CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched a prototype of its Mars rocketship hundreds of feet into the air, then landed it upright in a successful test flight. The flight lasted barely 45 seconds and reached just 500 feet (150 meters) Tuesday night at the southeastern tip of Texas near Brownsville, but was an important first for SpaceX’s Starship. “Mars is looking real,” SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk tweeted after the short hop. “Progress is accelerating.”Musk said several more short hops are planned before a test version of Starship aims for a high altitude. The latest test model is relatively plain: It stands a full-scale 100 feet (30 meters) tall and resembles a steel silo — or stretched-out can — with a cap on top.

Source: International New York Times August 05, 2020 15:45 UTC