SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — SpaceX's Starship megarocket, the world's largest and most powerful rocket, reached orbital speed for the first time Thursday in a historic third test flight from South Texas.Starship is a reusable rocket larger and far more powerful than NASA's Artemis Special Launch System and one that could take humans to the moon and Mars. The launch, with no one aboard, was the second attempt to fly the combined Starship spacecraft and its 33-engine Super Heavy booster.The Starship is built to transport people on missions that take them beyond Earth's orbit. It aims to carry astronauts to Mars, the Moon, and other planets in our solar system to conduct further studies, research, and development.

How much thrust will Starship have : As those engines lift Starship off the launchpad in South Texas, they will generate 16 million pounds of thrust at full throttle. NASA's new Space Launch System rocket, which made its first flight in November 2022, holds the current record for the maximum thrust of a rocket: 8.8 million pounds.

Why did Starship 3 fail

During the test, multiple first-stage engines failed and the rocket began to tumble. Engineers activated a self-destruct mechanism while the ship was in mid-air.

How powerful is Saturn V : The rocket generated 34.5 million newtons (7.6 million pounds) of thrust at launch, creating more power than 85 Hoover Dams. A car that gets 30 miles to the gallon could drive around the world around 800 times with the amount of fuel the Saturn V used for a lunar landing mission.

NASA is worried that SpaceX's giant new Starship vehicle won't be ready to carry astronauts to the surface of the moon in late 2025, as currently planned.

The Starship-Super Heavy system is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. It's capable of producing more thrust upon liftoff than any other rocket in history, including NASA's giant Space Launch System and the Saturn V that took astronauts to the moon.

How much thrust does Saturn V have

7.6 million pounds

The rocket generated 34.5 million newtons (7.6 million pounds) of thrust at launch, creating more power than 85 Hoover Dams.The spacecraft is designed to transport both crew and cargo to a variety of destinations, including Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and potentially beyond. It is intended to enable long duration interplanetary flights for a crew of up to 100 people.How SpaceX's third launch got lost over Indian Ocean. SpaceX launched its powerful two-stage Starship rocket into space Thursday, a third test flight that outperformed the previous two last year, before the craft was apparently lost on reentry.

9/10 engines were initially relit. During the boostback burn, a LOX filter blockage occurred and resulted in progressive engine failures which led to the destruction of the booster. At T+7:05, a planned vent of liquid oxygen caused several explosions and fires.

Why is Saturn V not used : Two main reasons for the cancellation of the last three Apollo missions were the heavy investments in Saturn V and the ever-increasing costs of the Vietnam War to the U.S. in money and resources.

Is Saturn 5 the most powerful rocket : Saturn V. The undisputed king of space is the Saturn V. Developed in the 1960s to send American astronauts to the moon, it still holds the record for the largest payload delivered to LEO: 141 metric tons consisting of an Apollo command and lunar modules, plus the fuel needed to take them to the moon and back.

Is NASA paying for Starship

NASA is already funding Starship, the largest rocket in history, to the tune of billions of dollars to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface—but Starship also has the potential to launch immense payloads off other worlds and back to Earth.

The crew of Artemis III will ride to lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft, where Orion will dock with the Starship human landing system in preparation for their journey to the lunar surface. Orion is the only spacecraft capable of returning crews to Earth at lunar reentry velocities.SpaceX's latest Starship mission flew farther than before—and tested technology that could elevate humankind's spacefaring status. Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

Why is Saturn V so good : The Saturn V holds the record for the largest payload capacity to low Earth orbit, 311,152 lb (141,136 kg), which included unburned propellant needed to send the Apollo command and service module and Lunar Module to the Moon.