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SpaceX s Starship Serial Number 15 rocket has successfully launched and landed, making it the first and only prototype to survive a high-altitude flight test.
Following a day of delay and anticipation, the Elon Musk-owned company launched SN15 at 6:24 p.m. ET from its Boca Chica, Texas testing facility.
SN15 s giant Raptor engines released streams of white smoke from the launch pad and propelled the rocket into the air.
The prototype soared to a height of six miles in the atmosphere, hovered for a brief moment, and then performed the notorious sideways flip, nicknamed the belly flop by Musk.
With the methane fuel they were carrying, this was not unprecedented, according to SpaceX engineer and livestream announcer John Insprucker. However, the fires were quickly extinguished.