The company also plans to use Starship’s next flight to evaluate new tiles and other elements in the vehicle’s heat shield.
“Several thermal protection experiments and operational modifications will test the limits of Starship’s capabilities and generate flight data to inform plans for capture and reuse of the ship,” the company said in a statement. “During the flight test, entire sections of heat shield tiles on each side of the ship will be removed where new secondary heat protection materials are being evaluated and hardware to enable future vehicle catch is being researched. , the ship intentionally flies at a higher angle.” In order to obtain data about the future landing profile, we intentionally emphasized the limits of flap control and analyzed the attack during the final stage of descent. ”
The final flight of the first starship
Starship’s previous five flights date back to April 2023, and each took off near dawn from South Texas. For future missions, the company plans to explore late-afternoon launch slots that would allow for daytime re-entry into the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX’s update also confirms that this will be the last flight of the initial version of the Starship vehicle, with the next generation featuring redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks, newer tiles and secondary heat. Contains a protective layer.
While it’s impressive that SpaceX has reached a pace of nearly monthly Starship flights in just the second year of the spacecraft’s operation, it’s important to note that SpaceX will require multiple refuelings to support Starship missions to the Moon and Mars. This is also essential if you want to maximize the potential of your rocket. .
Wednesday’s announcement came a day after the U.S. presidential election in which U.S. voters awarded Donald Trump re-election for a second term, but thanks to the all-out efforts of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Trump It is noteworthy that he supported this.
Mr. Musk’s political intervention was highly controversial and alienated a significant portion of the U.S. population and political class. Nevertheless, Mr. Musk’s gamble paid off, as Mr. Trump’s election is likely to accelerate Starship’s development and increase its centrality to the country’s space exploration enterprise.
However, this launch announcement did not require formal regulatory approval for SpaceX to proceed with this sixth attempt, relying almost entirely on the readiness of the company’s hardware, software, and ground systems. The timing is likely a coincidence.
