SpaceX Starship's Flight Test 7 – 16 Jan 2025

Title: Starship Flight Test 7, 16 Jan 2025.
Mechazilla catches the Super Heavy booster while Starship’s debris burn at re-entry.
Concept art (Ren@art, G. ImageFX, A. Photoshop 2025).

Space Exploration Technologies, Inc. (SpaceX) Starship’s Flight Test 7 took place on 16 January 2025. After a successful launch and ascent, Super Heavy booster 14 returned to the launch pad and was successfully caught by the landing tower. Meanwhile, communication was lost with Starship rocket shortly after separation culminating in the destruction of this second stage.

The Integrated Flight Test 7 (IFT-7) demonstrated that the controlled capture of the booster while landing and the reuse of one of the booster’s raptor engines are possible and repeatable.

Go to

Updates

17jan2025: FAA mishap investigation.

Background

IFT-7: Starship's structure.
NASA imaging of Starship.
Flight Test 7 goals.
Flight Test 7 webcast.

References

UPDATES

FAA begins mishap investigation after IFT-7 – 17 Jan 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that it started a “mishap” investigation following regulations after the explosion of the spacecraft during SpaceX Starship Flight Test 7. The authority will review findings before deciding if Starship can return to flight. A “debris response area” was activated for a short time to prevent aircraft from entering the region where debris were likely to fall, and a few aircraft outside that area were diverted due to low fuel levels (Mercer, BBC, 2025).

According to the FAA, there were no reports of public injury or damage to public property in the Turks and Caicos area where debris were observed while they burnt on re-entry into the atmosphere (Aero News Network. FAA, 2025).

SpaceX: Initial data indicates that a fire might have developed in the aft section of the ship, leading to an explosion. Test flights fly over a designated launch corridor to safeguard public on the ground, water and air. Remnants of the vehicle burnt out at re-entry, but any surviving debris might have fallen within areas identified in pre-flight with the approval of the FAA and Air Traffic Control (ATC). SpaceX is collaborating with the government of the United Kingdom and authorities of the British Overseas territory of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to monitor reports of any damage (SpaceX, 17 Jan 2025).

END of UPDATES

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Starship’s structure

Flight test 7 consisted of Super Heavy Booster 14, which was part of the first version of the vehicle (Block 1), and Ship 33 as the upper stage, which is part of the second generation of the vehicle (Block 2), which had thinner forward flaps positioned further away from the tip (leeward) than in the previous version and capable of carrying 25% more propellant and potentially 100 tons of cargo to orbit when re-used.

The integrated vehicle was the heaviest (5,500 tons) and the tallest (123 m) that SpaceX launched, breaking its own records.

Starship S33 and Super Heavy Booster 14 highlights (SpaceX, 2025).

Ship 33 and Booster 14 underwent cryogenic testing in October 2024 and static fire testing in December of the same year. On 10 January the integrated vehicle underwent a wet dress rehearsal at the launch site.

Starship and Booster’s static fire tests (SpaceX, 2025).

Engine #314 that flew with Booster 12 in Flight Test 5 was re-flown on Booster 14, proving the concept of hardware re-usability.

Raptor Engine 314 marked with a “pie” flew in Flight Test 5 and Test 7 (SpaceX, 2025).

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NASA imaging of Starship

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with SpaceX by planning the capture of images of Starship’s re-entry into the atmosphere and splash-down. NASA committed a specially equipped jet-plane, the “Gulfstream G-V (N95NA)”, which is regularly stationed at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre (JSC) in Huston, Texas, and is used in research flights and to transport NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station (ISS) back to the JSC upon their landing in Kazakhstan (NASA, 2025).

NASA’s Gulfstream G-V (N95NA) planes and patch (NASA, 2025).

Due to the importance of obtaining optimal images on this flight, NASA request a special permission from the FAA. Brett A. Pugsley, Chief of flight operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre wrote in the request “Due to the sensitivity of the imaging equipment, it is necessary to reduce all exterior and interior lighting to a minimum to calibrate the onboard sensors and collect imagery during the re-entry event scheduled for January 2025”.

Once the equipment was calibrated and in preparation for Starship’s Flight Test 7, NASA’s Gulftream V conducted a flight test in Brisbane, Australia on 13 January 2025. Having received similar permission from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the plane moved to Perth ahead of the spacecraft’s launch (Nelson, 2025).

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Starship's 7th flight test

Some of the main objectives of Flight Test 7 were:

1. Repeat the tower catch of the booster, successfully achieved in Test 5.
2. Test Ship 33 on its first flight.
3. Test delivery of dummy Starlink satellites.
4. Test Ship’ engines firing in vacuum.
5. Test the performance of the new configuration of Ship 33’s forward flaps.
6. Test Ship 33 vertical landing over the Indian Ocean.
7. Obtain imagery and video of Ship 33 as it re-enters the atmosphere.

Following separation of the first and second stages at 2min 40sec of flight, booster 14 returned to the launch site and was successfully captured by the launch/land tower, fulfilling the first objective.

Ship 33’s first engine failure took place at 7min 39sec followed shortly by the other engines. Transmission s from the vehicle were lost a minute later when the spacecraft was at 146 km of altitude. Ship 33 exploded at 11 minutes into its ascent when it was flying over the Caribbean. Re-entry of the debris were visible over Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. The FAA shut down that area of airspace for more than one hour to prevent air collisions.

Diagram of main highlights of Flight Test 7.Booster 14 landed successfully.
Ship 33 met its death at 11 min into the flight. Concept art (Ren@rt, SpaceX, 2025).

The following video shows Booster 14 as it descends, executes the landing burn and is caught by the tower at the launchpad from which it launched less than 10 minutes earlier.

Successful landing of Booster 14 during Spaceship Flight Test 7 (@spacextom4rs, 16 January 2025).

A close up view of Booster 14 being caught by the landing tower.

Booster 14 landing burn and capture by the landing tower. Flight Test 7 (@TheLaunchPad, 16 January 2025).

Ship 33’s explosion was caught on video from the Bahamas.

Explosion of Ship 33 during Spaceship Flight Test 7 (@everydaysaturday, 16 January 2025).

The remains of Ship 33 flew across the sky as they burnt entering the atmosphere. They were recorded from Turks and Caicos Islands.

Debris of Ship 33 flying across the sky seen from Turks and Caicos Islands. Spaceship Flight Test 7 (@Nico1129x, 16 January 2025).

Debris of Ship 33 burning across the sky as seen from Turks and Caicos Islands (@Nico1129x, 16 January 2025).

Closer view of debris of Ship 33 burning as they enter the atmosphere (@Nico1129x, 16 January 2025).

SpaceX coordinated with Turks and Caicos Islands Government disaster management team and UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch to begin plans to look for debris starting on 25 January 2025, urging the public not to touch the debris to avoid hazardous chemicals.

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IFT-7 webcast

The live broadcast of Flight Test 7 on 16 January 2025 was hosted by Kate Tice, Senior Quality Engineering Manager and Dan Huot from the Communications team, both based at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas, and Jessica Anderson, Manufacturing Engineering Manager based in Hawthorn, California. This was an exciting day for Kate because it was the first time she was present at the launch site for a Starship launch.

IFT-7 webcast hosts: Jessica Anderson, Dan Huot and Kate Tice (SpaceX, 16 January 2025).

Watch Starship Flight Test 7 highlights by SpaceX (3min).

Highlights of Starship Flight Test 7 (SpaceX, 16 January 2025).

Visit SpaceX’s website to find more about Spaceship Integrated Launch Test 7 including a link to the full webcast (1hr):

Open SpaceX’s “Launches” page for Starship Launch Test 7 (SpaceX, 2025). (Opens in a new tab/window)

Alternatively, go to “X” to view Launch Test 7’s full webcast (1hr):

Open X on the post: Starship Launch Test 7 webcast (@SpaceX, 16 January 2025). (Opens in a new tab/window)

Ship 33 debris burning across the sky over Turks and Caicos Islands.
Concept art (Ren@art, G. ImageFX, A. Photoshop 2025).

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REFERENCES

» ANN (2025) FAA Statement On Starship Flight 7 Accident. Aero News Network (ANN). 20 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at Aero News Network. Accessed: 17 February 2025.
» FAA (2025) General Statements. January 17, 2025. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 17 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at FAA.gov. Accessed: 17 February 2025.
» Mercer D (2025) US grounds SpaceX’s Starship after test flight explosion. BBC News. 17 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at BBC News. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» NASA (2025) Gulfstream V - JSC. [Online article]. Available at NASA Airborne Science Program. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» Nelson J (2025) NASA sends jet to Australia to monitor Starship. Space Connect. 07 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at Space Connect Online. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» SpaceX (2025) Starship’s seventh flight test. SpaceX. 17 January 2025. [Online article]. Available at SpaceX.com. Accessed: 18 January 2025.
» Wikipedia (2025) SpaceX Starship. [Online article]. Available at Wikipedia. Accessed: 17 January 2025.
» Wikipedia (2025) Starship flight test 7. [Online article]. Available at Wikipedia. Accessed: 18 January 2025.

SpaceX Starship Flight Test 5 - 13 Oct 2024

Title: Starship Flight Test 5, Mechazilla catches the Super Heavy booster. 13 Oct 2024.

SpaceX completed Starship’s Integrated Flight Test 5 (IFT 5) on 13 October 2024. This spacecraft was composed of Starship 30 atop of Super Heavy Booster 12, integrated for the test. Starship launched from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, USA.

The test achieved its ambitious objectives including the first attempt at catching the booster in flight as it returned to the launch pad (Orbital Launch Mount A). The highly complex manoeuvre was a total success carving its mark on spaceflight history and consolidating the future of rocket reusability.

Go to

Updates

16oct2024: Observer: Historical Milestone.
13oct2024: BBC: World first.

Background

Flight Test 5.
Starship's evolution.
Planned booster catch.
Highlights of Flight Test 5.
Flight Test 5 Webcast.
Amazing images FT 5.
Booster rollback 15oct2024.

References

UPDATES

Starship test flight such a historic milestone – 16 Oct 2024

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly wrote in the Observer “In an impressive feat of engineering, Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully retrieved the booster of a Starship prototype on the land for the first time during a test flight on Sunday (13 Oct. 2024).” It continues: “The fifth test marked a major milestone for SpaceX’s dreams of eventually creating a fully reusable rocket system capable of sending humans and cargo to the Moon and Mars.” They quote Elon Musk: “Especially after yesterday’s booster catch and precise ocean landing of the ship, I am now convinced that it can work”.

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Starship booster captured in world first – 13 Oct 2024

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on 13 October 2024: “Starship rocket has completed a world first after part of it was captured on its return to the launch pad. The SpaceX vehicle's lower half manoeuvred back beside its launch tower where it was caught in a giant pair of mechanical arms, as part of its fifth test flight.” The article continued: “The US space agency, Nasa, will also be delighted the flight has gone to plan. It has paid the company $2.8bn (£2.14bn) to develop Starship into a lander capable of returning astronauts to the Moon's surface by 2026.” It also mentioned environmental concerns about the launch site and the flights: “Dr Eloise Marais, professor of atmospheric chemistry and air quality at University College London, said the carbon emissions from rockets pale in comparison to other forms of transport but there are other planet-warming pollutants which are not being considered”.

Black Carbon (BC) concentrates in Asia
(Wikipedia, 2025).

Starship uses large amounts of Methane and Oxygen as fuel, and there is still little data to determine the amount of emissions produced by this relatively new type of combustion. The main concern was the emission of Black Carbon (BC), consisting of particles of less than 2.5 micrometres in size, commonly known as soot or charcoal, and released by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass. When suspended in the air, the particles absorb sunlight and heat, warming up their surroundings. Black Carbon is a weak contributor to global warming because it remains in the atmosphere only from days to weeks, compared to other greenhouse gases like Carbon Dioxide that remains for more than 100 years. Although BC is found worldwide, it is more evident over the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan foothills of Asia.

END of UPDATES

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Flight Test 5 – 13 Oct 2024

Following a successful lift-off, ascent, stage separation, boost-back burn, and coast, the Super Heavy booster performed its landing burn and was caught by the chopstick arms of the “Launch and Catch” tower at Starbase. The tower is also known as Mechazilla. Succeeding at the first attempt was the result of thousands of criteria met by the vehicle and monitor by the engineering team during flight. When all the criteria were met during ascent the "go for catch" announcement was made boosting the excitement of the whole engineering and technical teams at SpaceX. The world witnesses a highly controlled "Catch", which is what the future will look like when Starship starts carrying crew and cargo to destinations on Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Starship's fifth flight test was the most ambitious yet in reaching SpaceX' objectives of demonstrating techniques that are essential for the goal of building rapidly reusable rockets.

WatchStarship Flight Test 5 highlights by SpaceX (3min 26sec).

Highlights of Starship Flight Test 5 (SpaceX, 13 October 2024).

Starship’s evolution

The series of tests to develop the Starship vehicle began as a technology demonstration of Vertical Take-off Vertical Landing (VTVL) designed for reusability.

Grasshopper rocket launched in 2012.
(SpaceX, 2025).

SpaceX began development of VTVL vehicles in 2006. The first one was the reusable rocket prototype, Grasshopper, which made 8 flights between 2012 and 2013. In those early tests, the rocket, a modified Falcon 9 first stage, reached an altitude of 250 metres before descending and landing on the launch pad, demonstrating the ability to control the rocket's trajectory from ascent to descent with upmost precision.

In 2013 SpaceX announces the development of Falcon 9R, a re-usable version of the successful vehicle that launches in 2015 but explodes on landing. The company announces the Falcon 9 FT and makes history on 21 December 2015, when it lands on a drone ship after launching a payload to orbit. Other flights followed.

Falcon Heavy started development in 2017 and launches for the first time on 06 February 2018, landing 3 of its 4 boosters.

Starhopper launched 2019.
(SpaceX, 2025).

The Starhopper was the first prototype for Starship and had 4 successful tests in 2019. On September 3, 2024, Starhopper was moved to a parking lot nearby the launch site at Starbase.

The following year, SpaceX began testing Starship SN1 prototypes. After a series of test, the various iterations of Starship improved until Starship SN15, which successfully completed a high-altitude flight and landing on 05 May 2021

SpaceX develops the Starship HLS in 2022, a spacecraft designed for lunar missions.

Integrated Starships that combined Starship with Super Heavy booster began with model S24, which launched on 20 April 2023 as Flight Test 1.

Test 2 launched version S25 on 18 November 2023. All the test so far failed or were destroyed.

Test 3 launched version S28 successfully on 14 March 2024 but the vehicle failed afterwards.

Flight Test 4, flap burning at re-entry, 2024.
(SpaceX, 2025).

Test 4, using version S29, launched on 06 June 2024 was the first one that achieved a controlled landing of the booster in the ocean and the ship, despite partial burning of its flaps during re-entry. The ship was subsequently expended.

Test 5 launched S30 on 13 October with a successful outcome and for the first time, capture of the booster by the tower and completion of the flight by the Ship, although this was eventually expended.

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Planned booster catch

One of the main objectives of Flight Test 5 was catching the Super Heavy Booster using the “Chopsticks” arms of the double-purpose Launch-Land tower “Mechazilla” at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The following pre-flight animation stills depict some of the expected views.

Flight Test 5: Pre-flight animation depicting the approach of the booster viewed from below the Chopsticks of the catching tower (SpaceX, 2025).

Flight Test 5, Pre-flight animation depicting the booster’s landing burn as it is caught and then resting on the tower (SpaceX, 2025).

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Highlights of Flight Test 5 on 13 October 2024

The following images show key moments of Flight Test 5 from the webcast of this historic event.

FT 5: Launchpad at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas before countdown (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Starship launch @ T 00.00.00 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Stage separation and Super Heavy booster initiates return @ T 00.02.44 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Super Heavy booster landing burn approaching the landing tower @ T 00.06.45 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Super Heavy booster caught by the tower’s mechanical arms @ T 00.06.55 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: SpaceX staff celebrate their unbelievable achievement. Booster resting on the tower @ T 00.07.29 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Super Heavy booster resting on the tower at dawn @ T 00.08.03 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Super Heavy booster resting cooing down on the launch-land tower @ T 00.10.19 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Starship coasting over the Earth @ T 00.10.39 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Starship coasting over the mouth of River Linta, Madagascar @ T 00.43.25 (SpaceX, 2025).

The river Linta in SW Madagascar flows into the Indian Ocean, next to Adroka town (Google Lens, Google Maps, Wikipedia, 2025).

FT 5: Starship at re-entry. Plasma forming around the spacecraft @ T 00.47.20 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Starship at re-entry. Plasma iridescence visible on the flap @ T 00.54.11 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5: Starship’s landing burn at splashdown @ T 01.05.34 (SpaceX, 2025).

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Flight Test 5 Webcast

Flight Test 5 webcast was narrated by SpaceX hosts Kate Tice, Senior Quality Engineering Manager and Jessica Anderson, Manufacturing Engineering Manager on 13 October 2024.

At the end of the live broadcast they presented Mechazilla after a successful first historic attempt at catching the booster on flight as it landed on the launchpad from which it launched.

FT 5 Webcast: Hosts Kate Tice and Jessica Anderson present Mechazilla on 13 October 2025 @ T 01.08.15 (SpaceX, 2025).

SpaceX staff watched the event with excitement and anticipation of success that ended in enormous joy and pride when the main goals of their work were achieved.

FT 5 Webcast: SpaceX staff watching the broadcast in excitement during ascent @ T 00.19.45 (SpaceX, 2025).

FT 5 Webcast: Elon Musk, CEO and Chief Engineer of SpaceX celebrating with staff in the control room (SpaceX, 2025).

Watch the full webcast from 13 October 2024 presented by Kate Tice and Jessica Anderson from Hawthorn, California.

Play Webcast of Flight Test 5. Image of Super Heavy booster’s landing burn. 13 Oct 2024 (SpaceX, 2025). (Opens on a new tab).

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Amazing Images – FT 5

Some amazing images were captured during and after Flight Test 5. These include booster landing and capture and the booster rollback from the tower to the production site at Starbase.

Flight Test 5: Super Heavy booster’s landing burn as it approaches the launching / landing tower Mechazilla. 13 Oct 2024.
Note water deluge at base of launchpad to prevent heat damage (Wikipedia, 2024).

Flight Test 5: A closer view of Super Heavy booster’s landing burn as it approaches the landing tower. 13 Oct 2024 (SpaceX, 2025).

Flight Test 5: First stage Raptor engines firing during ascent. 13 Oct 2024 (SpaceX, 2025).

Booster 12 was rolled back to the production site two days after the test, on 15 October 2024. At the facility within Starbase, the booster was to be inspected and repaired. The most obvious damage was to one of the columns on the side of the booster.

Raptor Engine 314 marked with a “pie” was successfully re-used in Booster 14, which launched and returned to the landing site as part of IFT 7 on 16 January 2025, demonstrating the feasibility of engine reuse.

Post-Flight Test 5: Super Heavy Booster 12 Raptor engines prior to roll back to the production site after the test. 15 Oct 2024 (Evans M, NASASpaceflight, 2024).

Post-Flight Test 5: Close up of Super Heavy Booster 12 Raptor engines. 15 Oct 2024.
Note engine 314 with a “Pie” to be re-used in Booster 14, part of IFT 7 (Evans M, NASASpaceflight, 2024).

Booster rollback: Super Heavy Booster 12 moved from the launch/land pad.
The Starhopper vehicle on the left is near the carpark. 15 Oct 2024 (Evans M, NASASpaceflight, 2024).

Booster rollback: A closer view of Super Heavy Booster 12 shows the enormous size of the operation.
15 Oct 2024 (Evans M, NASASpaceflight, 2024).

Super Heavy Booster 12 standing in between the two production sites (black buildings) at Starbase.
15 Oct 2024 (Evans M, NASASpaceflight, 2024).

Graphic showing the integrated components of Starship:
The Starship rocket atop the Super Heavy booster, and Mechazilla, the launch & land tower (Stallard E, BBC, 2024).

The Flight Test 5 Patch and T-Shirt with Flight 5 graphic are available in the SpaceX store, together with more goodies (SpaceX, 2025).

SpaceX: Mechazilla catching the booster. Concept art (SpaceX, 2025).

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Booster Rollback - 15 October 2024

Watch the full broadcast of Booster 12 rollback to production site from 15 October 2024 (1h29m).

SpaceX Rolls Booster 12 to the Production Site After Catch (NASASpaceflight).

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REFERENCES

» Evans M (2024) Starship Flight 5 Updates. NASASpaceflight’s Forum. 15 Oct 2024. [Online article]. Available at NASASpaceflight’s Forum. Accessed: 10 January 2025.
» NASASpaceflight (2024) Full replay: SpaceX Rolls Booster 12 to the Production Site After Catch | Starbase. 15 Oct 2024. Duration: 1h39m. [Online video]. Available YouTube. Accessed: 10 January 2025.
» Stallard E (2024) Elon Musk's Starship booster captured in world first. BBC, News. 13 Oct 2024. [Online article]. Available at BBC. Accessed: 10 January 2025.
» Tremayne-Pengelly A (2024) Starship test flight such a historic milestone? Observer. 16 Oct 2024. [Online article]. Available at The Observer. Accessed: 10 January 2025.
» Wikipedia (2025) Black Carbon. [Online article]. Available at Wikipedia. Accessed: 10 January 2025.

Starship Flight Test 4 - 06 June 2024

Title: Kate and Jessica celebrating the success of Starship Flight Test 4 - 06 June 2024.

Starship is the first vehicle capable of making life multi-planetary, fly humans back to the Moon and carry the larges payloads to date, and in the future, further into space.

The primary goal of Starship Flight Test 4 was to get through the extreme heat of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. SpaceX also attempted fast resetting times to test and fly soon after the last launch to optimise the workflow in preparation of frequent flying required in the future.

The live broadcast on 06 June 2024 was presented by Kate Tice and Jessica Anderson from Hawthorn, California, and Dan Huot from Starbase in Texas.

Go to

Updates

06jun2024: Elon Musk on success of FT4.

Background

Review of Flight Test 3.
Starship features.
Stages of Flight Test 4.
Flight Test is Go for Launch!.
Starship re-entry.
Plasma.
Starship vs Plasma Saga.
The future of Starship.

References

UPDATES

Elon Musk on the success of Test 4 – 06 June 2024

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, felt great about Starship’s fourth test and congratulated the SpaceX team for doing such an incredible job.

There were about 16 video feeds, mostly from internal structures that were transmitted live via Starlink showing events that were never witnessed before during re-entry due to communications blackout. Adjustments to Starlink satellites will allow full coverage in future flights.

SpaceX reached two key goals: Achieve a controlled landing of the booster and getting the ship to go through the super-high heating zone at re-entry, maintain control sub-sonically and land with a landing burn within 6km of the planned landing zone.

Musk was surprised by how the SX-300 steel alloy structure of the flap survived such high temperatures after the shield was stripped off by the pressure and heat of re-entry; the flap was still able to function. He was happy to choose stainless steel over Aluminium, Lithium and Carbon for the construction of Starship as those materials would have not stood the heat as the flap did.

At Stargate, the built and launch site in Texas, they learnt to deal with Methane as the main rocket fuel instead of Kerosene or Jet-fuel.

The final goal is to have a booster and rocket to land and be able to fly again with no refurbishment. So far Falcon-9 has accomplished this as the booster is available for flight in less than a week, the capsule is also reused but the upper stage is lost, therefore so far is 80% reusable.

When asked about SpaceX workforce, he said that employees ages range between 18 to 70 years, the company focuses more on the mindset of driving technology to the limit of possibility than on the age or experience of their employees.

Watch the full interview by Ellie in Space (12min) on YouTube (Opens on a new tab).

Elon Musk interviewed by Ellie in Space and sample of X post from Elon. Ellie in Space, YouTube, 2024 (Opens on a new tab).

END of UPDATES

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Review of previous Flight Test 3

Starship Flight Test 3 achieved most of its expected goals. It launched on 14th March 2024.

At launch, all engines on the Super-Heavy Booster started successfully at full throttle for 2 minutes and 41 seconds of the ascent and then powered down all but 3 of its engines. At the expected altitude, the Starship, or second stage, ignited its 6 engines for a successful Hot Stage Separation.

The booster completed a flip manoeuvre and ignited 13 of its engines in a Boost-Back-Burn to return to the Gulf of Mexico, but 6 engines shut down unexpectedly and then of the remaining 7, only 2 remained active. Contact was lost at 462 m in altitude, and the booster fell into the ocean. Data analysis suggested that the cause of engine failure was filter blockage in the fuel lines, which were upgraded for the 4th flight test.

Meantime, Starship was propelled by the 6 engines as expected and reached orbit. While coasting, they tested opening and closing the payload door, and practiced transferring propellant between tanks inside the ship. At that stage, the ship’s flaps failed to respond, and the vehicle experienced some unplanned rolling, and the software responded by skipping a burn before attempting re-entry.

As a result, re-entry attitude was only partially gained and unprotected areas of the ship were exposed to extreme heat. At 65km of altitude and 50 minutes into the mission, contact with the vehicle was lost and Starship fell into the sea. Data suggested that failure of the attitude control thrusters located around the ship was caused by valve blockages.

Starship Flight Test 3 flew on 14 March 2024. SpaceX, 2024.

Starship Flight Test 3 launch. SpaceX, 14 March 2024.

Starship Flight Test 3 orbit insertion and booster trail on the background. SpaceX, 14 March 2024.

Test 3 provided the first images of a vehicle travelling during re-entry and showed the aerodynamics of plasma. Travelling at 27,000 km/h, Starship compresses the air in front of it causing the temperature of air to rise and ionise turning into Plasma, which absorbs and reflects radio waves, leading to communication blackout during re-entry.

Starship Flight Test 3 plasma heating up non-protected areas. SpaceX, 14 March 2024.

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Starship features

SpaceX has made admirable progress in recovery and reuse of hardware so far, with 316 boosters from Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions landing successfully. The programme aims at building reusable rockets that can be ready to launch soon after they landed.

For now, all the materials in these tests were expended, there was no attempt to recover the hardware, which made data the most valued asset emerging from the tests. Data were collected by sensors and broadcasted in real-time from the ship to the ground using the Starlink satellite network. Video was captured by onboard cameras, static cameras on the ground and drone cameras.

To improve communications, Starship carries 4 Starlink terminals to communicate with the largest constellation of highly advanced satellites operating in low orbit around the Earth, providing high-speed internet on Earth and now in space.

Starship carries 4 Starlink terminals protected by heat-shield panels (black rectangular structures)
for high-speed connection with Starlink satellites. SpaceX, 2024.

The Super Heavy Booster has 2 times the thrust of Saturn 5, the rocket that took astronauts to the Moon. Future models will have 3 times the thrust.

Super Heavy has 4 grill flaps to aerodynamically control the vehicle’s attitude while it descends, a simple and effective technology that allows the booster aim precisely for the landing platform, be it on land or on a sea.

Grid flaps at the top of the Super Heavy Booster are essential for the vehicle’s attitude control.
Notice the size compared to workers nearby. SpaceX, 2024.

Grid flaps on the booster at the launchpad. SpaceX, 2024.

Instead of using Kerosene, like other rockets, the Booster and Starship use Liquid Methane as a fuel, and Liquid Oxygen as oxidiser, both are cryogenic and therefore must be kept below zero degrees. Minutes before launch, the spacecraft must be loaded with 4.5 million tonnes of liquid propellent, most of which is used in less than 5 minutes.

Before Starship, large rockets carried most of the fuel in the first stage, which was discarded after reaching orbit. This method of propulsion was replaced by SpaceX for a two propulsion stages, The first state, the Super Heavy Booster still carries most of the propellant but it is now reusable and at the top it carries a stainless steel plate called Hot Stage that serves as an in-flight launch platform for Starship, the second stage, which also contains fuel but in a smaller amount for its own engines used in and out of the atmosphere.

Starship’s heatshield is composed of hexagonal tiles made of LTS 900. Two tiles were purposely removed in Flight Test 4. SpaceX, 2024.

Starship has 18,000 hexagonal ceramic tiles protecting the underbelly of the ship from the heat of re-entry of over 1400 degrees Celsius. The tiles are made of a ceramic called “Low-Temperature Sintered (LTS) 900”, which can be reused several times. On this test, two tiles were removed to measure temperature and determine what happens to materials during re-entry

Starship’s heatshield is composed of hexagonal tiles made of LTS 900. Two tiles were purposely removed in Flight Test 4. SpaceX, 2024.

Starship is protected by its heatshield from the energy generated by friction on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Artist impression, SpaceX, 2024.

In the evolution of rockets, Starship is the larges rocket built by SpaceX so far with a height of 121 metres, 30% more than Falcon mission rockets and 3 times bigger than Han Solo’s fictional Millennium Falcon (35 m). The new spaceship is 60 times taller than a 2 m human.

Heights compared from a tall man at 2 metres (left) to the Millenium Falcon at 35m, the Falcon rocket at 70m,
and Starship, the tallest rocket, at 121 metres. SpaceX, 2024.

Starship Highlights

Raptor is a reusable methane-oxygen stage combustion engine with a thrust of 230 tf (tonne-force), twice than Falcon 9 Merlin engine. It measures 3.1 m in height and a diameter of 1.3m.

Elon Musk explains the features of Raptor engines.
Everyday Astronaut, 09 July 2022.

Tim Dodd from Everyday Astronaut interviewed Elon Musk at Starbase in 2022.

In a 40-minute interview, Musk discusses technical details of the new Raptor 2 engines and compares them to previous models.

Super Heavy is the launch system’s booster that carries 33 Raptor engines, producing a total thrust of 7,590 tf at lift off. Multiple engines allow for better control of thrust for situations that require less power. The booster is reusable and is designed to land at the launch site. It holds 3,400 tonnes of propellent and measures 71 m in height and 9 m in diameter.

Starship is a reusable spacecraft that contains a payload section and a crew section that will carry both into orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship has 6 engines, 3 Raptors for use in the atmosphere and 3 Raptor Vacuum (RVac) that work best in the vacuum of space. The spacecraft is designed to launch and land vertically on any hard surface like the booster and can also be used to transport cargo within the atmosphere to distant places on Earth in short times. It has a payload capacity of 150 tonnes, holds 1,200 tonnes of propellant and its 6 raptor engines generate 1,500 tonnes of thrust. It measures 50 m in height and 9 m in diameter.

The full Starship system’s two stages separate in mid flight thanks to a steel plate at the top of super heavy that serves as an in-flight launch platform.

Models of main parts of the Starship system, not at scale. SpaceX, 2024.

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Stages of Flight Test 4

1. Launch: Took place on 06 June 2024 from Starbase, at Boca Chica, Texas, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Ascent: The Super Heavy Booster’s 33 Raptor engines start and propel the spacecraft into the sky for 2.5 minutes.
3. Stage separation: Booster engines cut-off except for 3 centre ones while the 6 Raptor engines on the Starship ignite to push itself away from the booster in a Hot Separation.
4. Booster flip: The Super Heavy Booster Flips and performs a Boost Back Burn to return to the surface.
5. Hot stage jettison: The Booster releases the Hot Stage platform that protected it from the Starship’s engines.
6. Booster landing test: The Booster guides itself with its hypersonic Grid Fins to attempt a water landing on the Gulf of Mexico.
7. Orbit insertion: Starship’s engines remain lit for 6 minutes to reach Orbit Insertion.
8. Coasting: Starship Coasts for 40 minutes with engines switched off, reaching a peak altitude of 214 km.
9. Re-entryStarship attempts a Controlled Re-entry maintaining attitude to keep shield forward.
10. Starship landing test: Flip manoeuvre close to surface and a Landing burn before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

Sketches of the flight plan

The following diagrams show the stages planned for Flight Test 4 and the location in relation to the launch site and the expected water landing locations.

Within the first 3 minutes from launch the rocket ascends and reaches the separation stage while it flies over the Gulf of Mexico.

Starship Flight Test 4 Stages: Launch, Ascent and Stage Separation over the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX, 2024.

After Stage Separation the booster returns to the ground with a Flip to change attitude and a Boost Back Burn, followed by Jettison of the Hot Stage plate over the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Starship continues ascending with its own Ascent Burn towards orbit.

Starship Flight Test 4 Stages: After Stage Separation the booster returns to the ground and
Starship continues ascending over the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX, 2024.

Superheavy returns to the Gulf of Mexico, aiming for a particular spot to ignite a landing burn to attempts a water landing. This time there will be no landing platform as the goal is solely to test the vehicle’s capabilities.

Meantime, Starship reaches orbit insertion and coasts in orbit for 40 minutes flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

Starship Flight Test 4 Stages: Booster’s water landing in the Gulf of Mexico,
while Starship reaches orbit and coasts over the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX, 2024.

Following a Re-entry Burn, Starship assumes re-entry attitude to face the atmosphere with its heatshield forward. Once it passes the hottest it slows down and as it approaches the surface flips to a vertical position and performs a landing burn before water landing on the Indian Ocean.

Starship Flight Test 4 Stages: Re-entry into the atmosphere and water landing on the Indian Ocean. SpaceX, 2024.

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Flight Test 4 is Go for Launch!

Four minutes before launch, Weather, Range and Vehicle integrity were within acceptable values. Winds were low and the temperature was 27 degrees Celsius. Fuel tanks were 91-96% full of liquid Oxygen (LOX) and liquid Methane (CH4).

Starship at the launchpad, environmental measurements are positive and fuel is almost full at 4 minutes to launch. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

When countdown reached 00.00, Starship launched igniting all 33 Raptor engines. A few seconds after, one of the engines failed causing a loss of 230 tonnes of thrust (tf), leaving the booster with 7,360 tonnes of thrust, which were evidently sufficient to continue with the ascent.

Starship Launch at T: 00.00.00. All engines alight. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Launch at T: 00.00.01. All engines alight. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Launch at T: 00.00.11. One engine failed. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

As Starship continued its ascent, the spacecraft crossed 10 km of altitude at a speed of over 1,000 km/h on the first minute of flight

Starship Ascent at T: 00.00.14. 32 engines running. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Ascent at T: 00.01.08. View from onboard cameras installed at the top of the booster and
on the rear edge of Starship’s top wing. 32 engines running. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Separation took place 2 min 50 sec into the flight with Main Engine on the booster cutting off and ignition of all 6 raptor engines on Starship to lift her from the Hot Stage plate installed at the top of the Super Heavy booster. The booster had exhausted most of its propellant.

Interestingly, the images showed a separation burn but the graphic doesn’t show ignition of Starship’s engines until later. It is possible that a delay in updating the graphic may explain this discrepancy, as it is unlikely that separation was achieved with explosive bolts as in other systems.

Starship Separation at T: 00.02.54 marked by Main Engine Cut Off (MECO), leaving 3 engines running on the booster.
Ignition of the 6 engines on Starship. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Separation at T: 00.02.55. Separation is confirmed. Booster running on 3 engines.
The graphic does not show the evident activity of Starship’s engines. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Super Heavy ignited 13 engines as it changed direction and jettisoned the Hot Stage installed at the top revealing the apex of the fuel tank. The cameras from this section showed a magnificent view of the thin atmosphere surrounding our planet. Meanwhile, all engines on Starship fired to gain more speed and altitude.

Starship Ascent at T: 00.03.19. Super Heavy prepares return to the surface.
13 engines ignited on the booster and all 6 on Starship. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Super Heavy jettisons the Hot Stage plate at T: 00.04.11.
All engines switched off on the booster and all alight on Starship. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Super Heavy’s Return at T: 00.00.11. View of Earth from atop the booster.
All engines switched off on the booster and all alight on Starship. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Super Heavy approached the surface under full control and fired a Landing Burn metres from the surface at the Gulf of Mexico. The vehicle assumed a vertical attitude before water landing. A successful manoeuvre that in the future will take place on a floating landing platform like Falcon 9 boosters. On this test, the booster sank into the sea.

Super Heavy Landing Burn at T: 00.07.22. Super Heavy fired 3 engines for a landing burn metres above the sea
at the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Super Heavy Water Landing at T: 00.07.32. Flames on the water surface as the booster sinks into the sea
at the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Super Heavy Water Landing celebrations at T: 00.07.43. SpaceX staff celebrate their success
proven by a flawless water landing. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

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Starship's re-entry

Starship continued its ascent up to 159 km in altitude, reaching speeds of around 26,500 Km/h by the time the fuel was exhausted. After coasting for 40 minutes, and doing some internal testing, the spacecraft commenced its reinsertion into the atmosphere, reducing its altitude but gaining speed.

As Starship met increasing concentrations of air particles creating friction against the side protected by the heatshield, temperatures increased to more than 1,400 degrees Celsius, creating the glowing plasma of re-entry.

Starship Cruising T: 00.09.02. View of the Earth’s atmosphere from an onboard camera while cruising in orbit. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Cruising T: 00.38.22. View of the tail flap from an onboard camera before re-entry. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry T: 00.45.28. Plasma formation as the heatshield hits the atmosphere. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Plasma

What is Plasma? Prof David Ruzic, Univ. Illinois, USA, 14 May 2019.

Plasma is the 4th state of mater after solid, liquid and gas. Plasma is made of gas particles that have been ionised. This means that high levels of energy caused a separation of the Atom’s Electrons from their Protons. Electrons have a negative charge, while protons, which form the nucleus, have a positive charge and are known as ions. This separation, known as Ionisation, forms Plasma, a sub-atomic soup made of detached ions and electrons.

Plasma is rare on Earth but very common in the Universe. The Sun and other stars are composed of 99.9% plasma, even the space between celestial objects is not empty but contains weak plasma.

Plasma is an excellent conductor of electricity and interacts with the electromagnetic energy around objects in space. For example, when the electromagnetic fields of the Sun and the Earth collide, a phenomenon called Magnetic Reconnection pushes particles of plasma around the poles triggering Aurora Borealis.

Magnetic Reconnection is the explosive re-alignment of magnetic field boundaries or lines that become entangled. Plasma is generated in this way around the Earth and by the Sun’s solar flares.

Learn more about Plasma and NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMM), Parker Solar Probe (PSP), Themes-Artemis and Voyager that measure magnetic fields and particles around the Earth on the following video:

What is Plasma? NASA Goddard, 10 March 2023.

Starship vs Plasma Saga

The intense heat resulting from friction at re-entry generated an expected temperature peak. Re-entry is traditionally known as a period of communications blackout because plasma interferes with data transmission to the ground. This was the first time the formation of plasma was witnessed live thanks to data transmission via Starlink satellites. The heatshield protected the Starship’s body and flaps throughout re-entry

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.47.52. Plasma generation intensifies. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.48.19. View of the rear flap as Plasma heats-up the ceramic hexagons. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.51.46. Plasma is seen enveloping the bottom, flaps and the back of the spacecraft. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.54.18. Notice plasma flowing behind and through the hinge of the flap. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.55.11. Close-up of the posterior flap with plasma at the hinge. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

The live stream from the camera pointing at Starship’s rear flap showed dramatic images of an imminent failure. As the spacecraft cleared the area of maximum heat, the temperatures were still high enough to break through the ceramic tiles at the weakest point, the flap’s hinge.

As Starship crossed the atmosphere at 56km of altitude, it was free-falling at 16,400 km/h when the attachment of the flap began to melt.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.57.17. Plasma appears on the unprotected side of the flap’s hinge. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.57.23. A hole develops at the hinge of the flap as the stainless-steel melts. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.57.53. The hole expands to half the length of the flap’s attachment. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship’s flap continued to hold its position despite being partly destroyed.

The flap began to separate from the ship’s body and melted particles flew up covering the lens of the camera. Eventually, the camera’s lens cracked after being hit by flying debris and due to the intense heat.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.58.07. The last clear image showing the melting of the flap as particles begin to fly out. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship Re-entry at T: 00.58.22.
Extensive destruction of the flap’s edge and hinge with debris obscuring the camera’s view. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

The camera’s lens cracked from a hit by flying debris and due to the intense heat as Starship continued to fall.

The temperature decreased when Starship reached altitudes below 50Km, and amazingly, when the spacecraft needed to change attitude to prepare for vertical landing, the half-burnt flap moved, and the spacecraft completed the turn to vertical to prepare for landing.

Starship Re-entry at T: 01.05.54. Even half-melted by plasma, the flap worked, and Starship flipped to a vertical position.
Starship kept going, just like "The Terminator". SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Starship achieved vertical position and fired a Landing Burn before a controlled Water-Landing, which was the maximum achievement culminating Flight Test 4.

Staff at SpaceX celebrated the success of their work. All the teams exploded with cheers lauder than ever before.

The completion of the test marks the beginning of the next chapter for the programme, Controlled Vertical Landing that will be a feat of precision and an essential element for re-usability of spacecraft in the future

SpaceX staff celebrates the success of their work with the completion of a flawless Flight Test 4.
SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Live-streamed broadcast

The live-streamed broadcast of Flight Test 4 was presented and commented by Kate Tice, Senior Quality Engineering Manager and Jessica Anderson, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at SpaceX, based in Hawthorn, California, and Dan Huot from the Communications team based at Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas.

Kate Tice and Jessica Anderson from California, and Dan Huot from Texas,
presented the live-streamed broadcast of Flight Test 4. SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

Watch the 2hr live stream at SpaceX:

Link to Starship’s Fourth Flight Test page at SpaceX (Opens on a new tab). SpaceX, 06 June 2024.

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The future of Starship

While cruising in orbit, Flight Test 4 tested fuel transfer internally, which in the future will allow on orbit refuelling that will be essential for space exploration so that spacecraft will launch with sufficient fuel to make it to orbit and then re-load their tanks for space travel.

In the future on-orbit refuelling will facilitate space exploration. SpaceX, 2024.

SpaceX will provide transport for NASA’s Artemis programme that will bring humans back to the Moon to create a moon habitat.

The first part of this project was the Crew Dragon Spacecraft mission which in 2020 carried two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). That was the first orbital flight launched from the USA since the decommission of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and the first flight operated by a commercial provider.

Starship will land on the Moon where humans will build a habitat in preparation for future exploration of other planets. SpaceX, 2024.

In the Summer of 2024, the Crew Dragon will carry the first Polaris Dawn mission that will attempt to reach the highest apogee ever flown by a spacecraft and perform an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) using the newly designed SpaceX Spacesuits. The third Polaris Dawn mission will be the first crewed Starship flight.

Polaris Dawn will have a private crew consisting of American citizens currently in training: Anna Menon, engineer who worked for NASA; Scott Poteet, retired pilot; Jared Isaacman, entrepreneur, pilot and philanthropist; and Sarah Gillis, engineer.

Polaris Dawn mission crew: Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis. SpaceX, 2024.

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END of Article: Starship Flight Test 4 - 06 June 2024.

 

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REFERENCES

» Dodd T (2022) Elon Musk Explains SpaceX's Raptor Engine! Everyday Astronaut. (09 July 2022). [Online video]. Available at YouTube. Accessed: 16 June. 2024.
» NASA (2023) What is Plasma. NASA Goddard (10 March 2023). [Online video]. Available at YouTube. Accessed: 20 June. 2024.
» Ruzic D (2023) What is Plasma. Prof David Ruzic, Univ. Illinois, USA. (14 May 2019). [Online video]. Available at YouTube. Accessed: 20 June. 2024.
» Sheriff E (2024) Exclusive: Elon Musk discusses Starship's next launch. Ellie in Space. (07 June 2024). [Online video]. Available at YouTube. Accessed: 16 June. 2024.
» SpaceX (2024) Starship’s Fourth Flight Test. (06 June 2024). [Online video]. Available at SpaceX. Accessed: 06 June. 2024.
» Wikipedia (2024) SpaceX Starship [Online article]. Available at Wikipedia.org. Accessed: 18 March 2024.