Another Success for SpaceX and the Starship Program

The recent Starship launch was another major milestone for SpaceX. Starship successfully reignited one Raptor engine during the coast phase, reentered Earth's atmosphere, performed the iconic flip maneuver, and landed in the ocean at the planned location. This was achieved even under challenging conditions, including the removal of many heat tiles and a steeper reentry angle.

However, the booster had to perform a water landing instead of being caught at the tower. Hardware checks at the tower flagged an issue that prevented a catch attempt. Despite this, the water landing of the booster was executed successfully.

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Comparing Data

Speed

Initial Ignition and Speed at Ignition:

• All four trajectories begin at ignition with 0 speed and altitude.
• Differences in ignition time are negligible.

Rate of Speed Increase:

• The speed for all tests increases almost linearly in the early stages.
• The IFT 4 trajectory has slightly slower acceleration compared to the other trajectories, as evidenced by lower speed values early in the flight (e.g., at 3 seconds: IFT 3 = 84, IFT 4 = 78, IFT 5 = 83, IFT 6 = 86).

Altitude

Altitude at MECO (Most Engines Cutoff):

• IFT 3 achieves 67 km altitude at 5737 km/h.
• IFT 4 achieves 64 km altitude at 5539 km/h.
• IFT 5 achieves 65 km altitude at 5265 km/h.
• IFT 6 achieves 64 km altitude at 5280 km/h.
• IFT 3 shows slightly better performance, reaching the highest altitude and speed at MECO compared to the others.

Comparison

Anomalies in Performance:

• IFT 4 experiences a 1 engine out event early in the flight (at 78 km/h). This could explain why its speed and altitude throughout the trajectory are consistently lower than IFT 3, IFT 5, and IFT 6.
• IFT 5 is generally close to IFT 3 in performance, but it achieves a slightly lower altitude and speed at MECO.
• IFT 6 slightly surpasses IFT 5 in speed early on but ends up with the same MECO altitude, suggesting similar performance.

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IFT Timeline:

Name	Date	Days Elapsed
IFT 1	20.04.2023
IFT 2	18.11.2023	212
IFT 3	14.03.2024	117
IFT 4	06.06.2024	84
IFT 5	13.10.2024	129
IFT 6	19.11.2024	37
IFT 7	NET 01.11.2025	53

Flight 7 is currently rumored to be no earlier than (NET) January 11th, 2025. NASA filed related documents with the FAA according to @TLPN_Offficial

STARSHIP FT7 UPDATE! #SpaceX #Starship #Flight7
According to new documents filed by NASA to the FAA; SpaceX is targeting NET January 11th, 2025 for Starship Flight 7; and NASA5, a Gulfstream V will be used to observe the reentry of Ship 33 when it enters over the Indian Ocean,… pic.twitter.com/AajauuRtSd

— The Launch Pad (@TLPN_Official) November 25, 2024

This is possible because the FAA has amended their assessment for launches for Starship and Super Heavy. It allows for up to 25 starts and landings in 2025. Therefore the launch frequency won't be held up by bureaucracy around launch licences.
Source: FAA

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Flight 7

This will be the first flight of Starship Block 2. It will have the forward flaps (that were damaged by extreme heating) moved further leewards to protect the hinges and a 25% increased propellant capacity. The payload capacity is planned for 100 tons to orbit in reusable mode.

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Milestones for Starship

For Starship to achieve Elon Musk’s grand vision, several key milestones remain:

Launch: ✅
Stage separation: ✅
Orbit: Almost there (at orbital velocity but slightly below orbit to ensure “controlled” re-entry)
Bellyflop: ✅
Reentry without damage: ❌ (flap damage, heat shields fell off)
Safe landing: ❌
In-orbit refueling: ❌
Leaving low Earth orbit (LEO): ❌
Human life support: ❌
Moon/Mars return & landing: ❌
Lift off from Moon/Mars: ❌

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Full Flight

SpaceX: Starship's Sixth Flight Test

Everyday Astronaut and Cosmic Perspective have produced another great supercut with their different high-quality cameras around the launch site
[4K Slow-Mo] Starship Flight 6 Supercut w/ Clean Audio

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