The SpaceX company of Ilon Mask made the eleventh Starbase Starbase in Texas on Monday the eleventh starship launcher as part of a test mission.

The aim of the flight is to demonstrate the reusable design of the giant rocket, which is intended for both satellite and – in the next phase – for transporting people to the Moon and Mars.

Starship, mounted on the Super Heavy rocket, was launched at around 6:20 pm CT (23:20 GMT) from SpaceX’s Starbase facilities. After sending the starship into space, the Super Heavy returned to land in soft waters in the Gulf of Mexico, about 10 minutes after taking off.

His latest mission, in August, ended a series of failed tests earlier this year, as SpaceX has tested endurance for its complete reuse. Spax, after Monday’s flight, hopes to start launching a more advanced prototype Starship equipped with features tailored to missions to the Moon and Mars.

“We have done what we can think about to make the next test flight, Flight 11, successful”, said the president of Spacex, Guinn Sootwellat a conference in Paris last month. “But you never know what can happen, so we’ll see.”

Starship is scheduled to land NASA astronauts on the Moon by 2027. The rocket, often larger than Falcon 9 of SpaceX, is also the key to launching heavier Starlink satellites, essential for the company’s profitable targets for mobile broadband. It is the central element of Musk’s vision to send people and loads to Mars.

As part of the ARTEMIS program of the Space Service, the contract of more than $ 3 billion with Starship has made MSK’s company one of the most prominent factors in a new space race to the Moon between the United States and China – which aims at 2030 for its own manner.

A NASA Security Counselor team warned that meager progress in developing the design of the lunar spacecraft of the rocket is in danger of delaying US efforts for the Moon for years. Complex refueling missions in space and the test landing on the rough surface of the Moon are among the top priorities that NASA requires SpaceX to achieve.