SpaceX’s Interplanetary Ship Prototype Starship Successfully Returns to Earth
On Wednesday, SpaceX launched its interplanetary ship prototype Starship into Earth orbit and brought it back to the planet in a controlled manner, similar to its rocket Super Heavy. This marked the fourth flight test where Elon Musk’s company achieved the goal of developing a controlled return and eventual reuse capability for its largest space transportation system.
The Starship lifted off from the SpaceX base in Boca Chica, Texas, at 12:50 UTC. The booster rocket separated three minutes into the flight at an altitude of 90 kilometers, with Super Heavy smoothly arriving in the Gulf of Mexico four minutes later. Starship then reached Earth orbit with its own engines, conducting an orbital flight at a height of 160 kilometers and speed of over 26,000 kilometers per hour towards the Indian Ocean.
After 45 minutes of flight, a tilt maneuver initiated re-entry into the atmosphere. During this phase, detachments from the fuselage were recorded due to intense heat from friction at an altitude of 54 kilometers. Despite a poor image signal, a controlled landing of Starship was achieved in the Indian Ocean, west of Australia, after an hour and five minutes of flight.
In previous flights on March 14, the ship separated from the rocket and reached orbital flight but was lost over the Indian Ocean before a controlled splashdown, and Super Heavy was not recovered. The current flight incorporated software and hardware updates with operational changes, eliminating the hot-stage of Super Heavy to reduce rocket mass for the final phase of the flight.
Starship and Super Heavy together represent a reusable transportation system for crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon
