SpaceX conducts a test launch of its SN15 starship prototype from the company's starship facility in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S. May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
(Reuters) - SpaceX achieved the first successful touchdown of its prototype Starship rocket during the latest test flight of the next-generation launch vehicle in south Texas on Wednesday, after four previous landing attempts ended in explosions.
The feat marked a key milestone for the private rocket company of billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk in its development of a resusable heavy-lift launch vehicle to eventually carry astronauts and large cargo payloads to the moon and Mars.
