During the sixth test launch this morning, the Starship rocket successfully took off, but SpaceX canceled the use of the “catching arms,” and the booster landed in the ocean.
The SpaceX Starship rocket system launches in Texas on November 20. (Photo: SpaceX)
At 4 PM on November 19 (local time), which is 5 AM on November 20 (Hanoi time), the Starship rocket system launched from the launch pad at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. 33 Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster ignited, propelling the rocket into space.
About three minutes after launch, the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage of Starship successfully separated. However, SpaceX decided not to use the launch tower and arms to catch the booster as they had in the fifth test in October. Instead, the booster landed gently in the Gulf of Mexico seven minutes after takeoff.
The company has not provided a specific reason for the decision to cancel the use of the arms, but stated that many factors need to align correctly to proceed with this method.
President-elect Donald Trump was present with Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, to observe the test, highlighting the close relationship between the two. However, Trump did not get to see the booster being captured in the arms of the launch tower—a technical feat that occurred in last month’s test, which he praised in his victory speech.
The Starship booster lands in the Gulf of Mexico. (Video: AFP/SpaceX).
Approximately 40 minutes after launch, the upper stage of the Starship began re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, undergoing extreme heating. SpaceX proactively placed Starship into a more severe re-entry configuration, shedding over 20,000 heat shields to test the vehicle in high-temperature and high-pressure conditions.
65 minutes after launch, the upper stage of Starship safely landed in the Indian Ocean, remaining intact despite the challenging landing conditions. “It turns out this vehicle has capabilities greater than we calculated and predicted. That’s why we conduct such tests,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice.
Previously, SpaceX had considered scheduling the launch so that the upper stage’s landing in the Indian Ocean could be filmed in daylight for better detail. In prior test flights, this stage landed at night, so the footage did not provide the engineering team with as much information as daytime footage would.
Starship is the launch system that is gradually proving the ambition of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to send humans to Mars for the first time. It is the tallest (120m) and most powerful rocket ever built, capable of generating nearly 8,000 tons of thrust at launch.
In the first test flight on April 20, 2023, three of the 33 booster engines failed to ignite. The rocket subsequently lost control and self-destructed.
The second flight on November 18, 2023, went further, reaching enough altitude for the booster and upper stage to separate as planned. The booster exploded before landing, and the upper stage self-destructed, although the rocket system successfully reached space.
The third test flight on March 14 of this year was partially successful, with the upper stage once again reaching space, but it could not return to Earth intact.
In the flight on June 6, the upper stage reached an altitude of over 200 km and traveled at speeds exceeding 27,000 km/h. Both the booster and upper stage landed gently in the ocean.
The fifth flight on October 13 was the most ambitious test to date, with the Super Heavy rocket booster returning to the launch pad and being safely captured by the Mechazilla launch tower using its arms. Meanwhile, the upper stage of Starship landed in the Indian Ocean.
