(FreedomBeacon.com)- Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and billionaire hated by the left, announced on Wednesday that his team had successfully landed the flight test of the SN15 space ship. It’s the first successful landing for the “Starship,” which is designed to be a reusable spacecraft that will eventually be used for missions to the moon.
“Starship landing nominal!” Musk announced on Twitter following the landing.
Starship landing nominal!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2021
The SN15 Starship, which was unmanned, launched at 5:23 p.m. local time in Boca Chica, Texas. Its flight lasted six minutes, with the rocket flying upwards, then performing its “belly flop” maneuver where it turned 90 degrees and fell, before using its engines to right itself and land vertically just as it took off.
Watching the video, it almost doesn’t look real.
HISTORY!!!!!!! On their 19th anniversary of being a company, @SpaceX proved their Starship vehicle’s wacky landing maneuver works!!! They NAILED THE LANDING!!! That was incredible!!! Congrats @elonmusk and the rest of the team!!!! That was unreal!!! pic.twitter.com/LYAE2Jr6KF
— Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) May 5, 2021
As the rocket landed, a set of small legs were deployed – much like an airplane’s detractable wheels – and it landed on a concrete pad close to the launch pad.
In the video, you can see a small fire occur at the base of the rocket, but SpaceX engineer John Insprucker said that it is “not unusual with the methane fuel that we’re carrying.” The fire was soon extinguished.
The landing is significant not just because of the technical skill involved, but because multiple landings have previously ended in disaster, with the multi-million-dollar rockets exploding as they either took off or landed. It’s the first successful landing for the prototype rocket and an indication that SpaceX is truly on its way to creating reusable rockets to send men and cargo to the moon.
The rock is 160-feet tall and can carry 100 metric tons of cargo into orbit. That means there’s plenty of room to send Nancy Pelosi and maybe even Chuck Schumer to the moon where nobody can hear them.
