Soon after the sixth launch of the Starship rocket, SpaceX refused to pick up the accelerator, allowing the first stage of the rocket to sink into the ocean. This is not the outcome the company was hoping for, but the data obtained during the flight will undoubtedly help in future attempts.
The Starship launched on Tuesday at 17:00 EST from the Starbase spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, for its sixth comprehensive test flight. The suborbital launch was supposed to include the capture of the super-heavy booster by the massive Mechazilla tower after re-entry, but SpaceX announced the abandonment of the booster capture about four minutes after takeoff.
“In order for that to happen, a lot of things need to go right,” a SpaceX spokesperson explained during the live broadcast. Instead, the launch vehicle made a soft, wet landing off the coast of Texas because not all the criteria for landing were met, SpaceX added. The reason SpaceX missed the attempt to catch the launch vehicle was due to safety concerns for the team, the public and the launch pad itself, the statement said.
The fall of the launch vehicle was a spectacular sight as the massive rocket slowed on its way to the water’s surface before gently diving like a humpback whale after a complete break in communication. During the fall, the launch vehicle ignited 13 of its engines and then left only three engines running just before the reentry, which occurred about seven minutes after launch.
The sixth Starship test flight was marked by other important events, including the first time one of the six Raptor engines was re-launched in space. The rocket also delivered its first payload, a banana-shaped stuffed toy (look at the image in the above tweet, which shows a lone banana), which served as a zero-gravity indicator. The Starship upper stage survived re-entry and made a controlled soft landing in the Indian Ocean at 18:05 EDT.
Earlier in October, Starship made its first fifth test flight. For the first time, the rocket’s 232-foot (71-meter) tall super-heavy booster gently descended toward the tower, which grasped the rocket with its outstretched mechanical arms like a giant pair of chopsticks.
This year, Starship is one step closer to operational flights, with each test flight proving more successful than the last. SpaceX launched the Starship rocket for the first time in April 2023, but its debut was far from perfect, as the vehicle suffered a fatal crash, forcing ground controllers to order a self-destruct command right before the four-minute mark of the mission.
In November 2023, Starship’s second test flight ended with the destruction of the super-heavy accelerator and upper stage in flight, but it was still a significant improvement over the first flight. During the third test flight in March, Starship successfully separated the stages, completed a full burn of the second stage engines, demonstrated internal fuel transfer to NASA, and tested the Starlink dispenser door. Starship’s fourth launch in June set new records compared to previous test flights, as the rocket basically withstood peak heat and maximum aerodynamic pressure during its controlled reentry.
Eventually, SpaceX plans to return and reuse both the Starship booster and its upper stage. The company’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, recently stated that SpaceX intends to recover the upper stage with the help of Mechazilla by early next year. SpaceX is also moving toward more frequent Starship launches, with Musk aiming for 25 launches in 2025.
The sixth Starship test flight also included a special guest: President-elect Donald Trump, who attended the launch in Texas with his new friend Elon Musk. The pair’s growing alliance may be a sign that Musk may get his wish and see Starship flights more often next year.
