On November 19, SpaceX achieved another milestone with its Starship spacecraft, completing a successful test flight and ocean landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed the achievement, saying on X, “Successful ocean landing of Starship! We will do one more ocean landing of the ship. If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower.”
This marked the sixth flight test of the Starship system, which SpaceX says will eventually enable rapid and reusable transportation for space missions.
In a statement on X, SpaceX said, “Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting sixth flight test of Starship!”
The test flight included several critical objectives designed to push the capabilities of the spacecraft and booster system further. SpaceX explained that the goals included reigniting a Starship Raptor engine in space, testing heatshield modifications, and evaluating new reentry and descent maneuvers over the Indian Ocean. The booster, known as Super Heavy, initiated a landing burn and softly splashed down in the Gulf.
One of the more playful aspects of the mission involved its payload: a banana. SpaceX referred to it as a “universally-accepted measurement of scale,” comparing it to the size of a Starlink Mini satellite.
The company also emphasized its broader mission: to bring full reusability to its launch system. “Today’s flight test aims to expand the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online,” SpaceX noted.
Looking ahead, Musk said that after another successful ocean landing, SpaceX will try to catch the Starship using the launch tower, a key step toward achieving full reusability. He also highlighted the speed of Starship’s travel potential, stating, “Starship will go halfway around the world in ~45 mins.”
Also today, President-elect Donald Trump visited Starbase and watched the Starship launch in person, with Musk and company. With Trump on board, it appears any future FAA delays on test launches will likely be put to rest.
.@elonmusk greets President @realDonaldTrump on Starbase!! 🚀🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/fkMIubPHzp
— Margo Martin (@margomartin) November 19, 2024
Check out the sweet videos below:
Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting sixth flight test of Starship! pic.twitter.com/bf98Va9qmL
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
Starship preparing to splash down in the Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/EN9jibr07l
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
Live views of Earth from Starship pic.twitter.com/3rgsHSj2km
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 19, 2024
“Data gathered from the multiple thermal protection experiments, as well as the successful flight through subsonic speeds at a more aggressive angle of attack, provides invaluable feedback on flight hardware performing in a flight environment as we aim for eventual ship return and catch,” concluded SpaceX in a post summarizing the test.
“With data and flight learnings as our primary payload, Starship’s sixth flight test once again delivered. Lessons learned will directly make the entire Starship system more reliable as we close in on full and rapid reusability,” concluded SpaceX.
