Space obsession, queen confessions.
On April 20, 2023, the biggest rocket ever built left the ground for the first time, dug a crater under its own launch mount, lost engines on the way up, and was destroyed four minutes in. Here is what Starship Flight 1 actually attempted, what failed, what the FAA made SpaceX fix (63 items!), and why SpaceX still called it a win.
Starship Flight 2 (November 18, 2023) fixed the pad, debuted “hot staging,” lit all six ship engines and became the first Starship to reach space. Then the booster broke up on its flip-back burn and the ship was terminated after a fire during a propellant vent. Here is what happened, why, and what the FAA made SpaceX change.
Starship Flight 3 (March 14, 2024) was the first to complete its full ascent burn and the first to reenter from space. It opened and closed its payload door and completed a propellant-transfer demo, but the booster was lost just before splashdown and the ship went silent at about 65 km on the way back down. Here is what happened and why.
On June 6, 2024, Starship Flight 4 finally ended the way SpaceX wanted: the booster hovered down to a “virtual tower” splashdown in the Gulf and the ship survived a blazing reentry, flipped, and landed in the Indian Ocean, even with a chewed-up flap. Here is the play-by-play, the damage, and why the FAA didn’t need an investigation.
By The Star Queen · Star Queen Chronicles Friends, remember when I said I’d call the Flight 15 plan confirmed once SpaceX published the mission page? That page is up. 🚀 SpaceX now says Starship Flight 15 is preparing to launch as soon as Friday, November 13, pending regulatory approval. The 75-minute window runs from…
Raptor is the first full-flow staged combustion engine to fly, and 33 of them push Super Heavy off the pad. Here is how it works, how Raptor 1, 2 and 3 differ, what the thrust, Isp and chamber-pressure numbers really mean, and which claims are official and which are just Musk talking.
On Sunday, SpaceX fired all 33 Raptor engines on Booster 22, the Super Heavy picked for Starship Flight 15. Here’s what a static fire is, why this one matters, and what still has to happen before Flight 15, where SpaceX may try to catch both the booster and the ship (not yet confirmed).