SpaceX readies Starship for flight with innovative ‘chopstick’ landing technique

SpaceX is making final preparations for its fifth and most ambitious Starship test flight yet. While the previous four flights all aimed to land on water in the ocean, this test will be the first to attempt a landing on a launch pad.

What is Starship?

This is the heaviest, most powerful rocket ever flown. SpaceX aims to develop it as a rapidly reusable launch vehicle that can carry a large payload into space, return to the launch pad, land, and be ready for the next mission within days or even hours. A series of test flights over the past two years has inched closer to that goal.

NASA has signed a contract with SpaceX to supply a variant of its Starship lunar lander to send astronauts to the moon's surface after late 2026. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's ultimate ambition is to send humans to Mars using Starship.

What will SpaceX attempt on its fifth test flight?

The fifth flight will likely be the first attempt to catch Starship's Super Heavy booster (the rocket's first stage) on the launch pad. SpaceX's launch tower, called Mechazilla, will eventually Grab boosters at specific points You can secure it and lower it the remaining distance to the ground later.

During the fourth test flight, the booster performed a “virtual landing” over the ocean, slowing its descent over the water's surface to simulate what would be required to capture a real swordfish, before splashing down on the water. Musk posted on X “I think we should try catching the booster with Mechazilla's arms on our next flight.”

When is it expected to be released?

The official release date has not yet been decided, Full-time test burning The first stage of the rocket was launched on July 15th and is currently unhindered by any obstacles.

Musk himself X Post on July 6th The launch is expected to take place within “four weeks,” tentatively around August 3, though it's worth keeping in mind that Musk has a history of insisting on delivery dates that haven't been met.

What has happened in Starship launches so far?

During the first test flight on April 20, 2023, three of the first stage's 33 engines failed to ignite, after which several more failed during the flight, causing the rocket to spin out of control and self-destruct.

The second test flight on November 18 of the same year continued, reaching an altitude high enough for the first and second stages to separate as planned, but exploded as the first stage rotated to begin its deceleration and landing procedure. The second stage continued safely to an altitude of about 90 miles (149 km), passing the Kármán line, which marks the beginning of the universe, but was destroyed by a safety mechanism after it stopped transmitting data before completing an orbit or returning to Earth.

The third test flight, on March 14 this year, was at least partially successful, as it reached space, performed a fuel transfer test, and flew farther and faster than ever before, but lost attitude control during the flight and failed to make a planned soft landing.

The fourth test flight, on June 6 this year, was the most successful to date, with Starship reaching an orbital altitude of more than 200 km and traveling at a speed of more than 27,000 km/h. Both the booster and upper stage made a soft landing in the ocean. There was a dramatic scene when the intense heat of Starship's re-entry into Earth's orbit caused the skin of one of its control wings to burn off, but the company said this was resolved with a new heat-resistant tile design.

What would happen if this launch were to fail?

The chances of Starship completing its mission perfectly are slim, so it's likely that it will fail in some way. But failure will provide data and experience that can be used to improve the design and processes for the sixth launch. SpaceX has shown it can iterate quickly and make great strides with each launch.

Still, the company's bold strategy of catching the booster on the launch pad puts not just the spacecraft at risk but also the hardware on the ground, meaning the fifth test flight will likely be the riskiest yet.