SpaceX launches Starship's fourth flight of 2024, splashes down booster instead of catching it

SpaceX launched the sixth test flight of its Starship rocket on Tuesday. The rocket took off from SpaceX's private "Starbase" facility near Brownsville, Texas. There are not any people on board the Starship flight. Starship reached space and will travel halfway around the Earth before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX had aimed to return the rocket's "Super Heavy" booster after it separated from Starship and land it on the arms of the company's launch tower. But SpaceX said during its webcast that the booster did not clear its "commit criteria" needed for the catch attempt, so the booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico instead.