Musk proclaimed the missions as an ‘epic achievement’ after Starship soared 130 miles above the surface and making a soft landing in the Indian Ocean as planned.
Cheers erupted in the control center as confirmation came in, leading to SpaceX employees toasting marshmallows to celebrate Starship’s ‘toasty’ ride.
The previous three attempts saw the prototypes explode midair or break apart during re-entry – only tiles and a damaged flap occurred during Thursday’s mission.Along with a successfully Starship splashdown, the booster also landed in the Gulf of Mexico eight minutes after take off.
It was a critical milestone in the company’s plan to eventually return the Super Heavy booster to its launch site for reuse.
The Starship is classified as a super heavy-lift launch rocket that is celebrated as the most powerful ever built.
As the rocket reentered the atmosphere an hour after lift-off, pieces of its flap started shredding off and a hole appeared as a debris covered the camera, cracking the lens.
