SpaceX’s Starship carrier rocket for Moon and Mars missions has completed a test flight after recent failures.
Starship, a heavy-lift two-stage rocket powered by 33 Raptor engines, took off from the SpaceX Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7.30pm local time on Tuesday evening.
The test flight success was important for the development timeline of Starship, which is to play a central role in sending Nasa astronauts and cargo to the Moon and later to the Red Planet.
“Starship’s 10th flight test provided valuable data by stressing the limits of vehicle capabilities and providing maximum excitement along the way,” SpaceX said in a statement after the flight.
Turning point after setbacks
The first-stage Super Heavy booster performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship upper stage reached space, deployed dummy Starlink satellites and returned for a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
This was the 10th flight of the rocket, following back-to-back failed flight test attempts in January, March and May.
On June 19, a ground test of the Starship ended with the vehicle blowing up.
A video posted on social media showed Starship 36 erupting into a fireball during a static fire test, where the rocket is partially fuelled and engines are ignited. This incident caused a delay in the launch attempt.
Mr Musk has always carried out a rapid development approach for his company’s rockets, building and testing them quickly to gather data and make improvements.
SpaceX may now speed up testing of Starship following an executive order this month from US President Donald Trump which will put the approval of launch licences on a fast track.
The directive, called Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry, asks federal agencies including the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to speed up the review process for space flight licences and remove outdated regulations.
It also asks the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to “eliminate or expedite” environmental reviews for launch and re-entry licences and permits.
Sarath Raj, project director of the Satellite Ground Station at Dubai's Amity University, has told The National that the Trump order will “significantly accelerate” rocket development.
“This substantial increase from the previous limit allows SpaceX to implement a rapid iterative testing campaign, quickly identifying and rectifying design or operational flaws through frequent flight data,” Dr Raj said.
“Each launch provides invaluable real-world performance data crucial for refining the Starship system, including its novel full reusability aspects.”
Mr Musk is also developing Starship to further his goal of “making life multiplanetary” and hopes to send astronauts to Mars.
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Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
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