SpaceX Recovers Starship Debris from Recent Flight Test for Next Iteration

SpaceX recently conducted a flight test of its Starship system, during which the attempt to successfully recover the Super Heavy booster failed. However, the upper stage of the Starship gracefully landed in the Indian Ocean. Subsequently, SpaceX retrieved debris from the upper stage of the Starship from the water, salvaging some hardware to support the upcoming flight test.

On November 19, the Starship completed its sixth comprehensive flight test. Following the launch, SpaceX towed the upper stage of the Starship back to a port on the west coast of Australia and proceeded to recover fragments from the splashdown area in the vicinity of Gascoyne. These fragments, including fuel tanks, heat shields, and other metal components, were bagged and transported back to the port.

Media analysis of ship movements in all ports along the west coast of Australia confirmed the SpaceX vessels responsible for towing the upper stage of the Starship.

In early October of this year, a milestone fifth flight test of the Starship was completed. During this test, the 71-meter-tall Super Heavy booster descended slowly for the first time to the launch tower, where it was successfully captured by robotic arms, resembling a pair of giant chopsticks maneuvering precisely.

However, in the recent suborbital flight test, SpaceX had planned for the Super Heavy booster to be captured by the launch tower upon reentering the atmosphere. Approximately four minutes after liftoff, SpaceX announced the cancellation of this operation due to unmet capture conditions. Ultimately, the booster splashed down near the coast of Texas in a stable posture. Meanwhile, the upper stage of the Starship successfully completed a controlled reentry test into the atmosphere and landed in the Indian Ocean.

Currently, SpaceX is actively preparing for the seventh flight test of the Starship, aiming to further enhance the previous tests. The company is following an iterative improvement model, hoping to gather more data through hardware recovery.

Data retrieval from the Starship through Starlink is limited, as the Starship typically sinks rapidly after splashdown. Complete recovery of the upper stage of the Starship is crucial for identifying structural defects and latent issues, which are essential for design improvements. Additionally, SpaceX plans to focus on studying the thermal performance of the Starship to ensure its heat resistance meets reentry requirements. Concerns are primarily centered around the heat shield of the Starship, as while sensors can monitor the tiles, studying samples that have undergone actual reentry tests is more critical.