SpaceX flies Starship prototype rocket Starhopper for the first time

SpaceX launched and landed its Starhopper rocket in its first flight, a short test that saw the company take a giant leap forward in its development of a next-generation rocket that it hopes will take people to the moon and Mars.

The rocket is the prototype for SpaceX’s vehicle called Starship. The company is building the enormous rocket to achieve its goal of transporting up to 100 people in the space flights.

“Starhopper flight successful,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet.

Musk posted a video SpaceX took of Thursday’s flight test from a flying drone nearby. The flight took place at SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica Beach, Texas.

The rocket lifted off the ground for the first time after months testing. SpaceX attempted the flight the previous night but stopped seconds after the engine fired. Although official data from Thursday’s test flight has not yet been made available, SpaceX said previously that it was intending to fly Starhopper about 65 feet in the air.

Musk said in a tweet that SpaceX will try to fly Starhopper more than 650 feet up for another test “in a week or two.”

Starship is built to be fully reusable, meaning the entire rocket will be able to launch, land and launch again — more akin to an airplane than a traditional rocket. Currently, SpaceX is able to land and reuse part of its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. But Starship would take that to the next level and, especially, would help lower the cost per flight of a rocket launch.