We witnessed a historic flight and the show went far beyond our expectations: details on SpaceX’s fifth Starship flight
The ingredients of suspenseworthy of the best film of Hollywoodeveryone was there: A hurricane that devastated the states overlooking theSouth Atlantic; an authorization from FAA which was late in arriving; the ambitious test program which included the recovery of the first stage, the mammoth one SuperHeavy directly into the same launch pad from which, seven minutes earlier, he had departed and finally, the suborbital flight and re-entry into the atmosphere of Starship which was to definitively seal the resistance of the thermal covering, completely renewed, in view of the first orbital flight. But the wait was not in vain. We witnessed all of this and the show went far beyond our expectations.
Changes since the last flight
Since the last test, which took place on June 6, 2024 and which we followed in , the changes are not so obvious but they are very substantial. First, and this is the most spectacular aspect of this test, the first stage SuperHeavyafter having demonstrated in the fourth launch the ability to control the return and to be able to perform a perfect hovering on the surface ofAtlantic Oceanit was established that it would be recovered from the same launch tower by means of the arm structure normally used to move the two components of the vehicle: the Chopstick Mechazilla. The maneuver is highly critical because a small bump can trigger andestructive explosion grounding the launch system for many months as well as activating all those restrictions foreseen in the event of an accident on the ground of the FAAwhich would jeopardize new tests. Also for this reason SpaceX he built, always a Boca Chica, a second launch tower: in the event of a stop to flights, at least the static tests can still be carried out.
Second novelty, no less important, is the complete renovation of the thermal coating of Starship. After the problems encountered in the fourth flight, which saw one of the aircraft almost detached elevon of aerodynamic control, even if the vehicle managed to land in the Pacific, SpaceX decided to revise the entire external covering from scratch. The tiles have been replaced with new ones new concept and in particular, the moving parts have been reinforced. But the most important news is represented by one ablative heat shieldof the type applied on the Dragonpositioned under the layer of heat-absorbing tiles. As for l’Interstadio between SuperHeavy and the Starshipthis is an implementation borrowed from technology Sovietin this case, from the eighties: also the shuttle Buran had one three-layer heat shield composed of tiles, a liquid cavity and an ablative layer. In short, the vehicle of the future that looks to the good (and robust) things of the past!
The launch
The launch was punctual, very punctual: ore 14:25 Italian. The soft and delicate lights of dawn on Gulf of Mexico were shocked by the deafening roar of the 33 Raptor engines to liquid methane and oxygen which, in a few minutes, brought the launch vehicle first to maximum aerodynamic pressure (MaxQ), then when the SuperHeavy and when the 9 lights are turned on Raptor
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from the Starship which continued its flight into space. No hiccupsno early shutdown. Everything from manual.
The recovery of SuperHeavy
And it is precisely in this phase, six and a half minutes After launch, the most important decision of the mission was made. The flight controllerbased on telemetry data, gave his go ahead to the return maneuver with the attempt to recover the SuperHeavy by the launch tower. It came down very fast, lifting puffs of steam and contrailsbut then the sharp and sudden braking: theignition of 9 of the 33 engines stabilized the SuperHeavy who positioned himself almost obliquely above the launch tower. A shiver ran down our backs in those interminable moments, but it was written in destiny: A lightning-fast attitude correction and the first stage allowed itself to be grasped by Mechazilla. An image that will remain in history. Spectacular, dramatic and exciting shots from multiple angles showed us the power of the gases that escaped from the tanks in the final purge phase of the first stage after capture by the launch tower.
Something that we will hardly forget and which, with the next flights, will become routine but which will never cease to amaze us.
The suborbital flight and reentry of Starship
42 minutes of space flightnot yet a complete orbit but we’re close. The speed of Starship it has maintained itself in space just below V1 (27.000 Km/h). A long parable in which we appreciated the spectacular images transmitted back to the ground HD from the satellite network Starlink. And then… A pink glow he announced, just below the Linea in Karman (100 km altitude) the return of the spaceship in kingdom of the atmosphere. More and more rossomore and more bianco il heat developed by the ionization of the upper layers of the atmosphere has illuminated the lower part of the starship’s hull while the protective structure withstands temperatures close to 3000°C. Thanks to the network Starlink we witnessed, as in the two previous tests, the images of the re-entry into the atmosphere. The dive into the upper layers a 26.000 Km/h tested the two-layer coating but everything worked. As for the interstage ring of the so-called Hot Stagingthe double layer coating heir of the glorious he did his duty to the end. Despite inevitable areas of very high dynamic pressurespecifically the mobile junction of the elevons, everything resisted. The epiloguespectacular, a simulated landing onIndian Ocean and the sinking of the glorious, it must be said, Starship taken by a marine drone positioned nearby with surgical precision. The next launches await us and it is not difficult to predict that, in test n.6, its return will be attempted Starship on a marine platform in the Atlantic.
We can’t wait.
