SpaceX lands Starship prototype successfully
Elon Musk’s SpaceX stuck the landing of one of its Starship spacecraft prototypes Wednesday, a key milestone in the test program and a dramatic statement coming two weeks after NASA chose the vehicle to fly its astronauts to the surface of the moon.
The Starship spacecraft, known as Serial Number 15, lifted off from SpaceX’s launch site near the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas, firing its three Raptor engines to an altitude of about 6 miles. It then turned itself sideways in a “belly flop” maneuver and headed back before righting itself, reigniting its engines and touching down softly.
“The Starship has landed,” John Insprucker, SpaceX principal integration engineer, said during the live broadcast.
It marked the second time SpaceX has landed Starship; a previous version exploded a few minutes after it landed harder than anticipated.
Atlanta officer who shot Brooks rehired
The firing of the former Atlanta police officer who’s charged with murder in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks was reversed after a review panel found the city failed to follow its own procedures for disciplinary actions.
Garrett Rolfe was fired last June, a day after he shot the Black man in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant. The Atlanta Civil Service Board on Wednesday released its decision on Mr. Rolfe’s appeal of his firing.
“Due to the City’s failure to comply with several provisions of the Code and the information received during witnesses’ testimony, the Board concludes the Appellant was not afforded his right to due process,” the board said in its decision. “Therefore, the Board grants the Appeal of Garrett Rolfe and revokes his dismissal as an employee of the APD.”
Mr. Rolfe will remain on administrative leave until the criminal charges against him are resolved, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said.
Atlanta police spokeswoman Chata Spikes said she could not comment on whether he would receive back pay or would be paid while on administrative leave.
Man who crashed boat hit U.S. border agent
A man accused of piloting a boat overloaded with migrants that crashed into rocks off San Diego’s coast and killed three people kneed in the face a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was trying to put a leg shackle on him on the beach, authorities said.
Investigators said in an affidavit filed Tuesday in federal court in San Diego that the agent was not seriously injured but the hit left a red mark on his forehead.
A total of 33 people were pulled from the water after the 40-foot trawling-style boat smashed into rocks and broke apart Sunday, tossing people into the rough sea off Cabrillo National Monument. Besides the three who died, two others were still hospitalized.
Investigators say Antonio Hurtado, a U.S. citizen, was piloting the boat, and he was arrested on suspicion of bringing in or harboring undocumented immigrants and assaulting an officer.