversies
On Wednesday, SpaceX and its CEO Musk were sued by eight engineers who said they were wrongfully fired for raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, alleges that Musk’s behavior cultivated a “pervasive sexist culture” at SpaceX, where female engineers were frequently subjected to sexist comments and harassment. The lawsuit also alleges that when it was filed, the women’s concerns about the workplace culture were ignored.
This isn’t the only claim SpaceX is facing. In December 2023, a handful of environmental groups filed another complaint about the environmental impacts of SpaceX spacecraft launches from Starbase, the company’s facility in far South Texas, with the Federal Aviation Administration. The groups originally filed the lawsuit against the FAA shortly after the starship’s first launch last April, SpaceNews reported.
USA TODAY’s Brandi D. Addison contributed to this report
Beck Andrew Salgado covers trending topics in the Austin business ecosystem for the American-Statesman. To share additional tips or insights with Salgado, email Bsalgado@gannett.com.