MELBOURNE, FL \u2014 No, it wasn\u2019t a UFO spotted over the skies of Florida at sunset on Oct. 13. It was a Starship.<\/p>\n
SpaceX\u2019s massive Starship lifted off from Brownsville, Texas, on its 11th flight on Oct. 13<\/a>. But as it soared into the sky, it was visible from its possible future launch location \u2014 Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n The launch occurred<\/a> at 7:23 p.m. ET and with the sunset lighting conditions being just right, a small \u201cjellyfish\u201d effect appeared in the skies over the Space Coast about 10 minutes past the launch. The SpaceX test flight proved to be a success thus far, meeting the company’s set objectives.<\/p>\n Its last mission,\u00a0in August, ended a streak of testing failures earlier this year as\u00a0SpaceX\u00a0pushed to stress-test features for its total reusability.\u00a0SpaceX is hoping to start launching a more advanced Starship prototype equipped with features tailored for moon and Mars missions.<\/p>\n “We’ve done everything we can think of to make that next test flight, Flight 11, successful,”\u00a0SpaceX\u00a0President Gwynne Shotwell said at a conference in Paris last month. “But, you know, you never know when you’re going to get punched in the face, so we’ll see.”<\/p>\n Quickly, photos and videos started to circulate online, with many Florida residents wondering what that light in the sky was. During the flight, Starship repeated the milestones it had seen on its 10th flight, including the deployment of mockup Starlink satellites.<\/p>\n What is SpaceX planning for the next Starship test flight?<\/p>\n SpaceX plans to use the flight test to gather data to inform the design of\u00a0the next iteration of its lower-stage\u00a0rocket <\/a>booster, known as Super Heavy, while stress-testing the upper-stage vehicle’s heatshield. The company also detailed plans for the upper stage, simply known as Starship, to attempt mid-flight maneuvers that will be necessary for it to one day be capable of returning and landing back at the launch site.<\/p>\n After deploying mock Starlink internet satellites expected to burn up in the atmosphere, the upper stage is intended to land in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n For the second time ever, SpaceX also plans to\u00a0use a Super Heavy booster<\/a> that has flown on a previous Starship flight\u00a0test. Additionally, 24 of its 33 engines in the SpaceX Raptor family will be “flight proven,” SpaceX said.<\/p>\n For the third time in a row, the\u00a0booster will not return to the launch site<\/a>; instead, it will land in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed by the U.S. government as the Gulf of America, as SpaceX attempts to push its performance beyond what has so far been attempted.<\/p>\n What is Starship? How big is SpaceX’s megarocket?<\/p>\n The Starship,\u00a0standing 403 feet tall when fully stacked<\/a>, is regarded as the world’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. When fully integrated, the launch system is\u00a0composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage Starship, the spacecraft where crew and cargo would ride.<\/p>\n SpaceX is developing\u00a0Starship<\/a>\u00a0to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.<\/p>\n In the years ahead, Starship is\u00a0set to serve a pivotal role in future U.S. spaceflight.<\/p>\n Starship is the centerpiece of\u00a0Musk’s\u00a0vision of sending the first humans to Mars<\/a>, with plans for the first uncrewed Starship to head to the Red Planet as early as 2026.<\/p>\n A configuration of the vehicle is also critical in NASA’s plans to\u00a0return astronauts to the moon’s surface<\/a>. The U.S. space agency has designs on using Starship to\u00a0ferry Artemis III astronauts<\/a> from an Orion capsule in orbit to the lunar surface\u00a0as early as 2027.<\/p>\n Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at\u00a0bedwards@floridatoday.com<\/a>\u00a0or on X:\u00a0@brookeofstars<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com<\/p>\n Contributing: Reuters<\/p>\n