In Pictures | Elon Musk's Starship Captures Breathtaking Images of Earth

Elon Musk's SpaceX has once again captured the world's attention with stunning images of Earth taken by its Starship during its first successful flight through space on Thursday. The Starship, hailed as the world's most powerful rocket, achieved its farthest and fastest flight to date, though it met a tragic end upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, according to SpaceX. The majestic view of Earth's curvature as the Starship soared at speeds exceeding 26,000 km per hour was shared on X. 

Following the successful test flight, NASA administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX, highlighting the progress made through collaborative efforts. "Congrats to @SpaceX on a successful test flight! Starship has soared into the heavens. Together, we are making great strides through Artemis to return humanity to the Moon—then look onward to Mars," Nelson wrote.

Wild: Elon Musk shares captivating images 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, shared one of the captivating images ed during the flight and wrote, “Wild that this is a real picture.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wild that this is a real picture <a href="https://t.co/V2LWqTOydY">pic.twitter.com/V2LWqTOydY</a></p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1768809794729542095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Stunning pictures from SpaceX

SpaceX also shared several images on their official page, captioning them, "ship in space."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ship in space <a href="https://t.co/ge5vJ0q9jW">pic.twitter.com/ge5vJ0q9jW</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1768807328021917716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Everything you need to know about the successful flight in space 

The historic take-off occurred from SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, with millions of viewers tuning in to watch the live stream. Standing at an impressive 397 feet tall, the Starship is designed for full reusability, featuring a super heavy booster capable of remarkable thrust.

Zooming through space at incredible speeds, it reached an altitude of over 200 km above sea level before beginning its descent over the Indian Ocean.

Unfortunately, ground control lost all signals from the spacecraft 49 minutes into the flight, leading to the declaration that the vessel was "lost," likely destroyed before its planned hard splashdown. 

Despite setbacks, Musk remains optimistic about Starship's potential, envisioning it as a key player in making life multiplanetary.

SpaceX's testing journey with Starship has seen challenges, with previous attempts in April 2023 and November 2023 ending in failure. Each Starship costs SpaceX around $90 million to build, underscoring the stakes involved in the development process.