Starship Booster Catch Brings NASA, SpaceX Closer to Artemis 3 Moon Landing
NASA and SpaceX successfully caught a Starship booster for the first time, a major milestone in the development of the company's reusable spacecraft.
The booster, which is designed to help launch the Starship spacecraft into orbit, was caught by a ship called Mr. Steven in the Pacific Ocean on August 9, 2023. The catch was the culmination of years of development and testing, and it marks a major step forward for SpaceX's plans to send humans back to the Moon by 2025.
The Starship booster is a massive rocket, standing over 160 feet tall and weighing over 1,000 tons.
It is powered by 33 Raptor engines, which produce over 7 million pounds of thrust. The booster is designed to lift the Starship spacecraft into orbit, where it will then be refueled before continuing on to the Moon.
The catch of the Starship booster is a major milestone in the development of the spacecraft.
It demonstrates that SpaceX is making progress towards its goal of developing a reusable launch system that can be used to send humans and cargo to the Moon and Mars. The catch also brings NASA and SpaceX closer to the Artemis 3 Moon landing, which is scheduled for 2025.
The Artemis 3 Moon landing will be the first crewed Moon landing since 1972.
The mission will see two astronauts land on the Moon's South Pole, where they will collect samples and conduct experiments. The mission will also test new technologies that will be used on future missions to Mars.
The catch of the Starship booster is a major step forward for the Artemis program.
It demonstrates that SpaceX is making progress towards its goal of developing a reusable launch system that can be used to send humans and cargo to the Moon and Mars. The catch also brings NASA and SpaceX closer to the Artemis 3 Moon landing, which is scheduled for 2025.
