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Starship flight test 6

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This article is about the sixth flight-test of the integrated full stack Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle. For the 2021 launch of SN9, the 6th test flight of Starship, see List of Starship upper stage flight tests.

Starship Flight Test 6
Mission typeFlight test
OperatorSpaceX
Mission duration1 hour, 5 minutes, 24 seconds
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftStarship Ship 31
Spacecraft typeStarship
ManufacturerSpaceX
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 19, 2024, 22:00:00 (2024-11-19UTC22Z) UTC (4:00 pm CST)[1]
RocketSuper Heavy (B13)
Launch siteStarbase, OLP-A
End of mission
Landing date
  • Super Heavy: November 19, 2024, 22:03:38 UTC (4:03:38 pm CDT)
  • Ship: November 19, 2024, 23:05:24 (November 19, 2024, 23:05:24) UTC
Landing site
Orbital parameters
RegimeTransatmospheric Earth orbit
Perigee altitudeInitial: 8 km (5 mi)
After relight: 50 km (31 mi)[2]
Apogee altitudeInitial: 190 km (120 mi)
After relight: 228 km (142 mi)[2]
Inclination26.3°[2]
A still frame from cameras outside the International Space Station of the plume from Starship's sixth integrated flight test (in the red square).

Starship flight test 6 was the sixth flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. The prototype vehicles flown were the Ship 31 upper stage and first stage Booster 13.[3][4] The flight test started on November 19, 2024, at 22:00:00 UTC (4:00 pm CST, local time at the launch site).[1]

Although the flight had a similar profile to Flight 5, a suborbital flight to the Indian Ocean, it had several changes to gain flight data for future ship recovery and reuse. The ship reentered the atmosphere at a steeper angle to test the limits of the flaps, and certain parts were outfitted with new thermal protection materials. Certain areas of the heat shield were removed in anticipation of the addition of catch hardware on future ships, which will be needed to land the ship on the arms of the launch tower. Flight 6 was the first flight to include an in-space burn of a single Raptor engine, demonstrating the deorbiting capability of Starship. The launch occurred at a later time of day than previous flights to enable the ship to descend to the ocean during early morning at the landing location for better visual observations.[1] This was the last flight of Block 1 Starship. Block 2 and eventually Block 3 will be used for future flights.[5]

Background

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Vehicle testing ahead of launch

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Starship Ship 31 (S31) was rolled to Masseys Test Site at SpaceX Starbase in Texas for cryogenic testing on May 11.[6] During its first cryogenic test on May 12, an electrical anomaly occurred,[7] and Starship Ship 31 was rolled back to the production site for repairs on May 15.[8] S31 completed a successful cryogenic test in early July.[9] S31 completed a successful static fire on September 18.[10] It was rolled to launch site on November 11.[11]

Super Heavy Booster 13 (B13) was moved to the Orbital Launch Pad on October 22. While on the launch pad it conducted a static fire of all 33 of its Raptor engines on October 24.[12] It was rerolled to the launch site and stacked with S31 on November 14. On November 17 B13 and S31 conducted a partial tanking test ahead of launch.[13]

Mission profile

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The mission profile for flight test 6 mirrored the trajectory of flight test 5, with Starship launching on November 19, 2024, at 22:00:00 UTC (4:00 pm CST, local time at the launch site). At T+ 2:39, the Starship upper stage hot-staged from Super Heavy, and continued its ascent. Although Super Heavy was supposed to return to Starbase, the booster catch was called off due to a loss of communication to the launch tower.[14][15] Instead, Super Heavy came down for a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico where it soon broke up.[16] Its liquid oxygen tank section continued to float before being sunk the following day.[17][18]

Shortly after, Ship 31 shut its engines down entering a coast phase. The upper stage Starship spacecraft reached an initial apogee of 190 km (120 mi) and a perigee of 8 km (5.0 mi) at a 26.2 degree orbit, marking the first time Starship has had positive perigee. At 22:37:46 the Ship successfully conducted the first Raptor engine relight in the vacuum of space which raised the apogee to 228 km (142 mi) and the perigee to 50 km (31 mi).[2] Starship reentered the atmosphere at 22:47:13, and at 23:05:24, Starship performed a controlled splash down in the Indian Ocean, which marked the first time Starship landed from space during daylight hours.

Flight timeline

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Payload

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A stuffed banana served as the Zero-G indicator, becoming Starship's first payload, though it remained within the vehicle for the duration of the flight.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Starship's Sixth Flight Test". SpaceX. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d McDowell, Jonathan (November 19, 2024). "Jonathan's Space Report No. 840 (draft)". planet4589.org. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  3. ^ SpaceX Revving Up for Starship Flight 3. NASASpaceflight. January 29, 2024. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024 – via YouTube. Then there's Flight 6, which if all of the other numbers line up as we suspect, is slated to be flown by Booster 13 and Ship 31.
  4. ^ Weber, Ryan (May 16, 2024). "Starship Flight 4 begins Wet Dress Rehearsal campaign". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved July 17, 2024. Ship 31's other half, which is assumed to be Booster 13
  5. ^ "Current, Starship 2 and Starship 3's proposed specs via Elon's update". SpaceXLounge on Reddit. April 6, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Bergin, Chris [@nasaspaceflight] (May 11, 2024). "With Booster 11 (Flight 4) now at the launch site. Ship 31 (Flight 6) is preparing to roll to Masseys" (Tweet). Retrieved May 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Ship 29 Rolled Out for Full Starship Stack Testing. NASASpaceflight. May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Starbase Live: 24/7 Starship & Super Heavy Development From SpaceX's Boca Chica Facility. NASASpaceflight. July 12, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2024 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ Starbase Prepares for Tropical Storm Beryl. NASASpaceflight. July 7, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Booster 12 and Ship 30 Roll Out For Testing, Ship 31 Static Fires and Rolls Back. NASASpaceflight. September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ SpaceX Rolls Ship 31 to the Launch Site. NASASpaceflight. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ SpaceX Tests Super Heavy 13 Booster for Starship Flight 6. NASASpaceflight. October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ SpaceX Tests the Stack for the Sixth Flight of Starship - Booster 13 and Ship 31. NASASpaceflight. November 17, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "Starship's Sixth Flight Test". SpaceX. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (November 20, 2024). "Lost comms to the launch tower computer. Catch would probably still have worked, but we weren't sure, so erred on the side of caution" (Tweet). Retrieved November 20, 2024 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ @NASASpaceflight (November 19, 2024). "Booster 13 splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Starship Flight 6: Watch SpaceX launch Starship!. Everyday Astronaut. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ @mcrs987 (November 20, 2024). "B13 has been finally sunk. Both vessels have left the premises" (Tweet). Retrieved November 20, 2024 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ SpaceX Launches Starship Flight 6 (and Catches a Booster). NASASpaceflight. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via YouTube.
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