A Starship test flight with a direct bearing on Nasa's Moon mission took place or was scheduled today, in the latest of a series of trials of the vehicle.
Starship is being developed for the American space agency's return to the Moon, and each flight is judged by how far it advances that goal. One report describes today's flight as a "profound" test for the mission and calls it historic.
A busy stretch for launches
The same newsletter notes a century of flights for Electron, the small rocket flown by Rocket Lab, pointing to a busy period for launch operators.
The outcome matters to Nasa, which is relying on Starship as part of its plans to put crews back on the lunar surface. A successful test would keep that work moving. A failure would mean further analysis and, potentially, another flight before the next stage can be attempted.
Nasa and the company behind Starship are expected to say more once the flight data has been reviewed. A date for any follow-up launch has not been set.
UK interest
The UK has a direct link to the Moon programme through the international partners taking part in Nasa's lunar plans, and any change to the timetable for Starship would be felt across those partnerships.
Photo: Unsplash
