Super Heavy Booster makes soft landing in Gulf of Mexico

BOCA CHICA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX's sixth Starship flight test from Boca Chica, Texas is expected to land in the Indian Ocean following a full orbit around the Earth.

For its sixth flight test, Starship was expected to have the rocket's 33 Raptor engines fire upon ignition to launch the vehicle toward space. SpaceX planned to have the Super Heavy booster attempt a return to the launch site and tower using its "chopsticks" on the pad of Starbase a few minutes after liftoff.

However, that did not happen.

The sixth Starship flight test was announced that the Super Heavy Booster was not caught and made a soft landing on the Texas coast.

At 4:04 p.m. SpaceX announced that the Super Heavy Booster was unsuccessfully caught and did not make its landing on the launchpad.

The Super Heavy Booster made a soft splashdown on the South Texas shore at 4:07 p.m.

The first fully successful launch took place on Sunday, Oct. 13, when the Super Heavy Booster was caught on the launchpad and the Starship landed in the Indian Ocean.

The launch window was scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov 19.

Liftoff started at 4 p.m. and at 4:03 p.m. Super Heavy Booster separated from the Starship.

At approximately 4:40 p.m. SpaceX announced it had checked off a key objective during its sixth launch by igniting a raptor in space for the first time.

Background

In April 2023, SpaceX conducted its first test flight. Starship was supposed to separate from the booster after liftoff, but that did not occur.

According to SpaceX, multiple engines on the 33-engine booster were not firing, causing the rocket to lose altitude and begin to tumble. Additionally, the self-destruct system kicked, which caused the rocket to blow up over the Gulf of Mexico.

In November 2023, Starship’s second test flight was successful. It lifted off and made it through stage separation. During the stage separation, the booster suffered a mishap that resulted in a mid-air explosion.

For the FAA to give SpaceX approval for the next launch, they identified several corrective actions that needed to be addressed. SpaceX considered its second test flight a successful learning experience.

On March 14, 2024, SpaceX conducted its third test flight and was an overall success. The Starship rocket blasted off from Starbase at approximately 8:30 a.m. that morning. All 33 engines on the booster ignited, making it a successful hot-stating separation for the second time. Additionally, the booster executed its planned flip maneuver.

However, Starship was lost during reentry and did not splash down in the Indian Ocean. No people or satellites were on board.

According to SpaceX, Starship was designed to one day carry both crew and cargo to Earth’s orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond.

On June 6, 2024, SpaceX had its fourth test flight, where Starship 29 and booster 11 blasted off just before 8 a.m.

The rocket system met all its primary objectives, including the booster splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico and Starship successfully reentering the Earth’s atmosphere.

Before the launch, SpaceX confirmed it intentionally placed thin heat shield tiles and removed two tiles completely from Starship. This was conducted to measure how hot things got in outer space. Starship maintained a good trajectory upon re-entry before splashing down the Indian Ocean.

On Sunday, Oct. 13, SpaceX had its fifth Starship flight test, which was deemed successful as the Super Heavy Booster was caught and Starship landed in the Indian Ocean as planned.

Liftoff started at 7:25 a.m. and at 7:27 a.m. the Super Heavy booster separated and it made its first-ever landing of the vehicle at the launch pad.

At approximately 8:32 a.m. Starship successfully landed in the Indian Ocean.