X-Yachts Xp 50

From eur 650,000.

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It most cases price:

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Final price might be 30%-80% higher if you choose high specification.

2.35 m - 3.0 m

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X 4.3 Pure Performance

The redesign of x-boat’s most popular performance cruiser has speed for fast passages in a sleek, modern package.

x yacht test

When a boatbuilding company takes on the task of redesigning its most popular model, it probably has a good idea of what improvements to make. The X4.3, the first boat in the company’s Pure line of performance cruisers, was launched in 2016, with more than 100 boats built. Taking innovations in design from the subsequent models in the line, X-Yachts redesigned the X4.3 with a sleeker and more modern hull and deck.

x yacht test

Innovative features such as opening portlights that allow for better ventilation and adding a hinged acrylic companionway door were just some of the changes that improved life onboard. The biggest change—a complete redesign of the hull shape—required new molds. The wider stern sections above the waterline brought the maximum beam aft, and with soft chines, added more room for interior accommodations. 

X-Yachts are built in Haderslev, Denmark, a country tucked between the Baltic and North seas, where seafaring is in the DNA. With a reputation for producing fast, sexy racer-cruisers, the company splits it designs into Cruising, Xp performance and the Pure X-yacht ranges, which has five models including the X4.3. These performance cruisers are not designed to a rating rule, but are often seen winning races around the world. The new X4.3 has a PHRF rating of 37.

The chance to sail this new 43-footer was intriguing because the boat tested was the personal boat of Bob Rogers, managing director of Rodgers Yacht Sales, the U.S. importer for X-Yachts, and he had a hand in choosing options. 

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x yacht test

Yachting World

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Yachting World cover

The jaw-dropping X6 from X-Yachts – a super-stylish step up for this Danish builder

  • Toby Hodges
  • December 12, 2016

Toby Hodges takes the highly customised hull number one of X-Yachts new 65-footer for a test sail and found a yacht with untold potential for idyllic onboard life. Photos Richard Langdon.

x yacht test

The X6 is a bold design: a muscular, small superyacht blessed with powerful lines; a yacht that will place most others of her size firmly in the shade. The flagship of the new X range (the 41ft X4 was launched simultaneously – see full X4 test report ), the X6 is a completely different animal, inside and out, from X-Yachts Xp performance cruiser range , designed to be a semi-custom cruiser with a healthy dose of testosterone and raw contemporary appeal.

“I have never walked into a boat before and fallen straight in love with it like this,” said our veteran photographer Richard Langdon, not one normally prone to exaggeration. The formidable natural light illuminates a mix of finishes including bare teak, clear-coat carbon, stainless steel and walnut – all modern, light, and fresh looking. “It’s sensational,” I agreed.

It should be noted however that this first X6 was built in collaboration with its British owner and is customised with a multitude of optional extras, including the carbon and leather trim, the brushed-stainless galley surfaces and the backlit feature bookshelf. He has also opted for a carbon Hall Spars mast and custom-made roller boom, which, together with features like her large hull portlights and bespoke dinghy stowage – there is room to stow a RIB facing forward on a roller-launching system that hinges down, as the aft deck lifts up – help identify her as very much a scaled-down superyacht.

Twin rudders are unusual for X-Yachts. The X73 in 2001 was the first model to have twin rudders – making room for the tender garage. “We don’t do it on smaller models because of prop walk,” Jeppesen explained. “But at this size you have a stern thruster.”

The X6 has very similar hull lines to the X65 I tested in 2009, seven of which were produced. She has a similar price and specification but her interior design is a quantum leap ahead.

Interior panache

To descend the bare teak steps of the shallow companionway is to witness a new dawn for X-Yachts. Yes we’ve seen a lot of raised saloon models before, but this has lashings of added panache. Stand in the saloon and you are at the perfect height for near-panoramic views, including that most prized angle looking forward over the flush foredeck. The amount of natural light in the saloon and galley is phenomenal.

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The interior of the X6 sparkles with natural light, her design and layout outshining all other recent production yachts.

Lift up the floorboards in the saloon and you’ll find high-calibre engineering: X-Yachts’s galvanised steel grid immediately imparts peace of mind; the tanks and batteries are all centrally positioned for optimum weight management and the hoses and wire looms are housed in metal cradles to keep them neatly together and out of the bilges. The plywood soles are thicker than those used in my house. I’m told that matching the walnut veneer in those lengths was somewhat tricky. The predominant trim is light oak Alpi again, but this has been brushed when bare for a more tactile finish.

By providing a modular layout to the three-part accommodation plan, X-Yachts can offer a variety of options. The test boat had a four-cabin format (two Pullmans and two double cabins). The choice of an extra Pullman forward, reduces the size of the sail locker and removes the space for a forepeak crew cabin. The aft Pullman is ideally placed for a professional crew next to the walk-in engine room and galley, although the addition of an en-suite here would make it more practical for crew use.

The telescopic coffee table in the saloon is an odd, over-complicated device with four diagonal folding leaf sections to seat a maximum of seven. Combined with a small cockpit table, this restricts the options for hosting any kind of slap-up meal from the wonderfully light and large galley, the size and quality of which is a real selling point of the boat. It has a phenomenal amount of locker space and cold storage, plus space for extras like a trash compactor, coffee machine, dishwasher, and microwave.

The owner’s cabin forward, with over 7ft of headroom, is again well lit and inviting with a distinct impression of luxury. The double aft has a corridor-style entrance that extends under the cockpit sole. It then widens out to reveal a generous cabin with a large hull portlight and private access to the adjoining heads.

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More design features: stylish porthole-style barometer and temperature displays

Twin rudder power

Anyone familiar with X-Yachts will not be surprised to read that this is a slippery, powerful beast. In just 5–7 knots of breeze the X6 will almost match the wind speed to windward. Add a couple of knots in a puff and she heels elegantly and clocks 7.5–8 knots. When it piped up to 14 knots we were slicing upwind pointing 30–35º at 8.5 knots, even topping nine if we footed off 5º.

It was a potent and commanding performance. The inhaulers make a notable difference, adding five degrees to her pointing. An X-Yacht is consistently a delight to sail upwind, but the twin rudder grip offered on the X6 encourages you to push a little offwind. In 10–15 knots and with the Code 0 unleashed we maintained a steady 9.5 knots at 55–80º(apparent). This felt to me more steady than exhilarating and I noted excessive drag off the leeward rudder and wash off the windward rudder in this mode. Jeppesen said they had been tuning the rudder angles to get the best orientation. The loaded helm when reaching was probably more down to poor trim, as it was a nicer, more neutral feeling going upwind.

There’s no doubt that the X6 will make a formidable passage-maker. And if the wind does dip below 5 knots, the standard Yanmar 160hp engine with three-blade Flexifold propels her at 7.4 knots at 1,700rpm, consuming just 5.6lt of diesel per hour.

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The optional carbon arch keeps mainsheet lines out of the cockpit.

Cockpit arch benefits

For a large, powerful design, she’s a calm yacht to sail, thanks in part to a very smart, well thought-out deck design. The sheets for example disappear below deck aft, reappearing at two Harken 980s abaft the cockpit. The furlers for staysail, genoa and Code 0 are all under the deck and I like the versatility her cutter rig provides. The mainsheet is led from the arch forward through the boom and back to winches.

Personally I’m a fan of the cockpit arch. It’s a look reminiscent of the showpiece spoilers that typified the dream cars of the 1980s, but an arch also helps to create a cockpit enclosure, a sense of privacy and protection, and keeps the boom clear. The custom-made furler boom on the test boat has a manual override so the deck winch can be used in case of any power problems. This UK owner was also having a fixed bimini fitted with solar panels on top.

The lengthy but shallow cockpit has a small table and a dedicated liferaft locker by the companionway. Abaft the benches is a pair of winches either side, with storage beneath the side decks for running rigging tails. A generous sail locker swallows fenders and furling sails, plus there’s a chain locker with a wash-down hose and windlass.

Specifications

LOA: 20.09m (65ft 11in) LWL: 17.85m (58ft 7in) Beam (max): 5.40m (17ft 9in) Draught: 3.00m (9ft 10in) Displacement (lightship): 29,500kg (65,036lb) Sail area (100% foretriangle): 222.9sq m (2,399sq ft) Berths: 6–10 Engine: 160hp Yanmar Water: 1,000lt (220gal) Fuel: 1,200lt (264gal) Sail area-displacement ratio: 23.7 Displacement-LWL ratio: 145 Price (ex VAT): €1,980,000 Test boat (inc VAT): £2,600,000 Design: X-Yachts design team www.x-yachts.com

Conclusions

The X6 is right in the sweet spot for this new X range, as the 55-80ft sector is where the interior can shine too. I was excited about the edgy, muscular looks of this new age for X-Yachts, but it was the interior of this yacht that blew me away. It’s a prime example of how, if you’re prepared to pay for the extras, the step up to this size level brings the sort of customisation and systems design more typically associated with the superyacht world.

This mid-60ft sector has traction, so new designs have to stand out. The modern styling of the X6 is certainly backed up with the performance X-Yachts is renowned for, although the increased size, load and power level, can lead to a certain ‘loss of feel’.

X-Yachts has a facility in north Poland with 110 workers where the initial hull and deck lay up for both the X4 and the X6 is done. The rest of the assembly, including quality control, takes place in Haderslev, Denmark.

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The owner’s cabin forward has 7ft headroom and plenty of natural light through the hatch and the portlights.

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The smart bookshelves on the forward bulkhead have indirect lighting.

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Helm controls include a stern-thruster.

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A nice mix of contemporary design and semi-custom finishing.

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The bespoke tender garage aboard the test boat.

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X6 interior layout.

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X6 sailplan.

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X-YACHTS XP 33

X-YACHTS XP 33 REVIEW

The X-Yachts Xp 33 racing yacht is a strongly-made, quality-finished performance yacht with an unquestioned emphasis on racing

The X-Yachts Xp 33 racing yacht is a strongly-made, quality-finished performance yacht with an unquestioned emphasis on racing. The deck layout and sailplan allow it to be sailed by small or large crews. However, it should also make a handy weekend family cruising yacht.

X-YACHTS RACING

In recent years, the X-Yachts lineup of racing yachts has separated into three different groups: the Xc cruiser/racers; Xp racer/cruisers and Xr racers. Still to come is the delicious X6 superboat that’s due for release next year.

The Xp 33 was conceived unashamedly as a fixed-keel sportsboat that could perform well in Europe’s shorthanded racing regattas, as well as in crewed IRC/ORC competition. In lineage terms its deck and interior layout has more in common with the X35 racer than the superseded X34 cruiser/racer.

It would seem that X-Yachts reckons the yacht racing / cruising market is moving up the waterline length scale and that a 33-footer should now have more pace.

The pace was penned in by designer Niels Jeppeson and validated by velocity prediction programs. The hull-shape target was optimised for all-round performance, not just brilliant off-the-wind speed, in wind speeds of five to 20kts.

Low freeboard, narrow waterlines, a high ballast ratio and a broad stern to increase waterline length when heeled are intended to produce good upwind speed even in light breezes.

Less freeboard means that the Xp33’s coach house is relatively tall to provide headroom in the cabin. With the boat’s very narrow sheeting angles the coach house height dictates a high, rather than deck-hugging jib clew and on the test boat the jib had a roached foot, to increase sail area.

Interestingly, there’s a fair amount of rocker in the hull profile – particularly aft – and the saildrive leg is positioned 2/3 forward in the keel-rudder space, where its turbulence should have minimal effect on the blade.

The Xp 33 has an iron keel with a lead T-bulb and both are layered with vacuum-infused epoxy E-glass for a smooth finish.

Weight reduction involved replacement of the X-Yachts’ trademark galvanised steel sub-frame by a much lighter but similarly rigid carbon/FRP lattice to absorb keel, mast and rigging loads. Foam/FRP laminate is used for hull and deck but solid laminate is used in these high-stress areas.

The Xp 33 weighs nearly one tonne less than the X-34 and while that doesn’t make it the lightest yacht in this class, there are strength compromises X-Yachts engineers won’t make.

Another distinguishing mark of the Xp 33 is a telescopic carbon fibre bowsprit that allows easy spinnaker handling in shorthanded racing. The pole’s home is a sleeve in the vee-berth cabin and it’s launched by line-pull from the cockpit. The Xp 33 can fly a racing asymmetric spinnaker or a cruising one.

For windward-leeward crewed racing a symmetrical kite with pole can be specified. Simple end-for-end gybing is standard.

STANDARD RIG

The standard rig is 9/10 with keel-stepped aluminium mast, aluminium boom, rod vang, twin sweptback spreaders and discontinuous rod rigging. Carbon spars are optional. There’s also a choice of a low-profile, above-deck jib furler or a twin-track, foil headstay. A tackle-adjustable Dyneema backstay is standard and all halyards are Dyneema. 

Mainsheet control is by tackle, with a 6:1 main purchase and fine tune, while the fore-aft jib car sheeting angle can be narrowed by barber-haulers.

X-Yachts’ steering preference for this boat was always a tiller, in the interests of simplicity and weight saving, but that posed some cockpit layout difficulties if a desirable forward-mounted single rudder was used, rather than accepting the additional drag of twin blades. The solution was simple: move the tiller aft to allow more crew space in the cockpit; position the rudder optimally under the cockpit and connect the tiller post to the rudder shaft by a drag link.

PERFORMANCE

We’ve been trying for some time to sync a test of the Xp 33 and it finally happened on a day that was forecast to have mainly light breezes and the odd shower. Seabreeze was correct and we were lucky enough to find a few squalls that helped give us a test wind range between five and 15kts.

We left Gladesville Bridge Marina, in one of the several arms of Sydney Harbour, without drama and I found the tiller response direct and without vice under power, going forward or in reverse. A very wide cockpit and aft-set tiller and engine controls made it easy for the helmsperson to handle port and starboard aft dock lines.

The Quantum jib and main went up quickly and the boat responded instantly, accelerating rapidly. During a 10-knot puff I saw high sixes on the GPS when close hauled and with sheets eased a tad the speed went to 7.5kts.

Tacking and gybing were easy enough, once I adjusted to the 3.2m beam that dictated a few large steps across the cockpit! A narrow coach house allowed tight jib sheeting angles that could be enhanced by easily-used barber haulers.

The varying wind was handy for checking out the boat’s response in different strengths and it also highlighted just how stiff this Xp 33 is. We were humming along in a five-knot airstream and copped a 15-knot squall: the boat heeled initially and then settled on its fat, chined bum and picked up speed.

Crew weight on the rail is always handy in this class of boat and we found that the dart shape of the Xp 33 encouraged crew hiking farther aft, to avoid a nose-down attitude. Fortunately there’s ample deck space to allow this positioning, because the helmsperson and mainsheet trimmer sit right aft.

I thought initially that the cockpit sole foot chocks were a tad on the small side and I was also concerned that the shallow-height coamings for the steerer and main trimmer might not be adequate to stop them sliding into the cockpit, but the boat didn’t heel enough for that to be an issue. Even with an over-trimmed main during one squall the boat just leaned and then sat there. Very reassuring.

The main was set up with a 6:1 coarse purchase and a fine tune, and I felt that more coarse purchase would ease the main trimmer’s work load; there seemed to be enough mainsheet length to feed through 8:1 blocks. Backstay adjustment via a 16:1 cascade block arrangement was quite easy.

The test boat was fitted with the largest asymmetric allowed by the sailplan. At a well-fed 109m² it was close to double the combined area of the main and 106 per cent genoa! Because this kite was large enough to fill even when part-blanketed by the main it could be carried squarer than many asos.

Getting it up was simple: line-launch the bowsprit out of its sleeve; attach the tack, halyard and sheets and away the boat goes. And it did go: 9.4kts in average breeze and I was too busy to check out the GPS when we were overpowered by one squall, but the acceleration was instant and the helm still felt quite balanced.

THE VERDICT

Despite the showery weather, I had a ball playing with the Xp 33 and I think it’s a model that’s destined for success. Even with an over-trimmed main during one squall the boat just leaned and then sat there. Very reassuring.

  • Quality build
  • Flexibility of racing vocations
  • Stiff, drama-free performance
  • Huge working cockpit
  • Mainsheet effort

X-YACHTS XP 33 SPECIFICATIONS

Price as tested.

$272,455 (inc. GST)

OPTIONS FITTED 

Quantum carbon racing sails (main, code 4 and code 2 jibs), asymmetric spinnaker and spinnaker gear, teak-faced cockpit seats, vee-berth furniture and bunks, front-opening fridge, upgraded ENO stove with oven, shorepower, galvanic isolation and boom cover

PRICED FROM

$240,000 (inc. GST)

MATERIAL Vacuum-infused vinylester hull with E-glass and carbon reinforcement, cored with Airex; solid laminate in high-stress areas; foam- cored deck

TYPE Monohull

LENGTH 9.99m overall; 8.86m waterline

WEIGHT 4300kg

BALLAST 1700kg (iron/lead keel)

BERTHS 3 doubles, 2 singles (settee berths)

WATER 110lt

MAINSAIL 33.8m2

HEADSAIL 28.3m2 

SPINNAKER 93m2 (cruising asymmetric); 96m2 (cruising symmetric); 109m2 (racing asymmetric)

MAKE Yanmar 

TYPE Diesel saildrive

RATED HP 20

PROP Two-blade folding prop

SUPPLIED BY

X-YACHTS AUSTRALIA

64A The Quayside,

Roseby Street,

Birkenhead Point,

Drummoyne, NSW, 2047

Phone +61 2 9719 9411

Web x-yachts.net.au

Highlights From SpaceX’s Starship Test Flight

The powerful rocket, a version of which will carry astronauts to the moon for NASA, launched for the third time on Thursday morning. It achieved a number of milestones before losing contact with the ground.

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Kenneth Chang

Kenneth Chang

Here’s what happened during the third test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built.

Spacex launches starship for third time, the rocket, a version of which will eventually carry nasa astronauts to the moon, traveled almost halfway around the earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere..

“Five, four, three, two, three, one.” “This point, we’ve already passed through Max-Q, maximum dynamic pressure. And passing supersonic, so we’re now moving faster than the speed of sound. Getting those on-board views from the ship cameras. Boosters now making its way back, seeing six engines ignited on ship. Kate, we got a Starship on its way to space and a booster on the way back to the Gulf.” “Oh, man. I need a moment to pick my jaw up from the floor because these views are just stunning.”

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The third try turned out to be closer to the charm for Elon Musk and SpaceX, as his company’s mammoth Starship rocket launched on Thursday and traveled about halfway around the Earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere.

The test flight achieved several key milestones in the development of the vehicle, which could alter the future of space transportation and help NASA return astronauts to the moon.

This particular flight was not, by design, intended to make it all the way around the Earth. At 8:25 a.m. Central time, Starship — the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly — lifted off from the coast of South Texas. The ascent was smooth, with the upper Starship stage reaching orbital velocities. About 45 minutes after launch, it started re-entering the atmosphere, heading toward a belly-flop splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Live video, conveyed in near real-time via SpaceX’s Starlink satellites , showed red-hot gases heating the underside of the vehicle. Then, 49 minutes after launch, communications with Starship ended, and SpaceX later said the vehicle had not survived the re-entry, presumably disintegrating and falling into the ocean.

Even so, Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, congratulated SpaceX on what he called a “successful test flight” of the system his agency is counting on for some of its Artemis lunar missions.

SpaceX aims to make both the vehicle’s lower rocket booster and the upper spacecraft stage capable of flying over and over again — a stark contrast to the single-launch throwaway rockets that have been used for most of the space age.

That reusability gives SpaceX the potential to drive down the cost of lofting satellites and telescopes, as well as people and the things they need to live in space.

Completing most of the short jaunt was a reassuring validation that the rocket’s design appears to be sound. Not only is Starship crucial for NASA’s lunar plans, it is the key to Mr. Musk’s pipe dream of sending people to live on Mars.

For Mr. Musk, the success also harks back to his earlier reputation as a technological visionary who led breakthrough advances at Tesla and SpaceX, a contrast with his troubled purchase of Twitter and the polarizing social media quagmire that has followed since he transformed the platform and renamed it X. Even as SpaceX launched its next-generation rocket, the social media company was dueling with Don Lemon , a former CNN anchor who was sharing clips from a combative interview with Mr. Musk.

SpaceX still needs to pull off a series of formidable rocketry firsts before Starship is ready to head to the moon and beyond. Earlier this week, Mr. Musk said he hoped for at least six more Starship flights this year, during which some of those experiments may occur.

But if it achieves them all, the company could again revolutionize the space transportation business and leave competitors far behind.

Phil Larson, a White House space adviser during the Obama administration who also previously worked on communication efforts at SpaceX, said Starship’s size and reusability had “massive potential to change the game in transportation to orbit. And it could enable whole new classes of missions.”

NASA is counting on Starship to serve as the lunar lander for Artemis III, a mission that will take astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. That journey is currently scheduled for late 2026 but seems likely to slide to 2027 or later.

The third flight was a marked improvement from the first two launch attempts.

Last April, Starship made it off the launchpad, but a cascade of engine failures and fires in the booster led to the rocket’s destruction 24 miles above the Gulf of Mexico.

In November, the second Starship launch traveled much farther. All 33 engines in the Super Heavy booster worked properly during ascent, and after a successful separation, the upper Starship stage nearly made it to orbital velocities. However, both stages ended up exploding.

Nonetheless, Mr. Musk hailed both test flights as successes, as they provided data that helped engineers improve the design.

Thursday’s launch — which coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the founding of SpaceX — occurred 85 minutes into a 110-minute launch window. The 33 engines in the booster ignited at the launch site outside Brownsville, Texas, and lifted the rocket, which was as tall as a 40-story building, into the morning sky.

Most of the flight proceeded smoothly, and a number of test objectives were achieved during the flight, like opening and closing the spacecraft’s payload doors, which will be needed to deliver cargo in the future.

SpaceX did not attempt to recover the booster this time, but did have it perform engine burns that will be needed to return to the launch site. However, the final landing burn for the booster, conducted over the Gulf of Mexico, did not fully succeed — an area that SpaceX will attempt to fix for future flights.

SpaceX said the Super Heavy disintegrated at an altitude of about 1,500 feet.

SpaceX engineers will also have to figure out why Starship did not survive re-entry and make fixes to the design of the vehicle.

Even with the partial success of Thursday’s flight, Starship is far from ready to go to Mars, or even the moon. Because of Mr. Musk’s ambitions for Mars, Starship is much larger and much more complicated than what NASA needs for its Artemis moon landings. For Artemis III, two astronauts are to spend about a week in the South Pole region of the moon.

“He had the low price,” Daniel Dumbacher, the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a former high-level official at NASA, said of Mr. Musk, “and NASA chose to take the risk associated with that configuration hoping that it would work out. And we’ll see if that turns out to be true.”

To leave Earth’s orbit, Starship must have its propellant tanks refilled with liquid methane and liquid oxygen. That will require a complex choreography of additional Starship launches to take the propellants to orbit.

“This is a complicated, complicated problem, and there’s a lot that has to get sorted out, and a lot that has to work right,” Mr. Dumbacher said.

Thursday’s flight included an early test of that technology, moving liquid oxygen from one tank to another within Starship.

Mr. Dumbacher does not expect Starship to be ready by September 2026, the launch date NASA currently has for Artemis III, although he would not predict how much of a delay there might be. “I’m not going to give you a guess because there is way too much work, way too many problems to solve,” he said.

Michael Roston

Kenneth Chang and Michael Roston

A rare sight: Starship’s bright orange glow as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.

Just past the 45-minute mark of the Starship vehicle’s journey through space on Thursday, something eerie happened. As it drifted high above Earth’s oceans and clouds, the spacecraft’s silvery exterior was overtaken by a brilliant and fiery orange glow.

Starship re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Views through the plasma pic.twitter.com/HEQX4eEHWH — SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2024

When a spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere, the air beneath it gets hot — hot enough that it turns into a plasma of charged particles as electrons are stripped away from the air molecules. The charged particles create picturesque glows, like neon signs.

But seeing this happen in nearly real-time during a spaceflight is uncommon. That plasma disrupts radio signals, cutting off communication.

Such blackouts happen, for instance, when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule returns to Earth from the International Space Station with its complement of four astronauts. Mission controllers must wait with bated breath to be reassured that the spacecraft’s heat shield has held up and protected the crew during atmospheric re-entry.

Until Starship succumbed to the intense forces of re-entry on Thursday, SpaceX used its Starlink internet satellites to relay the live video feed. The Starlink satellites are in higher orbits, and sending signals upward — away from the plasma — is easier than trying to communicate through it to antennas on the ground.

But Starship wasn’t the only spacecraft in recent weeks to give us a view of plasma heating. Varda Space, a startup that is developing technology for manufacturing in orbit, had cameras on a capsule it landed on Earth on Feb. 21. Before it parachuted to the ground, its Winnebago capsule recorded a day-glow re-entry. The company retrieved the video recording from the capsule and shared it online:

Here's a video of our capsule ripping through the atmosphere at mach 25, no renders, raw footage: pic.twitter.com/ZFWzdjBwad — Varda Space Industries (@VardaSpace) February 28, 2024

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Jeff Bezos’s rocket company could race SpaceX to the moon.

Which billionaire space company will get to the moon first: Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin?

At first glance, SpaceX seems to have a huge head start. It is about to launch the third test flight of Starship. A variation of Starship is scheduled to take NASA astronauts to the surface of the moon as soon as September 2026.

By contrast, Blue Origin has yet to launch anything into orbit, and its contract with NASA for a lunar lander for astronauts is for a mission that is launching in 2030.

But Blue Origin might still get there first. SpaceX faces major challenges with Starship, which is as tall as 16-story building, while Blue Origin plans to send a smaller cargo lander to the moon by the end of next year.

“This lander, we’re expecting to land on the moon between 12 and 16 months from today,” John Couluris, senior vice president of lunar permanence at Blue Origin, said during a n interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” this month.

The first launch of the Mark 1 version of the Blue Moon lander is what Blue Origin calls a “pathfinder” to test technologies like the BE-7 engine, the flight computers, avionics and power systems — the same systems that will be used in the much larger Mark 2 lander that will take astronauts to the moon’s surface.

The Mark 1 lander can carry up to three tons of cargo to the lunar surface, but will be small enough to fit inside one of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets . New Glenn has yet to fly, but the company says its debut journey will occur later this year.

After Blue Moon Mark 1 is launched into an orbit about 125 miles above Earth’s surface, the lander’s BE-7 engine will propel it toward the moon, slowing it down to enter orbit around the moon and then guiding it to the landing on the surface.

The smaller size means that the Mark 1 lander, unlike Starship, will not need to be refueled before leaving Earth orbit. Demonstrating that refueling technology in orbit will be a key test to validate Starship’s design. Refueling will also be needed for the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander.

Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos have already been beaten to the moon by another billionaire, Kam Ghaffarian , one of the founders of Intuitive Machines, which put a small robotic lander named Odysseus near the lunar south pole in February . That was the first private spacecraft to successfully make it to the moon’s surface in one piece (although its journey had some hiccups ).

As with every American rocket mishap, the Federal Aviation Administration will open an investigation to review what went wrong and what SpaceX needs to do to correct it. But if, as Elon Musk says, there are at least six more Starship flights this year, SpaceX will have opportunities to complete a full test flight.

Starship's third flight went very far, but like its first two flights, it was not a complete success. The landing burn for the Super Heavy booster stage of the rocket — the aim was to “land” it in the Gulf of Mexico — was not fully successful, and the Starship craft did not survive re-entry. But it was marked significant progress, because none of the problems from the earlier flights recurred, and SpaceX engineers now have data to tackle the new problems.

Michael Roston

On the social media site X, Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA, congratulated SpaceX on what he called a “successful test flight” of Starship. The agency is counting on Starship to land astronauts on the moon’s surface as part of the Artemis III mission. Another vehicle, the Orion capsule, is to be used to bring those astronauts back to Earth.

SpaceX says Starship did not survive re-entry, but it achieved several key milestones during the flight. That marks significant progress since the second test flight. Elon Musk has said he hopes there will be a half-dozen Starship flights this year.

SpaceX says a dual loss of communication, both through its own Starlink satellites and other forms spacecraft communications with Earth, suggest that Starship did not survive re-entry. They’re still listening to see if radio contact resumes.

Video is gone. Telemetry is also stuck at a speed 25,707 kilometers per hour and an altitude of 65 kilometers. The reason is not clear.

Starship already has private customers booked for deep space trips.

Starship has not yet done a full orbit of the Earth, but SpaceX already has three private astronaut missions on its manifest for the spacecraft.

The first flight with astronauts aboard will be led by Jared Isaacman who previously bought an orbital trip on a Falcon 9 rocket that was known as Inspiration4 .

Then two other Starship flights will travel around the moon and back, one led by Yusaku Maezawa , a Japanese entrepreneur, and the other by Dennis Tito, who was the first private individual to buy a trip to the International Space Station in 2001.

Back in 2018 when Mr. Maezawa signed up for the lunar flyby, Mr. Musk said Starship would be ready by 2023.

Mr. Maezawa later called the mission ‘dearMoon,’ inviting people to apply for a seat on the trip. Last week, he acknowledged it was not going to happen this year.

“We were planning for our lunar orbital mission ‘dearMoon’ to take place in 2023, but seems like it will take a little longer,” he wrote on the social network X. “We’re not sure when the flight will be, but we will give you all an update once we know more.”

SpaceX is apparently also planning uncrewed cargo flights to the surface of the moon with Starship.

In March last year, a small start-up company, Astrolab, announced that it was sending a Jeep Wrangler-size rover to surface in the south polar region of the moon , and the ride would be a cargo Starship flight that would take it there.

SpaceX did not confirm the news.

This appears to be part of the expanding potential market for Starship. SpaceX also plans to use the rocket for launching its second generation of Starlink internet communications satellites .

Starship is re-entering Earth's atmosphere. We’re seeing the heating on the flaps, with video being transmitted to the ground through SpaceX's Starlink satellites. The view is incredible. Usually the plasma disrupts radio transmissions.

SpaceX skipped the restart of one of the Raptor engines on the upper stage of Starship. It did conduct the propellant transfer test and the opening and closing of the payload door, which means the flight achieved some of its experimental objectives during its coast around the Earth, but not others. Next stop: Re-entry through the atmosphere and a hard bellyflop in the Indian Ocean.

The music on the livestream is more old-fashioned than the ambient beats we’re used to during SpaceX video feeds. But there’s nothing old-fashioned about the views in space from the rocket, which are unreal, but have not always been visible as its connection to the ground comes and goes.

During this period of the flight, Starship is scheduled to perform several tests. The first, opening the payload door, is complete. It will also move several tons of liquid oxygen between two tanks within Starship. That’s a preliminary test for future in-orbit refueling between two Starships, which is critical for sending the vehicle to the moon. Finally, Starship will try to restart one of its Raptor engines in the vacuum of space, something it has not done before.

The payload door of the upper Starship rocket stage is now open. That’s how a future Starship will deploy Starlink satellites, and demonstrating that it works was one of the objectives of today's flight.

The engines on the upper-stage of the rocket successfully completed their burn. Starship is now coasting in space, on a trajectory that will re-enter the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.

We were watching the booster attempting to land in the Gulf of Mexico. But the camera feed cut off, and we're not sure what actually happened. The upper stage Starship is still continuing on its trajectory toward the Indian Ocean.

The Super Heavy booster stage of the rocket appears to be headed back to Earth. During the last attempt, the booster exploded at this point, so it looks like SpaceX has fixed that issue.

The large Super Heavy booster stage has separated from the Starship upper stage, which is on its way to space. The flight is looking good.

All 33 Raptor engines in the booster are working fine. So far everything looks good.

Less than 2 minutes until liftoff. Propellant tanks are full, and wind will not prevent an on-time liftoff.

Starship is less than 10 minutes away from its third launch. The countdown is going smoothly.

What will happen during Starship’s third test flight.

For its third test flight, Starship aims to fly part of the way around the Earth, starting from SpaceX’s launch site in Boca Chica Village, Texas, and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

The earlier test flights — both of which ended in explosions — aimed to come down in waters off Hawaii. SpaceX said it had set the new flight path to allow for safe testing of things it hadn’t done before with the Starship vehicle.

The journey will start at the site that SpaceX calls Starbase, which is a few miles north of where Texas and Mexico meet along the Gulf of Mexico. The rocket, nearly 400 feet tall, will be mounted next to a launch tower that is about 480 feet tall. It will be filled with methane and liquid oxygen propellants during the hours before liftoff.

Three seconds before launch, computers will begin to ignite the 33 engines in the Super Heavy rocket booster beneath Starship.

Starship and Super Heavy will begin their ascent over the Gulf. At 52 seconds into the flight, SpaceX says, the vehicle will experience the heaviest atmospheric stress of its trip, a moment flight engineers call max-q.

If the stainless steel spacecraft survives that stress, the next key moment will occur 2 minutes and 42 seconds into flight, when most of the Super Heavy booster’s engines power down. Seconds later, the upper Starship vehicle will begin “hot-staging,” or lighting up its engines before separating from Super Heavy.

Super Heavy’s journey will end about seven minutes after launch. SpaceX would typically aim to return the massive rocket booster to the launch site for a vertical landing. But for the test flight, the spent Super Heavy will perform a series of maneuvers before firing its engines one last time to slow its descent into the Gulf of Mexico.

As Super Heavy is descending, Starship will be gaining altitude. About eight and a half minutes into its flight, its engines will switch off. It will then begin coasting around the Earth.

While floating through space, Starship will attempt several things that the spacecraft has never done. Nearly 12 minutes into the flight, it will open a door that in the future could deploy satellites and other cargo into space. About 12 minutes later, it will transfer propellants from one tank to another while in space, a technique needed for future journeys to the moon and beyond. Then, 40 minutes into the flight, Starship will relight one if its engines while in space.

If the spacecraft makes it through those experiments, the conclusion of Starship’s journey will start at about the 49-minute mark. The spacecraft is set to pivot horizontally into a belly-flop to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. If it survives the extreme temperatures, Starship will splash down 64 minutes after it left Texas. The company has said in the past that it expects the belly-flop ocean landing to end in an explosion .

After SpaceX completes its testing campaign, future Starship flights will return to the Texas Starbase site after they complete their missions in orbit. SpaceX is also building a launch tower for Starship at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where flights could one day launch and land, including the Artemis III mission that NASA plans to use to return American astronauts to the moon’s surface.

SpaceX has started the company’s official live video stream from Texas, a sign that it is serious about igniting the rocket in about 20 minutes. You can watch it in the video player embedded above.

What went right and wrong during the 2nd Starship test flight.

The second test flight of Starship in November got a lot higher and faster than the first attempt seven months earlier.

During the first launch outside Brownsville, Texas, in April last year, things went wrong from the start — the exhaust of the engines of the Super Heavy booster excavated a hole beneath the launchpad, sending pieces of concrete flying up to three-quarters of a mile away and a plume of dust drifting 6.5 miles, blanketing the nearby town of Port Isabel. Several of the booster engines failed, and the upper stage never separated from the booster.

Instead, the rocket started making loop-de-loops before the flight termination system destroyed it.

During the second test flight , all 33 of the booster engines worked during ascent. A water deluge system protected the launchpad. The upper Starship stage separated from the booster and then made it most of the way to orbital velocity. However, the journeys of both the booster and the upper Starship stage still ended in explosions.

For the booster, as it dropped away from the upper stage, 13 of the 33 engines fired again to guide it toward the landing location. Although this particular booster was not going to be recovered, SpaceX wanted to test the re-entry techniques that are similar to what it currently uses for its smaller Falcon 9 rockets. However, something went wrong. Several engines shut down and then one blew up, causing the destruction of the booster.

In an update posted on the company’s website on Feb. 26 , SpaceX said the most likely cause of the booster failure was a blockage of a filter where liquid oxygen flowed to the engines. The company said it had made design changes to prevent that from happening again.

The upper stage continued upward for seven minutes after stage separation. This was itself an achievement because the company completed a step called hot-staging, during which the upper-stage engines ignite before the stage detaches from the Super Heavy booster.

Because the spacecraft was empty, extra liquid oxygen was loaded to simulate the weight of a future payload it could carry to orbit. But when the extra oxygen was dumped, a fire started, disrupting communication between the spacecraft’s flight computers. The computers shut down the engines and then set off the flight termination system, destroying the spacecraft.

The upper Starship stage reached an altitude of about 90 miles and a speed of about 15,000 miles per hour. For a spacecraft to reach orbit, it needs to accelerate to about 17,000 miles per hour.

Frost lines have appeared on Starship and the Super Heavy booster as methane and liquid oxygen flow into the rocket’s tanks.

It’s sunrise in Cameron County, Texas, but weather reports show cloudy conditions persist. We’ll see if weather is going to keep Starship on the beach, but SpaceX says it has started loading propellants into the rocket.

Launch time is now 9:25 a.m. Eastern. SpaceX says winds are still a concern that could cause a liftoff to be called off, but it will go ahead with loading of propellants in the rocket.

SpaceX pushed the launch time back a little more, to 9:10 a.m. Eastern. They have until 9:50 to try today.

SpaceX has just announced the new target launch time is 9:02 a.m. Eastern, and the company said on X that it is clearing some boats from a safety zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Cameras from a number of space enthusiast websites like NASASpaceflight that are pointing at the rocket show there is still no frost on its side, so the loading of ultracold methane and liquid oxygen propellants has not yet begun.

As SpaceX prepares for its third flight of Starship, other space efforts have experienced difficulties this week. On Wednesday, Kairos, a rocket from a Japanese startup called Space One, exploded moments into its first launch attempt. And Xinhua, a Chinese state news agency, said on Thursday that two Chinese satellites were lost after a rocket failed to reach the planned orbit.

In a posting on the social media site X, SpaceX says that it is aiming for launch at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, or 30 minutes into the 110-minute launch window. There is a 70 percent chance of favorable weather. There have been concerns of high winds, especially at higher altitudes.

What is Starship?

For Elon Musk, Starship is really a Mars ship. He envisions a fleet of Starships carrying settlers to the red planet in the coming years.

And for that eventual purpose, Starship, under development by Mr. Musk’s SpaceX rocket company , has to be big. Stacked on top of what SpaceX calls a Super Heavy booster, the Starship rocket system will be, by pretty much every measure, the biggest and most powerful ever.

It is the tallest rocket ever built — 397 feet tall, or about 90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty including the pedestal.

And it has the most engines ever in a rocket booster: The Super Heavy has 33 of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines sticking out of its bottom. As those engines lift Starship off the launchpad in South Texas, they will generate 16 million pounds of thrust at full throttle.

NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket , which made its first flight in November 2022, holds the current record for the maximum thrust of a rocket: 8.8 million pounds. The maximum thrust of the Saturn V rocket that took NASA astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program was relatively paltry: 7.6 million pounds.

An even more transformative feature of Starship is that it is designed to be entirely reusable. The Super Heavy booster is to land much like those for SpaceX’s smaller Falcon 9 rockets, and Starship will be able to return from space belly-flopping through the atmosphere like a sky diver before pivoting to a vertical position for landing.

That means all of the really expensive pieces — like the 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster and six additional Raptors in Starship itself — will be used over and over instead of thrown away into the ocean after one flight.

That has the potential to cut the cost of sending payloads into orbit — to less than $10 million to take 100 tons to space, Mr. Musk has predicted.

Starship and Super Heavy are shiny because SpaceX made them out of stainless steel, which is cheaper than using other materials like carbon composites. But one side of Starship is coated in black tiles to protect the spacecraft from the extreme heat that it will encounter if it gets far enough in its flight to re-enter the atmosphere.

Here is what to know about Thursday’s SpaceX test flight.

The third try was closer to the charm for Elon Musk and SpaceX, as the company’s flight test of the mammoth Starship rocket launched on Thursday and traveled almost halfway around the Earth before it was lost as it re-entered the atmosphere.

The flight achieved some key milestones in the development of the vehicle, which could alter the future of space transportation and help NASA return astronauts to the moon.

This particular flight did not, by design, make it all the way around the Earth. At 9:25 a.m. Eastern time, Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly, lifted off from the coast of South Texas. About 45 minutes later it started its re-entry, but communications were lost a few minutes after that. The company said the rocket was lost before attempting to splash down in the Indian Ocean, a sign that more work needs to be completed on the vehicle.

That reusability gives SpaceX the potential to drive down the cost of lofting satellites and space telescopes, as well as people and the things they need to live in space.

Here’s what else to know:

Thursday’s flight demonstrated new capabilities for Starship. In addition to reaching orbital speeds, the Starship vehicle opened and closed its payload door and managed to move several tons of liquid oxygen between two tanks within the rocket, a key test needed for future missions.

The Starship system consists of two stages — the Super Heavy rocket booster and the upper-stage spacecraft, which is also called Starship. The company intends both to be fully reusable in the future. Read more about Starship .

Thursday’s launch was the third of Starship. Here’s a recap of what happened last time .

Yachting Monthly

  • Digital edition

Yachting Monthly cover

X-Yachts X4 review

  • Chris Beeson
  • December 6, 2016

She is more ‘cruising’ than X-Yachts’ Performance range but more ‘performance’ than its Cruising range, so who is she for? Graham Snook takes her sailing to find out

Product Overview

Manufacturer:.

See the December 2016 issue of Yachting Monthly for the full test

What’s she like to sail?

The X4 is a dangerously fun boat to sail. She is so engaging and enjoyable to helm that it’s easy to forget about the constraints of things like draught – as I did. I could of course blame the position of the chartplotters on the binnacle in front of each wheel – which were only really visible if standing behind the wheel – or I could just admit the truth, I was totally absorbed in the X4 and loved the feel from the Solimar steering: smooth, precise, responsive and up there with the best boats I’ve sailed.

She’s an easy yacht to sail short-handed, or even solo with an autopilot. While the cockpit is wide it’s also quite short, and not designed for a full race crew. Lines and sheets can be managed easily by one person without feeling like they’ve run a marathon around the deck. The 106% genoa is a doddle to tack and when you sit forward of the wheel, the mainsheet winch is to hand and the cockpit is easily accessible. There are some boat tests where I never want the sailing side of it to end, this was one of them.

What’s she like in port and at anchor?

With genoa tracks on top of the coachroof and all lines (including genoa sheets and car adjusters) led under the deck, the only things to catch an unwary toe are two lines going across the foredeck and two flip-flop turning blocks by the genoa winches – that’s it! While the seats in the cockpit are only 1.47m (4ft 10in) long, with the wonderfully clutter-free deck you could lie down and stretch out almost anywhere else. The winches do impinge on elbow space on the coaming a little when you’re relaxing.

No part of her ground tackle or windlass are above deck, so the deck has the best hope of remaining free of muck from the anchor. The anchor lives in the bow roller under the optional bowsprit. There is no second bow roller and the hull has minimal chafe protection around the fold-down mooring cleats (fixed cleats are standard), which are quite far aft, so you’d have to rig up your own anti-chafe solution for nights on swinging moorings.

Below decks she has options of twin or single aft cabins and you can choose to have one or two heads compartments.

Would she suit you and your crew?

If you see yourself as a sporty cruiser, or someone who like sailing fast but also doesn’t want to compromise on their comfort, the X4 could be what you’re looking for. And if you enjoy sailing, you’ll love her. She’s a real connoisseur’s boat and quite simply a delight on the helm. I know looks are subjective, but X-Yachts have put in a lot of effort to keep her lines and decks clean and I think she looks great.

She may have a base price of £288,000 Inc VAT, but there are many lovely details that are options, like the bathing platform, hull-coloured carbon fibre bowsprit and fold-down cleats. Ticking these three boxes would increase her cost by more than £10,700 inc VAT, but that’s not to say these items are overpriced. I mention it as a caution – you really should make allowances for some box-ticking in your budget.

However much you do spend, it will be a distant memory once you get the wheel in your hand and start looking at the telltales. Just remember to keep an eye on the depth…

Facts and figures

Price £397,000 inc VAT as tested; base price £288,000

LOA 13.09m (42ft 11in)

LWL 11.31m (37ft 1in)

Beam 3.95 m (13ft)

Draught 2.20 m (7ft 3in)

Displacement 8,850 kg (19,510 lb)

Ballast 3,800kg (8,378 lb)

Ballast ratio 42.9%

Sail area 97m 2 (1044sq ft)

SA/D ratio 23.1

Diesel 200 litres (44 gal)

Water 340 litres (75 gal)

Engine 45 hp HPCR saildrive

Designer X-Yachts design team

Builder X-Yachts

UK Agent X-Yachts (GB)

Tel 02380 453377

Website www.x-yachtsgb.com

SpaceX’s Starship completes third test flight, its most successful yet

The spacecraft, powered by the world’s most powerful rocket, flew for nearly an hour in space, though it didn’t survive reentry into earth’s atmosphere.

x yacht test

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft made it to space and traveled more than halfway around the world Thursday before coming to a fiery end over the Indian Ocean, in the most successful demonstration to date of the vehicle NASA has chosen to one day land astronauts on the moon.

While the spacecraft did not survive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, it completed a number of key milestones that were hailed as major steps toward helping SpaceX perfect the art of flying the world’s largest and most powerful rocket.

In addition to a near-perfect launch, the craft flew for nearly an hour after lifting off from SpaceX’s private launch site in South Texas near the Gulf of Mexico at 9:25 a.m. Eastern time. All 33 of the booster’s engines ignited successfully, and after nearly three minutes, the Starship spacecraft separated and began a journey across the globe powered by its six engines.

The mission, SpaceX’s third test flight of the Starship system, was eagerly awaited by NASA, which is investing $4 billion in developing Starship. It intends to use the system to transport astronauts to the moon in the first two human landings since the Apollo era. SpaceX also intends to use the massive vehicle, which stands nearly 400 feet tall, to deploy the next generation of its Starlink internet satellites. Many in the science community are eager to use it to deploy large scientific instruments and telescopes into space.

“Congrats to @SpaceX on a successful test flight!” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson wrote in a post on X . “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.”

The vehicle, collectively called Starship, is composed of the Super Heavy booster and a spacecraft that sits on top. The company already has several other rockets under production and hopes to fly again soon, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said.

On this flight, the rocket achieved a speed of more than 16,000 mph, which would have allowed the spacecraft to enter orbit around Earth. Instead, SpaceX commanded the spacecraft to reenter the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. After slamming into the thickening atmosphere, it generated heat of about 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and did not survive. The booster was also lost after it began to tumble as it fell back to Earth over the Gulf of Mexico.

Still, it was the most successful Starship flight by far.

“It’s incredible to see how much further we got this time around,” Dan Huot, a SpaceX spokesman, said during the company’s live broadcast.

“This is just a phenomenal test so far,” SpaceX engineer Siva Bharadvaj said. “Super Heavy is performing beautifully today.”

With each flight, SpaceX has gotten better at flying Starship, learning from each test mission and then using the data that it collects to continue to tweak the vehicle’s hardware, software and ground systems.

“Each of these flight tests continue to be just that: a test,” SpaceX said in a statement before Thursday’s flight. “They aren’t occurring in a lab or on a test stand but are putting flight hardware in a flight environment to maximize learning.”

During the first flight in April 2023, several of the main engines failed during liftoff and more failed as it ascended. The force of the rocket blew up its launchpad and sent debris flying into the Texas shoreline. That triggered a lawsuit from environmentalists, who are concerned about the massive rocket’s impact on the surrounding area.

For the second flight , SpaceX installed a water deluge system to its pad, which dampened the blast, and made upgrades to the rocket’s engines. The vehicle made it through stage separation, and the upper-stage engines fired as well. But as the booster started to ignite 13 of its engines to fly the rocket back to Earth, one engine failed, “quickly cascading to a rapid unscheduled disassembly” — the phrase SpaceX uses to describe the loss of a vehicle. The spacecraft was lost after a leak led to a fire, and its autonomous onboard flight termination system destroyed the vehicle.

After the flight, the Federal Aviation Administration oversaw SpaceX’s investigation and said in February that it had accepted the company’s report. As a result, the FAA required SpaceX to complete 17 corrective actions, which included hardware redesigns, updates to engine-control algorithms and the installation of fire protection measures.

SpaceX said that “upgrades derived from the flight test will debut on the next Starship and Super Heavy vehicles.”

On this mission, SpaceX also tested opening and closing the payload doors through which it would deploy satellites to orbit. And because SpaceX intends to eventually refuel its Starship spacecraft while in orbit, the company also attempted to transfer propellant on this flight from one tank to another.

It was not immediately clear if those tests were successful. “We do still need to do some data review on those,” Bharadvaj said. “So as we get that data back, we’ll be sure to update you on social [media] for how those tests went.”

As the Starship spacecraft began reentering the atmosphere, cameras onboard the spacecraft showed images of the intense heat building up around the vehicle, engulfing it in a fireball. SpaceX had installed terminals for its Starlink internet satellite system on the spacecraft, which allowed for the stunning video to broadcast on its live stream until the heat finally overtook the system.

As expected, communication with the spacecraft was lost as it plunged through the thickening atmosphere. After a few minutes, however, SpaceX said the spacecraft — known as Ship 28 — did not survive reentry.

“We are making the call now that we have lost Ship 28,” he said. The company had hoped to fly the ship all the way to the surface of Indian Ocean, where it was expected to hit hard and explode.

It was unclear where exactly the ship was when the mission ended, but Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks spacecraft, said his analysis showed that it probably was lost about 620 miles southeast of Mauritius over the Indian Ocean.

Still, the flight will give SpaceX engineers lots of information to review that they will use in the next flight.

“The further we could fly, and the more data we could collect, was always the biggest win,” SpaceX engineer Kate Tice said.

What to know about SpaceX’s Starship

The latest: SpaceX’s third test flight of Starship was the most successful so far. It made it to space and traveled more than halfway around the world before coming to a fiery end over the Indian Ocean.

Starship: SpaceX’s massive rocket is the world’s most powerful rocket , a towering two-stage vehicle that NASA intends to use to land astronauts on the moon .

Previous flights: Starship’s first test was hailed as a success , though the landing pad was damaged after the ship exploded . The second test Starship successfully had liftoff, sparing the launch pad, but exploded amid separation from the boosters .

x yacht test

SpaceX launch: Starship reaches new heights before being lost on re-entry over Indian Ocean

Spacex had high expectations for the third go-around, which commentators on a live feed thursday noted far surpassed what the company had achieved thus far in previous attempts..

x yacht test

The SpaceX Starship rocket that will one day ferry NASA astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon's surface made it to space during its latest test, but did not survive its return to Earth's atmosphere before it could splash down in the Indian Ocean.

Thursday morning's launch of the mega rocket came about four months after the company's second test of Starship once again ended in a spectacular explosion. However, Elon Musk's aerospace company has noted that Starship went farther in November than the inaugural attempt in April .

Its latest flight went even further.

SpaceX had high expectations for the third go-around, which commentators on a live feed Thursday noted far surpassed what the company had achieved in previous attempts. The success is a positive sign for not only SpaceX, but also NASA, which awarded the company a $2.9 billion contract  in 2021 to develop the first commercial human lander for its upcoming Artemis III mission to the moon.

"I'm just completely blown away," said Dan Huot, SpaceX communications manager, who helped to host the live webcast. "We're farther than we've ever been before."

Japan rocket explosion: Space One Kairos rocket explodes while trying to take satellite to orbit

Watch the full replay of SpaceX Starship launch

A livestream of the SpaceX launch on X began roughly 30 minutes before the launch time of 9:25 a.m. ET.

As before, the launch took place at SpaceX’s private Starbase site in Boca Chica, Texas, near Brownsville on the Gulf of Mexico.

Watch a replay here:

What did SpaceX's latest Starship test flight accomplish?

The Starship succeeded in separating Thursday from the booster and proceeding to orbit within minutes of launching, where it conducted a series of in-flight tests while coasting through space.

Video of its flight was beamed back to Earth using SpaceX's Starlink Satellite network. While the video captured the beginning of the spacecraft's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, the signal was lost about an hour into the mission before SpaceX concluded that the craft likely broke apart.

Despite Starship's failure to make its planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said the rocket still achieved several key milestones that had not been accomplished in the past two tests aimed to show how well the rocket's two stages work together in flight.

Early into the launch, SpaceX observed that all 33 of its Raptor engines in the booster worked as expected. Shortly thereafter, the Super Heavy booster stage separated from the Starship's upper stage and fell to Earth as the rocket made its way into orbit.

SpaceX also reported a successful opening of the upper Starship rocket stage – a crucial capability that will allow the rocket to one day deploy Starlink satellites.

Plans to attempt the first ever re-light of one of its upper stage Raptor engines while in space were scrapped, but SpaceX did conduct a propellant transfer test and succeeded in opening and closing the payload door.

Musk has said he hopes there will be a half-dozen flights this year for Starship, which he said said Thursday on his social media site X "will make life multiplanetary."

What happened during the last Starship test?

The second launch test of the Starship on Nov. 18 saw the rocket explode after about 12 minutes into flight.

While the rocket was able to achieve a stage separation and reach space, ground crew lost communications with it after nine minutes. Still, that was a marked improvement over the previous  Starship test flight on April 20 in which several of the spacecraft's engines failed and exploded about four minutes after its launch before booster and spacecraft were able to even separate.

“The real topping on the cake today, that successful liftoff,” SpaceX commentator John Insprucker said after the November test, as reported by the Associated Press .

Insprucker noted that for the first time, all 33 booster engines fired as designed and the booster separated seamlessly from the spaceship, which reached an altitude of 92 miles.

How is Starship involved in NASA moon missions?

Classified as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle, the 400-foot-long Starship rocket is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built.

NASA is paying SpaceX a hefty sum with the expectation that Musk's company will be able to develop a spacecraft capable of safely transporting astronauts to the moon's surface – likely in 2026 . Starship would need to be able to transfer U.S. astronauts onboard from NASA's Orion capsule while in lunar orbit before heading down to the surface.

NASA had  intended  to launch its  Artemis II  astronauts into orbit by the end of the year on a 10-day trip circumnavigating the moon ahead of a moon landing itself a year later for Artemis III. But the Artemis program missions have  since been delayed  by at least a year after NASA encountered a slew of issues.

Once NASA is  back on track in the years ahead , the agency intends to send a crew to the moon's unexplored south polar region, which Houston-based Intuitive Machines Odysseus spacecraft recently explored and studied.

The astronauts who eventually reach the surface of the moon for the first time in America's history since the Apollo program came to an end in 1972 will play a crucial role in future space exploration: NASA hopes those spacefarers will establish a permanent human presence on and around the moon ahead of missions to Mars .

SpaceX's Starship rocket would be used to launch those future Martian missions, too.

"Congrats to SpaceX on a successful test flight," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Thursday in a post on X. "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."

Contributing: Mike Snider; The Associated Press

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

SpaceX Starship disintegrates after completing most of third test flight

SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft makes it�s third launch

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Google defends Digital Markets Act changes, cites complex trade-offs

Alphabet's Google on Thursday will seek to fend off criticism about changes to its core services mandated by landmark EU tech rules, according to a copy of a senior Google executive's speech seen by Reuters.

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Congratulations with the anniversary!

Monday 29th March 2021

Last week, we celebrated the 40 th anniversary of the X-102!

The x-102 is the second x-yachts model launched and it was a true cruiser/racer with a center cockpit. the boat was designed for ior’s ¾ ton upper rating limit of 24.55ft., x-102 “soldier blue”, won the 3/4 ton world championship in 1981 and was skippered by ib ussing andersen, helmed by jens christensen with tactics by lars bo ive, all now of north sails fame. lars and niels jeppesen did also participate in the same championship, in another x-102, taking the seventh place..

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SpaceX launches Starship rocket into orbit on test flight but loses spacecraft during return to Earth

SpaceX’s next-generation mega rocket launched Thursday morning, thundering into orbit on a key test flight meant to demonstrate new technologies and techniques that will be crucial on future missions to the moon and beyond.

The flight, held on the 22nd anniversary of SpaceX's founding, was the rocket’s third and most ambitious such test, according to the company. The event was closely watched because the nearly 400-foot-tall booster, known as Starship , is expected to play an important part in NASA’s return-to-the-moon program .

The rocket lifted off at 9:25 a.m. ET from SpaceX’s Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas. On this outing, SpaceX achieved two major milestones over previous Starship tests: The spacecraft successfully reached orbit, then re-entered Earth’s atmosphere for the first time more than 40 minutes later.

“This is the furthest and fastest that Starship has ever flown,” SpaceX officials said during their live broadcast of the event.

However, data suggests the spacecraft was lost while it returned to Earth, before it reached the splashdown in the Indian Ocean that SpaceX had hoped for.

After Thursday's test flight concluded, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating a “mishap” involving the Starship vehicle and the rocket’s first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy.

“No public injuries or public property damage have been reported,” the agency said in a statement . “The FAA is overseeing the SpaceX-led mishap investigation to ensure the company complies with its FAA-approved mishap investigation plan and other regulatory requirements.”

The FAA will need to conclude its investigation and SpaceX will be required to take any corrective actions identified by the agency before Starship can fly again.

Despite the undesired ending, SpaceX called it a “phenomenal day.”

The company adjusted the targeted liftoff time Thursday morning, but Starship’s launch started smoothly. Roughly three minutes into flight, the Super Heavy first-stage booster successfully separated from the upper-stage Starship spacecraft.

However, Super Heavy did not accomplish a final burn as it fell back to Earth, causing it to splash down “hard” in the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX said during its webcast.

SpaceX had also hoped to demonstrate several other processes and capabilities during the flight, including opening and closing the vehicle’s payload door and transferring propellant between two of Starship’s tanks in orbit. The company said it will need to analyze post-flight data to determine if those objectives were completed.

SpaceX also intended to fire one of Starship’s Raptor engines while in space, but it ultimately opted to skip that portion.

Many of the techniques attempted during Starship's third flight would help SpaceX carry out future missions to deploy satellites, as well as set the stage for moon missions as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

The company also said many of the objectives would help develop Starship into a fully reusable system. That is SpaceX's eventual plan, but it was not the intention for this test flight.

Starship was selected by NASA to carry astronauts to the lunar surface in the upcoming Artemis III mission, which could launch in 2026.

Starship's debut flight  last April ended when the rocket exploded several minutes after liftoff. A  second Starship launch  in November achieved several milestones, including separation of the first-stage booster and upper-stage spacecraft, but the  company lost contact with the vehicle shortly after.

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Denise Chow is a reporter for NBC News Science focused on general science and climate change.

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SpaceX comes close to completing test flight of mega rocket but loses spacecraft near end

SpaceX’s mega rocket has flown higher and farther than ever before. The nearly 400-foot Starship blasted off from Texas on Thursday on the third test flight. But the spacecraft was lost near the end of its hourlong trip. (14 March 2024)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship launches at dawn in the haze on it's third test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship launches at dawn in the haze on it’s third test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship launches for it’s third test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

People gather to watch SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship launch it’s third test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, the company’s Starship re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday, March 14, 2024. SpaceX came close to completing an hourlong test flight of its mega rocket on its third try Thursday, but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth. (SpaceX via AP)

SpaceX came close to completing an hourlong test flight of its mega rocket on its third try Thursday, but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth.

The company said it lost contact with Starship as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The first-stage booster also ended up in pieces, breaking apart much earlier in the flight over the Gulf of Mexico after launching from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border.

“The ship has been lost. So no splashdown today,” said SpaceX’s Dan Huot. “But again, it’s incredible to see how much further we got this time around.”

Two test flights last year both ended in explosions minutes after liftoff. By surviving for close to 50 minutes this time, Thursday’s effort was considered a win by not only SpaceX’s Elon Musk, but NASA as well as Starship soared higher and farther than ever before. The space agency is counting on Starship to land its astronauts on the moon in another few years.

The nearly 400-foot (121-meter) Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built , headed out over the Gulf of Mexico after liftoff Thursday morning, flying east. Spectators crowded the nearby beaches in South Padre Island and Mexico.

In this photo released by Roscosmos space corporation, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, centre, Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos, bottom, and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus wave as they board to the space ship at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, March 21, 2024. Russia's Roscosmos space agency has aborted the launch of three astronauts to the International Space Station about 20 seconds before they were scheduled to lift off. Officials say the crew is safe. The Russian Soyuz rocket was to carry NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. (Roscosmos space corporation via AP)

A few minutes later, the booster separated seamlessly from the spaceship, but broke apart 1,500 feet (462 meters) above the gulf, instead of plummeting into the water intact. By then, the spacecraft was well to the east and continuing upward, with no people or satellites on board.

Starship reached an altitude of about 145 miles (233 kilometers) as it coasted across the Atlantic and South Africa, before approaching the Indian Ocean. But 49 minutes into the flight — with just 15 minutes remaining — all contact was lost and the spacecraft presumably broke apart.

AP AUDIO: SpaceX comes close to completing test flight of mega rocket but loses spacecraft near end.

During narration of the Starship text flight, SpaceX commentator Dan Huot says they lost contact with two systems.

At that point, it was 40 miles (65 kilometers) high and traveling around 16,000 mph (25,700 kph).

SpaceX’s Elon Musk had just congratulated his team a little earlier. “SpaceX has come a long way,” he said via X, formerly called Twitter. The rocket company was founded exactly 22 years ago Thursday.

NASA watched with keen interest: The space agency needs Starship to succeed in order to land astronauts on the moon in the next two or so years. This new crop of moonwalkers — the first since last century’s Apollo program — will descend to the lunar surface in a Starship after transferring from NASA’s Orion capsule in lunar orbit.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson quickly congratulated SpaceX on what he called a successful test flight as part of the space agency’s Artemis moon-landing program.

The stainless steel, bullet-shaped spacecraft launched atop a first-stage booster known as the Super Heavy. Both the booster and the spacecraft are designed to be reusable, although they were never meant to be salvaged Thursday.

On Starship’s inaugural launch last April, several of the booster’s 33 methane-fueled engines failed and the booster did not separate from the spacecraft, causing the entire vehicle to explode and crash into the gulf four minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX managed to double the length of the flight during November’s trial run. While all 33 engines fired and the booster peeled away as planned, the flight ended in a pair of explosions, first the booster and then the spacecraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration reviewed all the corrections made to Starship, before signing off on Thursday’s launch. The FAA said after the flight that it would again investigate what happened. As during the second flight, all 33 booster engines performed well during ascent, according to SpaceX.

Initially, SpaceX plans to use the mammoth rockets to launch the company’s Starlink internet satellites, as well as other spacecraft. Test pilots would follow to orbit, before the company flies wealthy clients around the moon and back. Musk considers the moon a stepping stone to Mars, his ultimate quest.

NASA is insisting that an empty Starship land successfully on the moon, before future moonwalkers climb aboard. The space agency is targeting the end of 2026 for the first moon landing crew under the Artemis program, named after the mythological twin sister of Apollo.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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A simple blood test can detect colorectal cancer early, study finds.

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If the FDA approves it, a new blood test could become another screening option for colorectal cancer. Srinophan69/Getty Images hide caption

If the FDA approves it, a new blood test could become another screening option for colorectal cancer.

At a time when colorectal cancer is on the rise, a new study finds the disease can be detected through a blood test.

The results of a clinical trial, published Wednesday, in The New England Journal of Medicine, show that the blood-based screening test detects 83% of people with colorectal cancer. If the FDA approves it, the blood test would be another screening tool to detect the cancer at an early stage.

The test, developed by Guardant Health , can be done from a blood draw. The company says its test detects cancer signals in the bloodstream by identifying circulating tumor DNA.

Dr. Barbara Jung , president of the American Gastroenterological Association, says the test could help improve early detection of colorectal cancer.

"I do think having a blood draw versus undergoing an invasive test will reach more people," she says. "My hope is that with more tools we can reach more people."

Colorectal cancer is rising among Gen X, Y & Z. Here are 5 ways to protect yourself

Colorectal cancer is rising among Gen X, Y & Z. Here are 5 ways to protect yourself

But even if the blood test is approved, it will not replace the dreaded colonoscopy. "If the test is positive, the next step will be a colonoscopy," Jung says. That's because a colonoscopy can detect precancerous lesions — called polyps.

"And when you find those, you can also remove them, which in turn prevents the cancer from forming," Jung says.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends regular screening should begin at age 45. But approximately 1 in 3 eligible adults are not screened as recommended, according to the American Cancer Society.

"Over 50 million eligible Americans do not get recommended screenings for colorectal cancer, partly because current screening methods are inconvenient or unpleasant," Guardant Health CEO, AmirAli Talasaz, wrote in a release about the results of the study.

Currently, effective screening options include stool tests and colonoscopies.

"It's never been easier to get the screening," T.R. Levin, a gastroenterologist at Kaiser Permanente told NPR last year.

Some of the early symptoms of colorectal cancer can include blood in your stool, a change in bowel habits, weight loss for no known reason, a feeling of bloating or fullness and fatigue. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor.

And while colorectal cancer is still rare in young adults, the rate has been increasing. About 20, 000 people in the U.S. under the age of 50 are diagnosed each year.

"Colorectal cancer is rapidly shifting to diagnosis at a younger age," conclude the authors of an American Cancer Society report released last year. Since the mid-1990s, cases among people under 50 have increased by about 50%. It's one of the deadliest cancers in this age group.

Guardant Health has already filed for approval with the FDA. The decision is expected to come later this year.

This story was edited by Jane Greenhalgh.

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  1. X-Yachts X4-9 test: Danish yard strikes a tough balance with hybrid design

    Water: 310lt (68gal) Fuel: 300lt (66gal) Sail area/displacement ratio: 23.9. Displacement/LWL ratio: 144. Price from: £450,364 (ex VAT) Guide price (with extras): £615,000. Design: X Yachts. The ...

  2. Boat Review: X-Yachts X4⁶

    Boat Review: X-Yachts X4⁶. Charles J. Doane. Sep 21, 2020. The Danish builder X-Yachts does not simply stick taller or shorter rigs and keels on the same hulls to create boats for both cruisers and racers, as some mass-production builders do. Nor is it content to build two distinct lines of cruisers and racers.

  3. Boat Review: X-Yachts X4°

    Not coincidently splashing on X-Yachts's 40th anniversary, the 40ft X4° boasts the same top-notch build quality sailors have come to expect ever since the company launched its very first design, the X-79, back in 1979. ... Instruments on our test boat were B&G. Winches were Harken, and there was a nice large sail locker forward. ...

  4. New Boat Review: X-Yachts Xc 47

    New Boat Review: X-Yachts Xc 47. Rethinking every detail focused on performance and comfort, the X-Yachts Xc 47 takes the bluewater cruiser to a new level. Adam Cove. Jan 22, 2024. The X-Yachts Xc 47. Photo courtesy of X-Yachts. A 20- to 30-knot northerly wind and temps hovering around 39°F on the edge of the Baltic Sea in November are not ...

  5. X-35 review: from the archive

    X-Yachts' X-35 follows the hugely successful X-99, which has been a firm favourite of cruiser racers for years. ... I've yet to test an X-Yacht that doesn't feel good on the wheel and the X-35 ...

  6. Boat test: X-56 The Xtra mile

    The test boat we were sailing is the 10th X-Yacht for this particular owner, having started with a 26ft X-79 many years ago. It's set up for very long distance short-handed sailing - including ...

  7. XC42: Stunning Scandinavian that still sparkles

    XC42: Stunning Scandinavian that still sparkles. Danish brand X-Yachts has built an enviable reputation for making quality racing yachts for more than 40 years. In 2008, it took a gamble and launched the Xcruising range with the XC45. In doing so, it proved it could make quality, comfortable cruising yachts with a turn of speed.

  8. First look: X-Yachts X 4.3

    The first, second generation X-Yacht in the 'Pure' range, the X 4.3, has big boots to fill following a universally loved predecessor. The new version of the X 4.3 has some pretty big boots to fill. Not only had X-Yachts sold more than 100 of the yachts, she impressed many on launch, with Yachting Monthly's own Graham Snook stating that she ...

  9. X40 test: A reminder of how good a sub-40ft yacht can feel

    Its boats are well-mannered and sail fast; with its heritage in racing, even X-Yachts' cruising range has a good turn of speed. X-Yachts currently build three ranges of yachts; Xc for cruising, Xp for performance, and the latest XRange. The boats in each may be similar lengths, but each are different from the keel up. The new X40

  10. Yachting Monthly Boat Test

    Out now - the "Yachting Monthly" boat test of the X4³ mkII by Theo Stocker. August 2023. Speak with Stuart Abernethy to learn more about viewing this model for yourself. [email protected]. Never miss another story. Get the latest news from X-Yachts, direct to your inbox each month.

  11. X-Yachts X-37: Little Sister with Attitude

    The X-37 joins her new family of X-Yachts' Performance Cruiser range. Many of the new design features already introduced into the X-40, X-43 and X-46 are also part of the X-37 specification, filling the gap between the X-362 and the X-40. X-37 will be available in two interior classic layouts: - 2 cabin version with 1 or 2 heads. - 3 cabin ...

  12. X-Yachts Xp 50

    Yacht Feature- The Xp 50 from X Yachts. The first Xp 50 took to the water in late April this year, when it had its first test sail. It is the third member of the Xperformance range, after the introduction of the Xp 44 and the Xp 38 earlier, both of which have been awa…

  13. X-35

    Test sailing a X-35 from X-Yachts in the archipelago outside of Lysekil in Sweden.This boat is for sale. For more information, visit the ad on Båtagents site...

  14. X4⁰

    Statements translated from the test: "The design team of X-Yachts succeeded to design a new X4⁰, on which I have not much to remark. X stands for speed. X stands for quality. X stands for comfort." "Conclusion: the X4⁰ is the perfect boat for the real sailor. There are no remarks to be made." Read Article (4.32 MB)

  15. Boat Review: X-Yachts Xp 55

    The Xp 55 spins a three-blade Flexofold folding prop on a conventional strut-supported straight shaft drive hooked up to a turbo-charged 110hp Yanmar diesel engine. It seems an aggressive powerplant for a boat of this weight (about 37,000lb), and the speeds we achieved under power bear this out. At a lazy 1,800 rpm our test boat moved along ...

  16. X 4.3 Pure Performance

    The X4.3, the first boat in the company's Pure line of performance cruisers, was launched in 2016, with more than 100 boats built. Taking innovations in design from the subsequent models in the line, X-Yachts redesigned the X4.3 with a sleeker and more modern hull and deck. The dodger folds down into a recessed well forward of the ...

  17. The jaw-dropping X6 from X-Yachts

    The flagship of the new X range (the 41ft X4 was launched simultaneously - see full X4 test report), the X6 is a completely different animal, inside and out, from X-Yachts Xp performance cruiser ...

  18. X-YACHTS XP 33 REVIEW

    The test boat was fitted with the largest asymmetric allowed by the sailplan. At a well-fed 109m² it was close to double the combined area of the main and 106 per cent genoa! Because this kite was large enough to fill even when part-blanketed by the main it could be carried squarer than many asos. ... X-YACHTS AUSTRALIA. 64A The Quayside ...

  19. Highlights From SpaceX's Starship Test Flight

    For its third test flight, Starship aims to fly part of the way around the Earth, starting from SpaceX's launch site in Boca Chica Village, Texas, and splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

  20. X-Yachts X4 review

    She's an easy yacht to sail short-handed, or even solo with an autopilot. While the cockpit is wide it's also quite short, and not designed for a full race crew. Lines and sheets can be managed easily by one person without feeling like they've run a marathon around the deck. The 106% genoa is a doddle to tack and when you sit forward of ...

  21. SpaceX's Starship test flight is its most successful launch yet

    In addition to a near-perfect launch, the craft flew for nearly an hour after lifting off from SpaceX's private launch site in South Texas near the Gulf of Mexico at 9:25 a.m. Eastern time.

  22. SpaceX launch: Starship reaches new heights in test for NASA missions

    The second launch test of the Starship on Nov. 18 saw the rocket explode after about 12 minutes into flight. While the rocket was able to achieve a stage separation and reach space, ground crew ...

  23. SpaceX Starship disintegrates after completing most of third test

    SpaceX's Starship rocket, designed to eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond, completed nearly an entire test flight through space on its third try on Thursday, getting farther than ...

  24. Celebrating the X-102!

    The X-102 is the second X-Yachts model launched and it was a true cruiser/racer with a center cockpit. The boat was designed for IOR's ¾ Ton upper rating limit of 24.55ft. X-102 "Soldier Blue", won the 3/4 Ton World Championship in 1981 and was skippered by Ib Ussing Andersen, helmed by Jens Christensen with tactics by Lars Bo Ive, all ...

  25. SpaceX to launch third test of Starship rocket Thursday

    SpaceX is aiming to launch its Starship megarocket on a third test flight Thursday that, if successful, could bolster NASA's ambitions to return astronauts to the moon and transform the commercial ...

  26. SpaceX launches Starship rocket into orbit on test flight but loses

    The rocket lifted off at 9:25 a.m. ET from SpaceX's Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas. On this outing, SpaceX achieved two major milestones over previous Starship tests: The spacecraft ...

  27. SpaceX's loses mega rocket near end of test flight

    Test pilots would follow to orbit, before the company flies wealthy clients around the moon and back. Musk considers the moon a stepping stone to Mars, his ultimate quest. NASA is insisting that an empty Starship land successfully on the moon, before future moonwalkers climb aboard. The space agency is targeting the end of 2026 for the first ...

  28. Boat Review: Xp 38

    X-Yachts has always been known for high-quality construction and builds its boats around a unique interior frame structure. In earlier years those frames were steel, but the current generation of boats sports composite carbon-fiber frames. ... Our test boat had the standard fin keel, which draws almost 7ft, but serious racers may prefer the ...

  29. A simple blood test can detect colorectal cancer early, study finds

    At a time when colorectal cancer is rising, researchers say a blood test can detect 83% of people with the disease. If the FDA approves it the test would be another screening tool for early detection.

  30. SpaceX gets green light for third Starship test flight

    The November test flight marked a big improvement compared with Starship's inaugural liftoff in April 2023, when some of the rocket's 33 main engines flamed out and the vehicle began tumbling ...