The Starship rocket launched into space for the sixth time, carrying a banana on board, but not everything went as planned (video).

The largest and most powerful rocket in the world, known as Starship, was launched into space on November 19 at 00:00 Kyiv time from SpaceX's launch site as part of its sixth test flight. Although the test was successful, not all of Elon Musk's company's plans came to fruition, reports Space.

The world's most powerful rocket, Starship, developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX, stands 122 meters tall. It consists of two components: the Super Heavy launch vehicle and the Starship spacecraft, also referred to simply as Ship.

During the previous fifth test flight, the reusable Super Heavy launch vehicle not only returned to Earth after launch but was also caught by the launch tower at the launch site using its manipulators. This tower is responsible for sending Starship into space. This time, SpaceX hoped to replicate this feat, but it did not succeed.

As a result, Super Heavy safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico during a controlled descent 7 minutes after launch.

However, the main objective of the new test was to verify the functionality of the 50-meter tall Ship spacecraft. This time, just like during the previous test flight, the spacecraft was sent on a suborbital trajectory to splash down in the Indian Ocean. The Ship successfully withstood the atmospheric re-entry, ignited 3 out of 6 of its engines, flipped into a vertical position, and fell into the water in the Indian Ocean 65.5 minutes after liftoff.

For the first time, the Ship was carrying a payload: a plush banana that served as a zero-gravity indicator, although the spacecraft did not reach outer space.

The new flight demonstrated that the Ship is capable of performing maneuvers necessary for a safe return to Earth during orbital flights. Like Super Heavy, the Ship is reusable, and SpaceX hopes that during future tests, it will be possible to catch it with the launch tower's manipulators. The new flight of the Ship allowed for testing the durability of the modified heat shield, which protects the upper section of the Starship during atmospheric re-entry.

SpaceX created the Starship rocket to facilitate the transportation of people and cargo to the Moon and Mars, as well as to conduct missions to low Earth orbit.

If everything goes according to plan, one version of Starship will deliver NASA astronauts to the Moon's surface for the first time in over 50 years in 2026. In this case, Starship will serve as a lunar lander.

That same year, SpaceX intends to send the Starship spacecraft to Mars for the first time, but without a crew.

To ensure that all of Elon Musk's company's plans come to fruition, it is essential to put the Starship rocket into operation as soon as possible, but it will still need to undergo several more test flights in the near future.