Elon Musk shares Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket inspection results after the landing catch

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SpaceX was more than ready for the 5th Starship launch and landing test as it received the license on Saturday and performed the test on Sunday morning.

The iconic scenes of the Starbase launch tower arms (Chopsticks) catching the Flight 5 Super Heavy booster will not get old anytime soon.

No government or private space companies have attempted this maneuver before in the history of spaceflight. SpaceX did it right the first time. Catching a giant 70-meter steel structure mid-air is a phenomenal achievement by the SpaceX team led by Elon Musk.

Talking about Elon Musk, who could be happier or more proud than him on our planet after the success of the Flight 5 test? Hours after the Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy RTLS (return to launch site), Elon Musk paid a visit to the Starbase launch site.

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Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket booster on its landing burn as three Raptor engine are ignited (L), the same booster on the Sunday evening mounted on the OLM (R).
Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket booster on its landing burn as three Raptor engine are ignited (L), the same booster on the Sunday evening mounted on the OLM (R). Credit: SpaceX via X (Twitter).

As Musk reached the Mechazilla launch tower, SpaceX teams had already brought down the Flight 5 Super Heavy rocket (Booster 12) from the top of the tower’s catch position. SpaceX left the rocket booster hanging for while to cool down the booster’s engine bay by depressing out cold gasses.

Flight 5 rocket booster getting cooled down after going through atmospheric reentry and landing burns before getting caught by the launch tower Chopsticks on Sunday 13th October 2024.
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At the time of Musk and his team’s inspection, the Flight 5 Booster 12 was already mounted on the orbital launch mount (OLM). SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared the initial findings of his inspection on X (Twitter), he wrote:

Just inspected the Starship booster, which the arms have now placed back in its launch mount. Looks great!

A few outer engine nozzles are warped from heating & some other minor issues, but these are easily addressed.

Starship is designed to achieve reflight of its rocket booster ultimately within an hour after liftoff. The booster returns within ~5 minutes, so the remaining time is reloading propellant and placing a ship on top of the booster.

Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy booster during RTLS with three Raptor engines ignited to reduce the velocity and give it boost back for a smooth landing catch. The signs of atmospheric reentry and bootback burn.
Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy booster during RTLS with three Raptor engines ignited to reduce the velocity and give it boost back for a smooth landing catch. The signs of atmospheric reentry and bootback burn. Credit: SpaceX via X (Twitter).
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Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy booster rests on the OLM at Starbase several hours after the landing catch event.
Starship Flight 5 Super Heavy booster rests on the OLM at Starbase several hours after the landing catch event. Credit: Elon Musk / SpaceX via X (Twitter).

Looking at the intensity of the landing catch operation, the damages expected were far more than what Elon Musk described in his inspection notes. However, the damages are minimal and Starship reusability is imminent from this test.

The ultimate goal of the Starship program is to achieve maximum reusability in a limited timeframe. The current era example of such reusability is airplanes, they get ready for re-flight from 30 minutes to an hour. The same timeframe for Starship will make it a truly reusable rocket and spaceship.

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Stay tuned for future updates on Starship and SpaceX, Follow us on:
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Related Starship News

Iqtidar Ali
Iqtidar Alihttp://www.teslaoracle.com
Author of more than 1500 articles on Tesla, SpaceX, and EVs. His work has been liked and tweeted by Elon Musk and other prominent influencers. You can reach him on Twitter @IqtidarAlii

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