SpaceX: After sixth flight, Starship sets course for the Moon

The launched rocket consists of a pair of stages: the Super Heavy booster module and the Starship spacecraft itself. Together (the launch has its own name, Flight 6) it reaches a length of 120 m. The Raptor engines installed on the launch vehicle, manufactured by SpaceX, develop a total thrust of 7 t/force or 711 million lb/force.


The launch, the sixth in a row, was carried out from one of the company's facilities - Starbase, located in Texas, near the city of Boc Chico. According to the SpaceX press service, it was originally planned that the booster module would return to Earth to the same place from which it was launched. In October of last year, this is what happened: the "hands" on the launch pad "caught" the descending block. However, another check revealed malfunctions in the Mechazilla launch tower. Therefore, the "catch" had to be abandoned: the Super Heavy booster module splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.


And what about the Starship spacecraft itself? Its descent also proceeded in a standard mode: having reached the required altitude, the descent module performed a maneuver associated with an additional rise. Then one of the engines turned on (“lit up,” as they said at SpaceX), and the spacecraft safely went to land. The Starlink communications satellite system was actively used to carry out this operation. As a result, the ship successfully landed in the Indian Ocean.


This year, SpaceX plans to launch at least 25 Starship launches: their number depends on the permissions of state regulators. In the very near future (January-February), the next rocket will be launched into space as part of the Flight 7 flight. The carrier will be loaded with simulators, the mass and dimensions of which correspond to the future Starlink satellites. In its report for last year, the company claims that the new Starlink V3 will have an information transfer rate (1 Tbit/sec), 10 times higher than the same characteristic of its predecessor V2 Mini Starlink.


Elon Musk said the gripper malfunction will be fixed and modified to prevent a repeat of the Flight 6 incident. In 2025, SpaceX plans to demonstrate an unmanned flight to the Moon and return from there. The company officially announced that the Starbase launch facility will be expanded to increase the number of launches and landings of the first stage of Starship. According to SpaceX, this type of ship will fly not only to the Moon and Mars, but perhaps "beyond."