SpaceX’s Starship shows resilience through brutally hot reentry

“It’s safe to say she’s getting a little beat up, but that’s to be expected on a test flight,” said Kate Tice, SpaceX’s quality systems engineering manager, during Starship’s descent. “We are still learning how to improve the ship for total survival and recovery of the high heat reentry.”

The test comes a day after Boeing’s new Starliner spaceship launched a pair of NASA astronauts into space for its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station. The legacy aerospace company’s launch lagged four years behind the one for SpaceX’s competing Crew Dragon capsule, perhaps giving the American public a newfound appreciation for SpaceX’s engineering style and prowess.

Starship’s one-hour test showed leaps in progress, achieving numerous objectives despite the atmosphere battering the ship before landing. The company has faced criticism for its previous test failures. Its executives insist that building fast, breaking expensive things, and learning from mistakes are all part of SpaceX’s philosophy — in stark contrast with NASA‘s slower pace.

“Flight tests like today are the fastest possible route for us to dramatically improve Starship’s capabilities. The Starship flying today has already seen a number of changes based on what we learned from flight test three in March, which was only two-and-a-half months ago,” Tice said. “Development moves really fast here at SpaceX.”

The primary goals of Thursday’s test were for the spacecraft to survive the maximum heat of reentry and practice maneuvers to eventually be able to recover the Super Heavy booster.
Credit: SpaceX screenshot

The primary goals of Thursday’s test were for the spacecraft to survive the maximum heat of reentering Earth’s atmosphere and to practice maneuvers for recovering the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX has incorporated a procedure called hot-staging, which involves reigniting engines while the craft is still attached to a partially lit booster, then returning the booster for a splashdown.

About nine minutes into flight, SpaceX teams erupted in whoops and applause as the booster successfully performed its operation, plopping into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first time the booster had accomplished a soft water landing.

Starship then coasted for about 40 minutes in space at an altitude of 130 miles above Earth before trying a controlled reentry. The craft successfully flipped and initiated the engine burn before landing in the Indian Ocean, according to SpaceX’s data, though camera views cut in and out during the descent.

A torrent of debris fell off the vehicle, as it appeared engulfed in flames, and the lens even cracked in the process. It’s not clear yet how much of the ship was intact by the time it hit the water.

Overall, the test demonstrated enormous improvement over the third flight on March 14, when the extreme heat caused by air friction destroyed the ship early in its path back to Earth.

NASA will depend on Musk’s rocket company to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface on a modified Starship for the Artemis III and IV moon missions under a $4.2 billion contract. To do that, SpaceX first has to master how to refuel its spaceship after it has already left the planet.

Three months ago, SpaceX flight controllers oversaw the transfer of several tons of liquid oxygen between tanks inside Starship. The demonstration was a preliminary test for in-space propellant transfers. In a news release, the company said the March demo was “successful,” though it didn’t elaborate on how much fuel it was able to move.

To make the rest of the quarter-million-mile journey to the moon, Starship would need to top off its tank. SpaceX plans to send up tanker versions of Starship into low-Earth orbit, establishing a space gas station of sorts. The passenger version of Starship would dock at a tanker to fill up.

Starship survived the maximum heat of reentry.
Credit: SpaceX screenshot

NASA seemed satisfied with the outcome of Starship’s flight on Thursday.

“Congratulations @SpaceX on Starship’s successful test flight this morning!” said administrator Bill Nelson on X. “We are another step closer to returning humanity to the Moon through #Artemis—then looking onward to Mars.”

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the anomalies that occurred during the test. It will then identify any changes SpaceX must make before it can fly Starship again.