Federal Aviation Administration<\/a><\/span> announced Wednesday that the hourlong spaceflight resulted in a mishap based on the performance of the mega rocket\u2019s first-stage booster. <\/p>\nMinutes after Starship blasted off from Texas on Friday, the booster separated as normal but engines conked out as it made its way back to Earth. Instead of a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the booster came in hard. There were no reports of injury or property damage, according to the FAA, which will oversee the company\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft continued around the world, releasing 20 mock satellites before ending the mission as planned with a fiery splashdown in the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n
The 407-foot (124-meter) rocket is SpaceX CEO Elon Musk\u2019s biggest and most powerful Starship yet, designed to carry crews to Mars. NASA is looking for it to land astronauts on the moon as soon as 2028 and help build a lunar base.<\/p>\n
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