BREMEN, Germany — SpaceX’s Starship made its sixth test flight on November 19, but the planned landing of the Super Heavy booster was aborted. The launch took place at 5 p.m. Eastern from the company’s test site in Boca Chica, Texas, marking the beginning of a 30-minute launch window with a smooth countdown.
Among the attendees was President-elect Donald Trump, who has established a strong relationship with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in recent weeks.
The Super Heavy booster, designated as Booster 13, separated from the Starship upper stage roughly 2 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff. Shortly after this point, mission controllers announced that the booster was diverting offshore, ultimately resulting in it landing in the Gulf of Mexico, tipping over, and exploding shortly thereafter. This incident was a minor setback for SpaceX, especially after the success of catching the booster at the launch tower during the previous flight on October 13.
Despite this, the booster successfully placed the Starship upper stage, referred to as Ship 31, onto a suborbital trajectory. During its flight, SpaceX conducted a brief reignition of one of the Raptor engines, testing the vehicle’s deorbit capabilities.
Starship executed a reentry over the Indian Ocean, where the company aimed to “stress the limits of flap control” with alterations to the reentry profile and a different thermal protection system. Kate Tice, a host of SpaceX’s webcast, cautioned viewers that the flight may not be smooth, as the mission aimed to explore the vehicle’s true limits for future missions.
Starship completed its reentry intact, though it did show signs of damage to a control flap and other thermal components. After 65 and a half minutes in the air, it achieved a powered soft landing in the ocean, tipping onto its side but remaining afloat. The change in launch time facilitated better video coverage of the splashdown, occurring during daylight in the Indian Ocean.
Looking ahead, SpaceX plans upgrades for the next Starship upper stage, which includes enlarging the vehicle’s propellant tanks, raising its payload capacity from 1,200 tons to 1,500 tons, and modifying the forward flaps for enhanced protection during reentry. While a specific launch date for the next flight has not been announced, the progress made indicates continued advancements in SpaceX’s ambitious plans.
Remarkably, despite the short time frame since the previous flight, SpaceX was able to conduct this launch without needing to modify its FAA launch license, as the changes were within the previously assessed scope.
This test flight represents an exciting step forward for SpaceX in their journey to refine their spacecraft and enhance their capabilities, bringing them closer to achieving their long-term goals of space exploration and travel.
Summary: SpaceX’s sixth test flight of the Starship on November 19 faced a minor setback with the Super Heavy booster, which was diverted and subsequently exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the flight was still a success, demonstrating critical vehicle capabilities and paving the way for future upgrades and missions.