SpaceX Starship makes successful landing

by | May 6, 2021 | Seradata News, SpaceX, Suborbital, Technology

Following four failed attempts to land previous versions of the Starship launch vehicle, SpaceX finally succeeded in landing its latest prototype, SN15, on 5 May after a six-minute test flight. As the dust cleared from the landing pad at the Boca Chica facility in Texas, it was clear that Elon Musk’s latest space venture was one step closer to nailing a key part of its mission – vehicle reusability.

The SN-15 Starship sitting on the pad after completing its landing manoeuvre. Courtesy of SpaceX via YouTube

 

The three methane-fuelled Raptor engines boosted the vehicle (serial number 15) to a target altitude of about 10 km and it landed using the thrust of two engines, as intended. The four previous attempts at high-altitude flight (SN8 in December 2020; SN9 this February; and SN10 and 11 in March) were only partially successful, being notable mainly for the fireballs they created in attempting to land. The success of SN15, by contrast, raises expectations for future tests and augurs well for the vehicle’s eventual introduction to service.

In April, for example, NASA announced that it had chosen SpaceX to supply a lunar lander for its Artemis mission based on the Starship concept, but competing contractors Blue Origin and Dynetics are disputing the decision.

According to SpaceX, SN15 had “vehicle improvements across structures, avionics and software” and a new Raptor engine design specified for “more speed and efficiency”. This is in line with the company’s philosophy, which allows the system to fail and expects the team to learn from the mistakes. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted after the successful flight: “Starship landing nominal!” but did not reveal whether SN15 would fly again.

A new prototype, SN16, is reportedly nearing completion at Boca Chica. Although the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pre-approved the next three Starship launches, it is not clear when SN16 will begin its launch campaign.

About Seradata

Seradata produces the renowned Seradata database. Trusted by over 100 of the world’s leading Space organisations, Seradata is a fully queryable database used for market analysis, failure/risk assessment, spectrum analysis and space situational awareness (SSA).

For more information go to https://www.seradata.com/product/

Related Articles

Categories

Archives

Tags

nasaspacexecoreviewsissesaArianespacevideochinaFalcon 9v1.2FT Block 525virgin galacticULAfalcon 9evaRoscosmosspacewalkDGAaviation weekBlue OriginInternational Space StationaresIGTsoyuzRocket LabBeidouawardsStarlinkspaceAirbus DSboeingSatellite broadcastingrussiamoonOneWebISROCargo Return VehiclemarsblogresearchspaceshiptwojaxaorionmarsimpactdelayhyperbolaEutelsatdemocratrocketlunarhypertextobamagoogle lunar prizelaunchVegaSESthales alenia spacetourismbarack obamaconstellationfiguresnorthspaceflightIntelsatnode 2fundedRaymond Lygo2009Lockheed MartinExpress MD-2Elon MuskAtlas Vromess2dassault aviationaviationLucy2008wk2sstlukradiosuborbitaltestmissiledocking portexplorationAriane 5 ECAVirgin OrbitinternetSLSLong March 2D/2ElectronNorthrop GrummanChina Manned Space Engineeringsts-122Ariane 5missile defensenewspapercotsgalileospace tourismflight2010Long March 4CspaceportExpress AMU 1buildspace stationaltairsoyuz 2-1aProton Minternational astronautical congressshuttlespace shuttleAriane 6scaled compositesIntelsat 23European Space AgencyLauncherOneCosmoshanleybudgetrulesnew yorkatvVietnamshenzhoucongressMojaveboldennew shepardLong March 2CInmarsatOrbital ATKcnesiaclunar landerGuiana Space CenterApollolawsUS Air ForceSpace Systems/LoralUK Space AgencyLong March 4BKuaizhou 1AkscILSprotondarpaTalulah RileyElectron KSFalcon 9v1.2 Block 5Vega CNorth KoreaeuSkylonAstriumpicturebaseusaastronautdragonlanderfiveeventTelesatSSLAprilSNC50thinterviewLong MarchSea LaunchfalconWednesdaycustomerlinkatlantissuccessor

Stay Informed with Seradata

Stay informed on the latest news, insights, and more from Seradata by signing up for our newsletter.