A few hours ago, a SpaceX rocket launched Starship into space for the sixth time during a new test flight. During the flight, the rocket and the ship completed only part of the tasks assigned to them, but overall the mission was considered successful. A detailed analysis of the flight is still ahead, however, the first results are obvious and we can talk about them.
Image source: Spacex
The rocket took off at 16:00 local time from the SpaceX Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas. There were no anomalies. After 2 minutes 32 seconds, all 30 engines of the first stage of Super Heavy, except the main ones, turned off, and 7 seconds later, the second stage, the Starship, separated. He started the engines even earlier and the separation was “hot” – with the ship’s engines already running.
Next, the plan was to return the first stage to the launch pad for descent, with the stage being picked up by truss mechanisms in the air, lovingly called “chopsticks.” About a minute after the spacecraft separated, dispatchers gave the command to take the stage into the ocean. The stage sensors showed that it was beyond certain permitted limits, and the launch team decided not to risk it. The Super Heavy stage softly descended into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and exploded there a short time later, to the chagrin of environmentalists, which we will likely hear about again.
Meanwhile, the Starship rose to orbital altitude and, already moving by inertia, fired one of the engines once. This was the first experience of restarting a ship’s engine in a vacuum. It was not needed directly for this flight. This option will be needed later, when Starship becomes a real reusable spacecraft, and not a virtual cannonball, as it is today.
Approximately 47 minutes after liftoff, Starship re-entered the atmosphere. During the final stage of the flight, its nose was raised higher to test different descent scenarios. The operation and reliability of the flaps and the degree of stability of the heat shield were also tested. The configuration of the heat shield, by the way, was slightly changed compared to the previous flight, since the company was interested in the impact on the proposed installation sites for fuel ports for pumping fuel in space.
Approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes after takeoff, Starship gently descended into the waters of the Indian Ocean, surfaced and turned over on its side. The launch was timed to film the landing phase in daylight.
Successful ocean landing of Starship!
We will do one more ocean landing of the ship. If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower. https://t.co/osFud7XXPo
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The sixth test launch of Starship took place a little over a month after the fifth test launch. The seventh flight cannot be repeated so quickly. The ship will be noticeably modified for the seventh flight. It will become longer, which is necessary to accommodate larger fuel tanks. In particular, the payload mass will be increased from 1200 tons to 1500 tons. The flaps for controlling flight in the atmosphere will become smaller and will be moved to another place where they will burn out less. The configuration and, possibly, the composition of the heat shield will change. In short, there will be enough rework that it will take time.
However, Elon Musk expects another successful test launch of the ship with a descent into the ocean, and it will be possible to try to catch it with “chopsticks” with the launch farm. This should happen in early 2025. There are no other statements in this regard.
As for the banana mentioned in the title, a plush toy of this shape was suspended on a string in the payload compartment as a kind of weightlessness indicator. The fate of the banana after the launch of Starship is not reported, nor is it known which fruit will fly into space next. Details will come later.