SpaceX (again) made aerospace history this Sunday. During the fifth test flight of its immense Starship, the firm managed to catch the first stage thanks to the articulated arms of its launch tower. A feat of engineering that brings the company closer to its ultimate goal of recovering and reusing the entire vehicle. And she has no intention of stopping there: buoyed by this success, she will now try to do the same with the second floor.
As a reminder, this colossal launcher, approximately 120 meters high, is made up of two stages. On the lower level, we find the Super Heavy booster, with its monstrous propulsion device made up of 33 Raptor engines which takes care of the first part of the ascent. Above is the Starship itself, intended to accommodate the payload.
This weekend, SpaceX only recovered the Super Heavy. The Ship, for its part, was once again sacrificed on the altar of innovation and ended its course in the ocean. But the latter will also be entitled to the same treatment in the relatively near future. According to Elon Musk, whose penchant for rapid innovation is well known, the company has repeat this feat with the second floor in just a few months. « With any luck, we will also catch up with the Starship early next year “, he declared on X/Twitter this Tuesday.
Total reuse is approaching
For the moment, we do not yet know if SpaceX intends to attempt this maneuver from the sixth test flight, or if it will be necessary to wait for a later launch. But in any case, it will be a very important step on the company’s roadmap. When she has succeeded in capturing the two halves of her craft, it could theoretically start to reuse them, as it already does with the first stage of its Falcon rockets – but with the entire vehicle. Once it masters this exercise, it will be able to considerably increase the launch rate to accelerate the deployment of its Starlink constellation, but also the conquest of space in general.
It should be noted, however, that development of the Starship will not be entirely completed after this deadline. SpaceX will also have to develop and test a second variant of the second stage, this time equipped with deployable legs comparable to those of the Falcon. This will allow the Starship to land directly on the surface of its target. A very important point, since he will not have a tower to catch up with him during his first trips to the Moon or Mars. This will, however, be another major engineering challenge, as delicately setting down a behemoth weighing a hundred tonnes empty will be anything but child’s play.
Before getting there, you will have to be able to catch him in the same way as the Super Heavy. And for this, SpaceX will still have to wait for the green light from the FAA, the agency which regulates air traffic on the other side of the Atlantic. Since the fifth flight went very well, the flight license should be issued fairly quickly – but it is difficult to comment on the precise date, especially in a context where Elon Musk has more or less declared war on this institution .
We therefore look forward to seeing you in a few months to follow the next episode of this fascinating series which, in the long term, will profoundly transform humanity’s relationship with space.
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