Not only did the 120-ton Starship rocket take off on its fourth test flight, but both stages also returned, with the booster landing in the Gulf of Mexico and the upper stage experiencing a chaotic reentry. This test brings the super heavy lift vehicle closer to achieving reusability.
Starship 4 integrated flight test was one for the books, if not just for the breathtaking images of the rocket being hit by plasma on its way back down through the Earth’s atmosphere.
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket at 8:50 a.m. ET on Thursday from the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The missile was loaded with more than 10 million pounds (4,500 tons) of propellant.
The rocket’s ascent went smoothly, although one of the 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite shortly after launch. In the rocket’s previous two tests, all 33 engines operated nominally during the flights. The engines were a concern after Starship’s first test flight on April 20, 2023 several engines failed during launch and the rocket exploded just minutes after takeoff. This time, the engine failure did not affect Starship’s test flight, but it may be a concern regarding engine reliability.
After takeoff, Starship performed a successful hot-stage separation, shutting down all but three of the Super Heavy Booster’s Raptor engines and igniting the six second-stage Raptor engines before separation. Starship then jettisoned the booster and hot stage adapter. According to SpaceX, future versions of the upper stage will have an integrated hot-stage adapter, eliminating the need to jettison the hardware after separating the stages.
After separating, the Super Heavy booster performed its flip maneuver and landing fire, sending it towards the splashdown zone. This is what it’s all about: the sweet return of Starship.
“The payload for these flight tests is data,” SpaceX says wrote about
The the last time the rocket took to the air took place on March 14. During this flight, Starship successfully performed a phase separation, completed a complete burn of the second stage engines, demonstrated internal propellant transfer for NASA, and tested the Starlink dispenser door. The mission lasted one hour and 49 minutes before the upper stage disintegrated during reentry.
This time the rocket survived its controlled reentry. Starship survived peak heating and maximum aerodynamic pressure, using its flaps to control the vehicle as it descended through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. Many of the vehicle’s 18,000 heat shield tiles flew off during reentry, and one of the vehicle’s front flaps in particular fought for its life in dramatic footage captured by cameras mounted on the rocket.
SpaceX installed one thin heat shield tile and removed two others before the rocket’s launch to measure heat in those areas without tiles and to test thermal protection options, the company said. The footage of the reentry dramatically showed how hot the rocket got on its way down, with plasma enveloping the vehicle during its descent.
Despite the heat, Starship continued its controlled descent and performed a landing burn before crashing into the Indian Ocean about 65 minutes after takeoff. “Despite the loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship achieved a soft landing in the ocean!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X. The rocket billionaire added that the flap issue must be resolved for Starship’s upcoming flight. He stated: “On a newer version of Starship, the forward flaps have been shifted to leeward. This will help improve reliability, ease of production and payload in space.”
Previous Starship flights have prompted investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration, but SpaceX may be in the dark this time. That could mean we’ll soon see a new Starship prototype take off, ready to put on a show again.
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