What To Know
- This morning, SpaceX reached a new milestone by successfully landing the Super Heavy booster of its Starship spacecraft in a “soft” splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, as classified by Musk, during its fourth test flight.
- This flight is part of a series of tests that SpaceX is conducting to perfect its Starship, a fully reusable launch system that Musk sees as the key to making Mars colonization possible.
- The only certainty is that from the failed stage separation in its debut flight to continuous improvements in control and landing execution, each test has resulted in better outcomes, contributing to the perfection of this powerful spacecraft.
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, continues its journey to bring humans back to the Moon and eventually to Mars. This morning, the company conducted its fourth test flight, which was viewed by over 4 million users on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. The event is considered a success as it achieved the first-ever splashdown of its SuperHeavy booster, while the Starship completed its flight despite visible damages.
Liftoff of Starship! pic.twitter.com/2Z1PdNPYPG
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 6, 2024
The Fourth Test Flight of Starship
The race for space exploration is truly experiencing its best years. Just a day ago, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft set off for the International Space Station with two astronauts on board. However, if that seemed like the most exciting event of the week, Elon Musk reminded us that he is also a strong competitor. This morning, SpaceX reached a new milestone by successfully landing the Super Heavy booster of its Starship spacecraft in a “soft” splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, as classified by Musk, during its fourth test flight.
The upper stage also performed a controlled landing despite visible damage during reentry, where one of its wings suffered burn damage. Nevertheless, the vehicle managed to land effectively, demonstrating the power of its design.
Reactions to the Almost Successful Landing
This test flight had two objectives: to ensure the landing of the Super Heavy booster and to conduct a controlled reentry of the spacecraft. Both objectives were nearly perfectly achieved, resulting in a splashdown that generated a standing ovation in SpaceX’s mission control at Starbase.
“When we saw the booster fall into the water, I mean, wow!” reacted Dan Huot, SpaceX spokesperson, during the live broadcast from their headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX founder and CEO, Elon Musk, shared his excitement on X: “Successful soft landing of the Starship Super Heavy booster!” He was also seen celebrating at SpaceX’s facilities with one of his children.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2024
The Path to Mars and Beyond
This flight is part of a series of tests that SpaceX is conducting to perfect its Starship, a fully reusable launch system that Musk sees as the key to making Mars colonization possible. Besides its Martian ambitions, Starship was selected by NASA to carry astronauts to the Moon on the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for September 2026.
Will they succeed? The only certainty is that from the failed stage separation in its debut flight to continuous improvements in control and landing execution, each test has resulted in better outcomes, contributing to the perfection of this powerful spacecraft.
