--1--, a prototype of the futuristic Starship rocket developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, was able to launch and successfully land on Wednesday, heralding a new era in space exploration for NASA.

The spacecraft has been described as a game-changer for space travel, being a fully reusable transportation system for crew and cargo to the Earth’s orbit, Moon and Mars.

The successful landing on Wednesday is a relief for NASA and SpaceX, as four previous prototypes of Starship had failed to do so, getting destroyed during or soon after touchdown at the south eastern tip of Texas, near Brownsville.

This latest upgraded version of Space X’s full-scale, stainless steel, bullet-shaped rocket ship soared more than six miles (10 kilometres) over the Gulf of Mexico before flipping and descending horizontally, and then going vertical again just in time for touchdown.

A fire at the base of the 160-foot (50-metre) rocket was quickly extinguished, and the rocket remained standing after the six-minute flight.

Designed by SpaceX, Starship is a spacecraft and super-heavy booster rocket meant to act as a reusable transportation system for crew and cargo to the Earth’s orbit, Moon and Mars. SpaceX has described Starship as “the world’s most powerful launch vehicle” with an ability to carry over 100 metric tonnes to the Earth’s orbit.

Starship has been under development since 2012 and is a part of Space X’s central mission to make interplanetary travel accessible and affordable and to become the first private company to do so. Therefore, the company is working on building a fleet of reusable launch vehicles, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

Reusability is at the heart of making interplanetary travel accessible, SpaceX believes, since a majority of the launch cost is attributed to the expense of building a rocket that is ultimately designed to burn up during re-entry. “Following the commercial model, a rapidly reusable space launch vehicle could reduce the cost of travelling to space by a hundredfold,” SpaceX mentions on its website.