SpaceX's Starship successfully launches in test flight while booster catch is aborted

SpaceX's Starship successfully launched on Tuesday but did not attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster with its "Mechazilla" arms. Instead, the booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico after separation. This test flight marked the sixth for Starship, following a successful catch of the booster last month. The Starship section landed in the Indian Ocean, achieving a controlled vertical landing, which is a step forward in testing its systems. Despite the aborted catch, SpaceX achieved a key goal by reigniting the Raptor engines in space for the first time. The company aims to make Starship fully reusable to support future missions to the Moon and Mars.