SpaceX launches redesigned Starship in successful pre-IPO test

{"text":[[{"start":8.1,"text":"SpaceX on Friday launched its redesigned Starship and returned it to Earth intact, in a successful test of the rocket that will underpin a $1.75tn initial public offering next month and, one day, Elon Musk’s ambitions to reach Mars."}],[{"start":24.700000000000003,"text":"Onlookers including Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman watched from the company’s Starbase facility in southern Texas in the early evening as 33 raptor engines powered the 408-foot-tall rocket into space. "}],[{"start":39.35,"text":"In its inaugural flight, the heavily redesigned V3 version of the Starship cruised into sub-orbit before deploying nearly two dozen dummy and test satellites even as one of the six engines on the rocket’s upper stage failed. "}],[{"start":54.400000000000006,"text":"The upper stage returned to Earth and slowed over the Indian Ocean before firing two of its engines to go vertical. The vehicle then toppled into the ocean as expected before exploding. The successful mission is a major feat for the company because it aims to eventually land and reuse this part of the rocket to reduce the cost of space flight. "}],[{"start":75,"text":"SpaceX’s launch came days after the group filed its long-awaited prospectus for the largest IPO in history."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":81.6,"text":"SpaceX had attempted to launch on Thursday but scrubbed its plans after a hydraulic pin holding the launch tower’s arm in place did not retract, Musk said in an X post. "}],[{"start":92.19999999999999,"text":"“You don’t want to release all your financial data to investors the day before an unsuccessful launch,” said Josh Parker, an analyst at Capstone, a Washington-based strategy firm. “Any failure risks the IPO.” "}],[{"start":104.79999999999998,"text":"Isaacman flew over Starbase while piloting an F-5 Tiger II jet earlier on Friday. Starship is one of the two vehicles in the running to fulfil Nasa’s plans to land astronauts on the Moon. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has also been awarded a contract to develop systems. "}],[{"start":121.39999999999998,"text":"“We’re looking forward to seeing this thing [Starship] fly because hopefully in the not so distant future we’re going to join up in orbit,” Isaacman said. "}],[{"start":130.04999999999998,"text":"Investors are watching Starship’s performance closely. SpaceX is heavily reliant on the most powerful rocket in history to build its Starlink satellite broadband network — and to deliver on Musk’s wide-ranging ambitions, from orbital AI data centres to colonising Mars."}],[{"start":145.79999999999998,"text":"“Our ability to execute our growth strategy is highly dependent on Starship,” SpaceX told investors in its IPO filing with US securities regulators on Wednesday."}],[{"start":155.99999999999997,"text":"The company said it planned to “commence payload delivery to orbit” using Starship in the second half of this year. It has set out the goal of carrying out multiple launches per day in an attempt to significantly lower launch costs and expand its latest-generation satellite constellation."}],[{"start":173.74999999999997,"text":"Starship dwarfs SpaceX’s current main launch vehicle, Falcon 9, which flew 165 times last year, and rivals such as Blue Origin’s heavy-lift spacecraft."}],[{"start":184.84999999999997,"text":"SpaceX wants to one day reuse both the rocket’s booster — the lower part that helps it lift off the ground — and the upper part that carries its payload."}],[{"start":193.09999999999997,"text":"A single Starship is expected to one day ferry 60 Starlink satellites to space. The satellite broadband network has rapidly become the group’s pivotal profit and growth driver."}],[{"start":204.09999999999997,"text":"SpaceX’s connectivity segment, driven by Starlink satellite internet business, generated $11.4bn of revenue in 2025, up nearly 50 per cent year on year, and $4.4bn of operating income, up 120 per cent, according to its filings."}],[{"start":223.99999999999997,"text":"Earlier versions of the Starship have attempted 11 flights, with the second generation suffering explosive setbacks last year including one rocket blowing up on the launch pad before achieving a successful launch with two flights in August and October. "}],[{"start":239.64999999999998,"text":"Two flights in early 2025 ended with the rocket spinning out of control and exploding in the atmosphere above the Caribbean. "}],[{"start":247.39999999999998,"text":"Starship first reached space in late 2023. It gained attention in October 2024 when the reusable Super Heavy booster was caught by giant “Mechazilla” robotic arms on its return to Earth during its fifth test flight. SpaceX did not attempt this feat during Friday’s launch. "}],[{"start":272.9,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779501076_5105.mp3"}