Is SpaceX’s Starship the future of Spaceflight?

 by Tom K

On the 6th of June, SpaceX conducted the fourth test flight of its Starship mega-rocket. This launch marked the first time the company successfully made the Starship survive reentry; the first two attempts ending in a controlled self-destruction, and the third burning up in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Not only did the ship survive reentry, it also managed to relight all three of its sea-level engines and carry out a soft, controlled touchdown in the Indian Ocean. Likewise, the first stage booster managed to turn around after stage separation and perform a controlled landing off the coast of Mexico. 

This is a big step in the right direction when it comes to reusability. Where previously spent fuel tanks were left to fall into the sea, now SpaceX is proving that it can reliably and safely return them to the ground in one piece. The Starship is not the first project where SpaceX has proven this as carrying out propulsive landings has been commonplace for the company’s daily driver, the Falcon 9 since 2015.

The difference is that the Falcon 9 does not recover the upper stage of the rocket, whereas the Starship aims to be fully reusable. This is the first time in history that a rocket would be fully reusable since previous attempts, such as the Space Shuttle, did require a new large, orange fuel tank to be built for every launch. It did try and recover its solid rocket boosters with parachutes however they were rarely flown again as it was cheaper to build new ones than to refurbish the recovered ones. Similarly, the refurbishment of the Space Shuttles themselves after every flight was challenging. Many if not all of the heat shield tiles had to be replaced between launches and due to the shape of the Shuttle, each of the tiles were unique which led to high refurbishment costs and slow turnaround times. 

SpaceX learned from NASA’s mistakes and aimed to lower turnaround times as much as possible. Firstly, due to its cylindrical shape, Starship’s heat shield tiles are almost all the same size and thickness, allowing for a far easier replacement of damaged units. Secondly, the use of propulsive landings eliminates the need for a repacking of a parachute but also allows for more control when it comes to the location of the landing. And thirdly, due to the increase in landing control, SpaceX plans to land the booster stage straight back onto the launchpad to immediately start refueling for the next launch.

This is not only reusability but rapid, same-day reusability with the same rocket launching numerous times a day from the same launchpad. 

The fifth test flight is planned for late July, in which the company suggested that it might try and land the booster stage back on the launch pad for the first time. It aims to do this by bringing in the booster slowly and catching it between two mechanical arms that will do the final lowering to the launch stand. If SpaceX succeeds it will be making massive progress when it comes to commercial spaceflight as well since removing the need for new rockets to be built for every launch, meaning a reduction in costs and a potential step towards affordable space tourism.