On today’s episode, SpaceX has done the impossible yet again, so we’re diving into everything that happened during Starship’s latest test flight, the aftermath of a historic rocket landing, and what this all means for Starship going forward.
Unlike prior Starship launches, Flight 5 didn’t go off right at the top of the launch window. At 7:00 a.m. local time, the flight was delayed by boats in the Gulf of Mexico, downrange from the launch site—this is standard for rocket launches, as you can’t have anything in the water underneath the rocket’s flight path for safety reasons. After clearing the boats, the launch window opened for just 30 minutes, and at 7:25 a.m., Super Heavy Booster #12 and Starship #30 lifted off from Starbase, Texas.
At this point, launching a Starship is pretty textbook, except for Flight 1, which was an outlier. Fortunately, that appears to be an isolated incident.
Hot Stage Separation & Boost Back Burn
At T+2 minutes 42 seconds, we saw the hot stage separation, which is always exciting. The booster’s 33 Raptor engines shut down while simultaneously igniting 6 engines on the Starship’s upper stage. This maneuver uses all of the energy from the ship’s engines to push the booster away and perform a backflip. At this stage, the super-heavy booster ignites 13 center engines and starts its boost-back burn to slow down from a velocity of over 5,000 km/h.
The Ground Crew’s Critical Role
Meanwhile, on the ground, thousands of system checks are being carried out on both the Super Heavy booster and the launch tower. The ground crew ensures that every system is functional and ready for the next insane step. As the booster starts to freefall back to Earth, Mechazilla, the massive tower at the launch site, is ready to catch it.
The Insane Mechazilla Catching Process
The Chopstick Arms of Mechazilla are two large triangular metal truss structures with hydraulic pistons that can open and close independently. These arms are attached to a rail car that moves vertically along the tower, controlled by a powerful electric winch. The Chopsticks are designed not only to lift but to catch the rockets, which is an insane concept, even for SpaceX.
As the Super Heavy booster falls through the atmosphere, we see puffs of gas shooting from the bottom. These are likely bursts of compressed CO2, purging excess methane gas trapped in the engine section of the rocket.
At this point, the booster is falling fast—about 1 km above the tower and traveling at sound speed. Its 13 center engines relight, beginning an incredibly powerful landing burn that lasts only a few seconds, but it significantly slows the booster down.
The Perfect Catch
As the booster approaches the Mechazilla Tower, it begins to pitch over, using its aerodynamic grid fins to steer. This maneuver is crucial as the booster is still falling at a speed of around 60 km/h (about 40 mph, or typical street traffic speed).
Incredibly, the booster is caught by the Chopsticks with a precise motion. The catch pins on the booster align perfectly with the catch rails on the Chopsticks. These little metal cylinders just below the grid fins must fit perfectly within the rails, which are only slightly wider.
The Final Steps
The Chopsticks close around the booster, with each arm moving independently. The left side comes in first, followed by the right, and they clamp down, securing the rocket. Once the booster is cradled, the engines throttle down to gently lower the booster until it is fully held by the shock absorbers at the base of the catch rails.
This process was a perfect success. The booster was successfully caught, and any fire from residual fuel is managed as it safely settles.
SpaceX’s Big Reveal: What Happened Post-Flight
After the flight, Elon Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to report that he personally inspected Booster #12 and confirmed it was in great shape. While a few engine nozzles had warped due to heat, and there were minor issues, they are easily addressed. The Raptor version 3 upgrade will likely fix many of these problems, with better plumbing and fewer leak points.
One of the most noticeable post-flight damages was the missing steel panels, and a pressurized tank inside the booster was also slightly damaged. However, this is minimal and expected during test flights.
Starship’s Journey Toward Full Reusability
The ultimate goal for Starship and the Super Heavy booster is rapid reusability. SpaceX aims for just 1 hour of downtime between landing and launching again. While Booster 12 has been successfully recovered, Starship’s path toward full reusability is still a long road ahead. With Starship V2 already in production, the next version should resolve many of the issues we’ve seen during these early flights.
The Ship’s Journey to Orbit
Meanwhile, as the booster is being safely caught, Starship continues its ascent. It powers its way to an altitude of 150 km, before shutting down its engines and entering the coast phase. The ship reaches a maximum altitude of 212 km, but its velocity of 26,000 km/h isn’t enough to maintain orbit, and it begins to descend back into the atmosphere.
Re-Entry and Peak Heating
As the ship re-enters, we experience three phases of re-entry:
- Low Drag: The ship encounters low-density air at about 90 km, with minimal effects on velocity.
- Peak Heating: As the ship descends, it hits higher-density air, causing dramatic heating and creating the iconic plasma around the ship.
- High Dynamic Pressure: This phase is the most critical, as the ship experiences immense physical resistance. The heat shield is tested under these extreme conditions, and some ablative material (which melts to dissipate heat) is exposed to monitor the ship’s thermal environment.
A New Heat Shield for Starship V2
Interestingly, this flight tested a new heat shield design for Starship, which uses black hexagonal tiles combined with ablative material. While burn-through occurred around the flaps (a known issue), it wasn’t as severe as previous flights. SpaceX is making significant progress on its thermal protection system.
Starship’s Landing: A Soft Touchdown… and Then a Fireball
As the landing burn initiates, Starship begins its descent toward the water, flipping into a soft touchdown. However, shortly after landing, the ship begins to tip over and bursts into flames. The final shot is of Starship’s tail flaming just above the waves.
Good news: The Starship landed precisely on target. Bad news: It’s destroyed. No inspections will be possible for now.
Final Thoughts: What Did We Learn?
- Booster Reusability: The Super Heavy booster is recoverable but not yet fully reusable. SpaceX has a lot of work to do on this front.
- Starship’s Journey to Orbit: Starship is getting closer to being recoverable, but it’s a much steeper hill to climb for full reusability.
- Next Milestone: The next step is for Starship to complete a full orbit, including a deorbit burn and the potential to deploy a payload.
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