This is an element of satisfaction for SpaceX: its atmospheric reentry tests in less favorable conditions went well. Additionally, the company successfully re-ignited one of the Raptor engines in space for the first time.
The sixth flight of the Starship will undoubtedly leave us with a certain feeling of frustration: in fact, SpaceX gave up at the last moment on capturing the first stage in mid-flight during its return to Earth. Instead of ending up in the mechanical arms of the Mechazilla launch tower, the craft ended up in the Gulf of Mexico.
But on another aspect of the test, SpaceX can be satisfied: in fact, the upper stage of its giant rocket succeeded to fire one of its Raptor engines for the first time in space. This was one of the important subjects of this trial, although much less publicized – and less spectacular – than the return of Super Heavy to Earth.
The Starship survived despite a less protective shield
Another element of satisfaction: the upper stage of the Starship did not disintegrate during atmospheric reentry, as it headed towards its drop-off point in the Indian Ocean. This is not necessarily a win, because the American company had previously indicated its intention to carry out a series of experiments on the heat shield.
To put it more simply, SpaceX wanted to observe what the Starship “ can cash » in the face of more degraded conditions. In this case, the group was interested in exposing the spacecraft to a higher peak of overheating. For this, adjustments were made in particular to the hexagonal ceramic tiles.
Concretely, the heat shield was arranged differently compared to the fifth flight. Tiles have been removed in places, while other points of the rocket have been reinforced, sometimes with a different covering, etc. In short, SpaceX said during the live broadcast, this amounted to placing an old generation heat shield on the launcher.
In fact, the survival of the Starship during this entire process shows that this other side of the test was conclusive. SpaceX needs to conduct tests beyond the rocket’s estimated limits to better understand its true performance. And above all, it is a question of accumulating this information during tests and not during real operational missions.
At the end of its run, the Starship righted itself just before reaching the Indian Ocean, before decelerating and landing vertically and smoothly. It then ended up tipping over and experiencing the start of a fire. No matter: it was not planned for SpaceX to recover the upper stage anyway. The rest, from now on, will be written with the seventh essay.
Source: www.numerama.com
