“Chopsticks grabbing rockets” is achieved! SpaceX’s Starship SN5 successfully completed its test flight, turning Musk’s once-blown horn into reality.
On October 13, 2024, around 20:25 Beijing time, SpaceX Starship conducted its fifth orbital flight test, launching from the Boca Chica Starship Base near the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, United States.
After going through the training of the previous four launches, this time the spacecraft successfully launched into the air again and, after about 6 minutes and 50 seconds, the capture device successfully caught the several hundred tons heavy first-stage rocket falling from the sky for the first time. This is the first time humans have used this method to recover a rocket. Internet users vividly refer to it as "chopsticks catching a rocket," with further explanations to follow.
Around 9:30 PM Beijing time, the spaceship returned from space and landed precisely in the designated area of the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX is known for its rapid iteration in rocket development. After learning from the lessons of the first launch failure, in the second launch last year, the company made numerous improvements: reinforcing the launch pad, adding water spray sound suppression devices, and changing the separation method of the Starship and booster rocket to "hot separation," etc. The second and third test flights showed that using hot separation is very effective. In the fourth launch in June this year, the first stage of the Falcon Heavy booster rocket landed with a precision of half a centimeter in the Gulf of Mexico, which also increased confidence for the attempt at in-situ capture. Below is a brief review of the previous four launches.
On June 6, 2024, the starship conducted its fourth orbital flight test, and the booster rocket successfully landed on the sea as planned. The starship flew for about an hour, during which heat tiles fell off when entering the atmosphere, and the wing surface was burnt through. However, it persisted until landing on the sea, almost completing all planned tasks and objectives.
On March 14, 2024, the starship carried out its third orbital flight test. The starship successfully separated from the super-heavy booster rocket, which then splashed down in the ocean. A few minutes later, the starship successfully entered space and completed the "in-orbit fuel transfer test" and the "payload bay door opening and closing test" in orbit. Unfortunately, the starship failed to ignite for orbit insertion and relied solely on atmospheric braking, resulting in its destruction.
On November 18, 2023, during the second flight test of the starship, the super-heavy booster rocket exploded on its return due to a blockage in the liquid oxygen pipeline. The starship had reached space, but it caught fire and crashed while discharging excess liquid oxygen, failing to complete its intended mission.
According to many netizens, the spaceship has already been launched five times, and each time it feels similar. What should we focus on this time? This launch does indeed have new highlights, mainly in the following aspects:
1. A first-stage heavy-lift booster rocket attempts to return to the landing site and is attempted to be caught by the catching mechanism (nicknamed "chopsticks" by netizens)! This is the highlight of this test. Specifically, in this test, the method of dual robotic arms on the launching tower catching and recovering is used for the first time in the world for the vertical recovery from ultra-high altitude of a heavy-lift rocket. The difficulty can be imagined.
Cleverly, the capture mechanism serves as both a retrieval device and a lifting device. While recovering the "super heavy" rocket, it can also move the rocket quickly for rapid maintenance and reuse. This is a necessary requirement for the launch standardization of the Starship.
During the return of the spaceship, the firmness of the heat shield tiles and the integrity of the wing surface are crucial. It is reported that before this launch, the spaceship's heat shield tiles were reinstalled to withstand the high temperatures generated when entering the atmosphere. Prior to the launch, all 18,000 pieces of heat shield tiles were replaced, and even ablative materials were applied to the stainless steel hull surface as an additional heat-resistant layer. The new heat shield tiles are twice as strong as the original ones. However, it is regrettable that during the fourth test flight, the issue of ablative damage to the hinges connecting the wing surface and the hull still lacks a better solution, as upgrading would require significant structural changes. It is estimated that improvements may only be possible with the next generation of the spaceship.
Spaceship on the shoulders of "giants"
Although the progress of the starship is still below expectations, the starship that has undergone five flights is already mature. On June 1st this year, the "Dear Moon" lunar trip project led by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa announced the formal cancellation of the plan.
Shortly after, Maezawa also provided an explanation. He stated that when he signed the contract with SpaceX in 2018, the promise was to "fly around the Moon" by the end of 2023. This has not been achieved yet, so I can't make other plans for my life at this rate.
The background of the story is as follows: On September 18, 2018, Yusaku Maezawa pre-ordered a ticket for a trip around the moon and is set to become the first private passenger to travel around the moon. On March 2, 2021, Yusaku Maezawa announced a dynamic update on the dear Moon project, inviting 8 people from around the world. On December 8, 2022, besides Yusaku Maezawa, the other 8 space tourists have been selected, with 2 backup tourists also chosen.
However, Yusaku Maezawa has already been to space. On February 8, 2021, he flew to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and stayed there for 12 days before returning to Earth on February 20 of the same year.
Caption: American billionaire Jared Isaacman.
Before each test launch of the starship, Tencent Space has conducted comprehensive tracking and reporting. Here is a summary of the key milestones from 2019 to the present.
On July 26, 2019, SpaceX conducted a free hovering test at a height of 20 meters for the earliest Starship prototype, Starhopper.
On August 27, 2019, SpaceX conducted another test on the "Starhopper", successfully flying to a height of 150 meters and landing safely.
On August 5, 2020, the starship prototype SN5 completed a free-float test at a height of 150 meters. Without a nose cone installed, SN5 appeared to be a stainless steel water tower over 30 meters tall in its exterior appearance.
On August 25, 2020, the starship prototype SN6 also completed a free hovering test at a height of 150 meters.
On December 10, 2020, the starship prototype SN8 conducted a test flight to an altitude of 12.5 kilometers, but experienced a crash and explosion upon landing.
On February 3, 2021, Starship prototype SN9 conducted another 10-kilometer high-altitude test flight but still experienced a crash and explosion upon landing.
On March 4, 2021, the starship prototype SN10 made its third 10-kilometer high-altitude test flight, landing smoothly. However, a few minutes after landing, it still exploded.
On March 27, 2021, the Starship prototype SN11 conducted its fourth 10-kilometer high-altitude test flight, which ended in a more disastrous failure, with the rocket exploding into pieces.
On May 6, 2021, the Starship prototype SN15 conducted a successful high-altitude test flight in Boca Chica, Texas. This was the fifth attempt by SpaceX's Starship prototype to reach an altitude of 10 kilometers, and also the first successful landing without any explosion incident.
Since the SN15 test in 2021, Starship has mainly been conducting ground tests, including various pressure tests and wet dress rehearsals.
On April 20, 2023, the space ship prototype SN24, combined with the super heavy rocket BN7, attempted its first orbital test. However, four minutes after liftoff, it exploded and disintegrated.
On November 18, 2023, during the second flight test of the spacecraft, there was an explosion when the heavy booster rocket was returning. The spacecraft caught fire when it was discharging excess liquid oxygen, and the mission was not completed.
On March 14, 2024, the starship underwent its third orbital flight test. It successfully entered space and conducted various experiments in orbit. Unfortunately, the starship's off-orbit ignition failed, relying solely on atmospheric braking, leading to its ultimate destruction.
On June 6, 2024, the starship conducted its fourth orbital flight test, and the booster rocket successfully landed in the sea as planned. The starship flew for about an hour, during which the thermal tiles fell off upon entering the atmosphere and the wing surface was burned through. However, it persevered and managed to land in the sea, almost completing all of its intended tasks and goals.
In conclusion, as a new concept of a giant spaceship, the starship shows us the prototype of future spacecraft. Humanity's journey is towards the vastness of the stars.