The Starship returned to Earth after its 12th test flight.

The superheavy SpaceX Starship rocket has completed its 12th test flight. For the first time, a new generation ship (Version 3) has successfully returned to Earth, having completed a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean on May 23. Despite the failures of several engines, the mission was recognized as a success and became an important step for future lunar and Martian programs. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Launch circumstances

The launch took place on May 23 at 01:30 Moscow time from the new launch pad of the Starbase cosmodrome in Texas. It was the first flight of the third generation Starship (Version 3), the largest and most powerful rocket in history, with a height of 124 m. The previous launch took place more than six months ago. The main objectives of the mission were to test the upgraded Raptor 3 engines, test the new thermal protection and test the reusable stages.

Technical problems in flight

At launch, all 33 Raptor 3 engines powered by the Super Heavy accelerator successfully ignited, but one of them shut down 1 minute 42 seconds after lifting. The second stage (Starship) lost one of its six vacuum thrusters 30 seconds after separation from the booster, which prevented the planned restart of the engine before re-entering the atmosphere. Despite the failures, the ship demonstrated the ability to compensate for the loss of thrust and reached the desired trajectory.

The main results of the mission

About 20 minutes after launch, Starship successfully deployed 20 Starlink satellite simulators and two modified satellites that filmed the ship in space for thermal protection analysis. The ship survived the entry into the dense layers of the atmosphere, performed a flip maneuver and ignited two engines for landing, making a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster performed a partial engine restart after separation and made a hard landing in the Gulf of Mexico, which provided valuable data for future missions.

Reaction and the meaning of flight

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun assessing the incident, noting that there is no data on damage and casualties. SpaceX engineer John Insprucker stated: "This is an important step forward. We are testing a new version of 3 Starship with improved engines and an improved design." The success of the flight will have a positive impact on SpaceX's preparations for using Starship as a lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program, as well as on the company's upcoming initial public offering.