On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, Starship serial number 15 (SN15) successfully completed SpaceX’s fifth high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from Starbase in Texas. Similar to previous high-altitude flight tests of Starship, SN15 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude. SN15 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent. The Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of two forward and two aft flaps on the vehicle. All four flaps were actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship’s attitude during flight and enabled precise landing at the intended location. SN15’s Raptor engines reignited as the vehicle performed the landing flip maneuver immediately before touching down for a nominal landing on the pad. These test flights of Starship are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on SN15’s successful flight and landing!

In this video, we dive into the futuristic and awe-inspiring process of how SpaceX plans to catch the Super Heavy booster using Mechazilla, an innovative robotic arm structure.

On December 9, 2020, Starship serial number 8 (SN8) completed a high-altitude flight test as it successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and demonstrated a first-of-its-kind controlled aerodynamic descent and landing flip maneuver – which will enable landing where prepared surfaces or runways do not exist, including the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

SpaceX Starship, a remarkable creation from the visionary private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk, is an extraordinary feat of engineering that embodies the limitless potential of human ingenuity. The Starship represents a pioneering concept in space travel, providing an advanced, fully reusable transportation system designed to propel both crew and cargo beyond the frontiers of Earth’s orbit and enable unparalleled point-to-point travel on our planet. This awe-inspiring spacecraft comprises two distinct but interdependent components: the powerful Super Heavy booster and the sleek, futuristic Starship spacecraft. The Super Heavy booster serves as the initial thrust mechanism that catapults the Starship spacecraft into orbit, while the Starship spacecraft itself is responsible for carrying both crew and cargo to their intended extraterrestrial destinations. Fashioned out of the ultra-durable stainless steel, the Starship spacecraft is a masterful creation of technological sophistication that can carry up to 100 people and accommodate a staggering payload capacity of up to 150 metric tons. The spacecraft boasts a bevy of cutting-edge features, including robust engines and state-of-the-art avionics systems that guarantee the utmost safety and precision in the spacecraft’s landings on various extraterrestrial surfaces. SpaceX’s relentless commitment to innovation and progress is evident in their extensive testing of the Starship prototype at their launch facility in South Texas. The company envisions a future where the Starship spacecraft serves as a vital tool for humanity’s exploration of the Moon and Mars, as well as facilitating commercial point-to-point travel on our planet. With the Starship, SpaceX hopes to [More]

On Wednesday, December 9, Starship serial number 8 (SN8) lifted off from our Cameron County launch pad and successfully ascended, transitioned propellant, and performed its landing flip maneuver with precise flap control to reach its landing point. Low pressure in the fuel header tank during the landing burn led to high touchdown velocity resulting in a hard (and exciting!) landing. Thank you to all the locals supporting our efforts in Cameron County and beyond. Congratulations to the entire Starship and SpaceX teams on today’s test! Serial number 9 (SN9) is up next – Mars, here we come!

Starship gave us quite a show during today’s first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas. At 8:33 a.m. CT, Starship successfully lifted off from the orbital launch pad for the first time. The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship. As is standard procedure, the pad and surrounding area was cleared well in advance of the test, and we expect the road and beach near the pad to remain closed until tomorrow. With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and we learned a tremendous amount about the vehicle and ground systems today that will help us improve on future flights of Starship. Thank you to our customers, Cameron County, and the wider community for the continued support and encouragement. And congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting first flight test of Starship!

On Wednesday, March 3, Starship serial number (SN10) successfully completed SpaceX’s third high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in Cameron County, Texas. Similar to the high-altitude flight tests of Starship SN8 and SN9, SN10 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude. SN10 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent. The Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of two forward and two aft flaps on the vehicle. All four flaps were actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship’s attitude during flight and enabled a precise landing at the intended location. SN10’s Raptor engines reignited as the vehicle performed the landing flip maneuver immediately before successfully touching down on the landing pad! As if the flight test was not exciting enough, SN10 experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly shortly after landing. These test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond.

Headphones on! SpaceX Starship Ship 24 conducts a single raptor engine static fire. Audio captured by Andrew Keating. #SpaceX #Starship #ship24 #cinematography # rocket # Space

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What a week of news! Today we are covering SpaceX Starship, Starlinks Record-Breaking Mission, Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner updates. Loads to talk about in regard to Starship, but in addition to that, we’re talking about parachute systems for both the Crew Dragon as well as Boeing’s Starliner which has just had its pad abort test the other day. To top all this off, we have an actual SpaceX Falcon 9 launch happening very shortly with the upcoming Starlink mission. This is is going to break a few records as well. DISCORD https://discord.gg/dAMmbqj TWITTER https://twitter.com/MarcusHouseGame MUSIC Deliberate Thought by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?keywords=deliberate+thought Artist: http://incompetech.com/