SpaceX’s Starship rocket completes fifth test flight, lands booster in dramatic catch

CNBC ^ | 10/13/2024 | Michael Sheetz

[Lazamataz]

SpaceX launched its fifth test flight of its Starship rocket on Sunday and made a dramatic first catch of the rocket’s more than 20-story tall booster.

The achievement marks a major milestone toward SpaceX’s goal of making Starship a fully reusable rocket system.

Elon Musk’s company launched Starship at 8:25 a.m. ET from its Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas. The rocket’s “Super Heavy” booster returned to land on the arms of the company’s launch tower nearly seven minutes after launch.

“Are you kidding me?” SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said on the company’s webcast.

“What we just saw, that looked like magic,” Huot added.

[sasquatch]

...vanity...
Anyone have factual articles about ‘polluted’ cooling water used for space x launches?

[sauropod]

Read an X post where Elon said he is filing suit Monday over this.

[ComputerGuy]

With panache.

[citizen]

👍

[Nea Wood]

Spectacular.

[V_TWIN]

“Kamala can just seize the patents. Yes, she can do that”

Somebody will have to tell her.....she’s not bright enough to know it on her own

[mware]

I’m going with him being an alien guiding us to the future like Michael Renny did in that movie.

[citizen]

I did not see the mission.
What did the upper part of the rocket do?

[CIB-173RDABN]

Free enterprise doing what governments won’t or can’t do.

[gundog]

I think fascism comes naturally to her.

She probably just calls it tough love.

[V_TWIN]

“Harris’s remarks demonstrate her readiness to take control in critical situations...”

Yeah, take control of the American people......not our enemies.

[ComputerGuy]

I didn’t see it either. Just the landing. I’m still getting over that first vertical landing that they pulled off.

[SamAdams76]

In an earlier era, TV stations would have interrupted their programming to show this. Just like they did for all the big NASA launches in the 1960s and early 1970s.

We've lost something as a nation when we no longer celebrate our achievements.

[MikelTackNailer]

His launch of a Tesla with a spacesuited ‘driver’ brought mental images of a very similar scene in the opening of the 1970’s animated film “Heavy Metal”.

(the whole intro scene is here.)

[NorthMountain]

SpaceX is a NASA contractor. NASA wants them to develop Starship. NASA money is partially underwriting this.

I’m really tired of the NASA vs SpaceX meme. It’s wrong and stupid.

If you must have a competition, it’s SpaceX vs Boeing ...

NASA gets a lot more bang for their buck with SpaceX.

[gundog]

Like a drunk ready to take control of a car...

[NorthMountain]

What did the upper part of the rocket do?

Starship landed in the Indian Ocean, west of Australia. They still have issues with burn-through on the fins, but the damage isn't catastrophic. Starship was under full control all the way down and seemed to hover for a second before touching water.

[Lazamataz]

SpaceX is a NASA contractor. NASA wants them to develop Starship. NASA money is partially underwriting this. I’m really tired of the NASA vs SpaceX meme. It’s wrong and stupid.

I dunno. While it might be technically wrong, there's still some truth there. This is not the NASA of the 1960's or even 70's or 80's. There's no way the present-day NASA could pull this off (and as cheaply as Musk does!)

[citizen]

Ah, very good. Thanks.

Last I read, NASA’s moon rocket was more & more behind schedule. Space X seems to just power ahead. Partial successes lead to full success.

I want both to succeed (Blue, too) but NASA seems to publicize DEI/inclusivity at least as much as they do their rocket systems development.

[V_TWIN]

“NASA gets a lot more bang for their buck with SpaceX”

Or less bang.....e.g. catastrophic explosions