Instead, the company utilizes flight tests to gather crucial data and make improvements before the next vehicle rolls out for liftoff. Defying gravityThe SpaceX Starship spacecraft lifts off from the Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday. Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty ImagesStarship’s eventful third test flight achieved multiple milestones before ending prematurely and likely breaking apart. The spacecraft was expected to splash down in the Indian Ocean at the end of its hourlong flight, but SpaceX lost Starship’s signal shortly after the vehicle reentered Earth’s atmosphere. However, the third flight of Starship flew longer and higher than either of the previous tests.

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Persons: Chandan Khanna, axolotls, Stephen Dalton, ”, Randal Voss, Jiji Press, James Webb, “, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, SpaceX, Getty, Starship, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, NASA’s, Golden Records, Clipper, Japan Monkey, Jiji, Gorillas, James Webb Space Telescope, CNN Space, Science Locations: South Texas, Texas, Boca Chica , Texas, Turkey, Xochimilco, Inuyama, United States, Columbia , South Carolina, Panama, —, Scarborough , England