"Epic achievement": Starship successfully completes fourth test flight
The giant Starship rocket has launched for the fourth time, reaching the Indian Ocean again. This time, the return to Earth was smoother than previous attempts.
The successful start
(Image: SpaceX)
The fourth launch attempt of a SpaceX Starship was once again a complete success, with noticeable improvements compared to the previous test flight. Shortly before 3 p.m. CEST, the giant rocket lifted off from the Texas coast and was shot into space by the gigantic main stage. After separation, it fell back towards the Gulf of Mexico and then activated the engines once again to achieve a gentle splashdown. The huge rocket stage then remained above the water for seconds. Meanwhile, the spacecraft flew in space towards the Indian Ocean. When it re-entered the atmosphere there, it was much quieter than its immediate predecessor. Live images transmitted via Starlink then showed bright lights as the hot plasma enveloped the "ship". At an altitude of 50 km, the enormous heat began to damage parts of the spaceship, but it reached the surface, turned and activated its engines as planned. All of this was repeatedly accompanied by cheers at SpaceX.
SpaceX has thus clearly achieved the two most important goals of the test flight, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk calling it an "epic achievement": after proving in the third test that the giant rocket can reach orbit, it was now a matter of returning the two parts intact. The declared goal was to activate the engines for the landing maneuver of the main stage and the controlled re-entry of the spacecraft. According to the livestream, both worked like a charm. SpaceX is therefore likely to set itself even more ambitious goals for the next test flight. Among other things, it is conceivable that the next flight will go much further than the last two. Originally, for example, a flight route from Texas to Hawaii was planned for the very first test flight, i.e. halfway around the world. Such a long flight is still to come.
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The Starship consists of the Super Heavy booster, which is around 70 m long, and the upper stage, which is around 50 m long. The largest rocket in the world is designed in such a way that the spacecraft and rocket can be reused after returning to Earth. The rocket is intended to take astronauts to the moon for NASA. However, SpaceX hopes to reach Mars one day. In April 2023, a complete Starship took off for the first time, but only remained intact for a few minutes. On November 18, 2023, the second launch attempt was successful before the rocket also exploded. The third test flight succeeded in mid-March 2024 and lasted significantly longer. SpaceX has actually announced nine launch attempts for this year, but this is unlikely to be possible. Nevertheless, the speed at which the rocket is being improved and tested remains impressive.
(mho)
