SpaceX’s Starship prototype has just made its first soft touch.
SpaceX
A month later SpaceX’s SN9 flew more than 10 miles high, his successor, SN10, duplicated the performance and flew high above Texas before nailing the landing – a first for the prototype.
SN10 is the third development prototype of Starship, Elon Musk’s next generation rocket destined for the moon and Mars, to make a great flight since then the enchanting flight and explosive end of SN8 in December 2020. SN9 flew high and then accident and exploded on February 2nd.
The third attempt was the charm for SN10.
SN10 reached its target height of 6 miles, and cut off each engine in series en route to throttle and hit the desired apogee. The rocket then begins with an extended scenic period of free fall – a “belly flop” as it became known – before the engines were shot again to perform the trademark turning maneuver to make a vertical landing. After a journey of six minutes, SN10 rested on the pillow at SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica.
It did not look like a perfect landing, and there seems to be a slight handrail in the Starship’s solid stainless steel frame, but it does not tilt. Then, about ten minutes after landing, the Starship exploded. Flames erupted from the bottom of the vehicle, sending it into the air for an unplanned second trip.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the SN Starship series is designed to finally reach orbit, hopefully sometime in the next year. The last two high-flying flights of these prototypes have both caused investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said SN8 was launched in December without the agency’s official green light. This led to an investigation and corrective actions that delayed the flight of SN9.
A picturesque belly flop performed by SN10.
SpaceX
SN9’s accident landing was considered an ‘accident’ by the FAA and it instituted a routine investigation. Last month, the FAA announced that all investigations have been completed and that it is comfortable that the launch of SN10 can proceed safely.
The rockets that flew during the past three altitude tests are scaled-down versions of the final Starship that Musk hopes to send out into the solar system. For a trip to Mars, a final Starship will be placed on top of a massive Super Heavy booster that will do the serious lifting to get out of the grasp of the earth’s gravity.
In other words, if the Starship development program continues, we have not seen anything yet.
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