Texas ,August 27(HS): SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, has completed a nail-biting test flight in a stunning reversal of recent setbacks.

Blasting off from Texas at 18:30 local time (23:30 BST), the giant two-stage vehicle—made up of its Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft—safely reached nearly 200 km above Earth before coasting around the planet and returning battered but intact.

The high-stakes flight marked the first successful test of the rocket’s newest version after a string of explosive failures, including a dramatic launch-pad blast in June. At one point in Tuesday’s mission, engine parts appeared to detonate and side flaps ignited, yet the spacecraft pressed on, delivering the breakthrough SpaceX urgently needed.

“Great work by the SpaceX team!!” cheered CEO Elon Musk on X, hailing the achievement after months of mounting doubts. Musk now hopes to certify Starship for human crew missions as early as 2026, with uncrewed Mars flights also on the horizon.

NASA, which has contracted Starship for its Artemis Moon missions in 2027, is watching closely—though most observers expect deadlines to slip further.

For SpaceX, which embraces a “fail fast, learn fast” philosophy, the success is more than symbolic. After three consecutive test disasters earlier this year, the flawless execution of Tuesday’s high-risk flight represents a pivotal boost to confidence in Musk’s audacious ambitions for the Moon and beyond.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar