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Posted on 08/26/2025 5:42:49 PM PDT by Robe
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It went up, delivered a payload, and came down where and when it was supposed to come down.
It was very successful.
And a nail-biting, thrill ride to watch!
And that li’l flap that could...
Well done, flap! Very well done!
All was intentional.
They could achieve orbit now - but they would not be able to deorbit it. Which was the purpose of relighting a engine in space [ for the 2nd time ].
It’s almost impossible
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The goal is to find a way not to replace any heat tiles after re-entry. A work in progress; they obviously would not be doing that, if they though like you, it was impossible - sort of like landing a monster booster and catching it for reuse.
The damage was intentional and was only minor in any case.
It’s too big for the ship. And probably too big from the existing landing area.
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No, that’s not so. The ship was the last of the current version and they did not want to risk a mishap which might have wreaked the landing pad. Beside they have already done that.
No?
Didn't think so.
Devising a truly reusable thermal management system is probably the most difficult thing so far attempted in rocketry/spaceflight. Their progress is impressive, but not complete.
This was a great success, but there was a lot going on. Booster stage was not caught for two reasons. One, old design, no need to keep it around and they are testing return profiles to better fuel economy. Less fuel needed on return more payload they can send up. Booster was caught twice and new booster has changes to catch mechanics.
Starship sent out 8 starlink simulators. This tested out all the mechanics to launch v3 starlink satellites. They could start launching starlink satellites very soon and still continue to conduct tests. Despite minor damage during reentry, the flaps operated correctly with some extreme motion testing. I have some question about the reentry profile, not sure if the reentry was extreme or just some of the tests during reentry were extreme.
The amount of damage to the ship was light compared to the the last two reentries. The early ones, flaps burned through close the to the hinges and it still managed to stay in control. The goal of reuse on a ship that does reentry without the full tile replacement like the space shuttle is a giant goal. It looks to be very close given the progress from the first reentries to now.
With a Starship? Heavy? I could swear they all went into the ocean. Obviously…I could be wrong. And it wouldn’t be the first time.
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