SpaceX launched and landed both sections of its enormous Starship rocket on Monday.
The 11th flight test of the most powerful rocket ever built saw both the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Ship spacecraft make soft, controlled landings on water following short space flights.
SpaceX has just shared some dramatic video of the Ship’s splashdown in the Indian Ocean, captured by the waiting recovery team. You can watch the footage below:
Writing about the mission later on Monday, SpaceX said that “every major objective of the flight test was achieved, providing valuable data as we prepare the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy.”
The flight test began with the Super Heavy blasting skyward from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in southern Texas, with all 33 of the rocket’s Raptor engines igniting to generate around 17 million pounds of thrust.
Following a successful ascent, the Ship separated from the booster and ignited its six Raptor engines to continue its suborbital flight.
Meanwhile, the Super Heavy returned to Earth, landing in water off the coast of Texas after firing a number of its engines to slow its descent.
The booster successfully executed a unique landing burn that will be used with SpaceX’s next-generation Super Heavy, which will feature significant design and functional upgrades over the version that flew on Monday.
During its flight, the upper-stage Ship successfully deployed eight Starlink simulator satellites and executed the third in-space relight of a Raptor engine, demonstrating a critical capability for future deorbit burns, SpaceX said. The Ship’s all-important heatshield was also thoroughly tested as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere.
Shortly before splashing down in the Indian Ocean, the Ship performed what SpaceX described as a “dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly.”
SpaceX said it’s now focusing on preparing the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy, which will be designed for the Starship’s first orbital flight and in-flight propellant transfer.
There’s no official date yet for Starship’s 12th flight, but early next year seems likely.
SpaceX and NASA plan to use the Starship to carry crew and cargo to the moon in the coming years, and the rocket could also be used to power the first humans to Mars.
