BOCA CHICA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX conducted its fourth test flight of Starship on Thursday morning.
The 397-foot rocket, which consists of the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy booster, launched from Boca Chica, Texas shortly before 8 a.m.
Around seven minutes after liftoff, Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
Prior to launch, SpaceX stated it had intentionally placed one thin heatshield tile, and removed two tiles completely, from Starship to measure how hot things get in those locations.
Starship maintained a good trajectory upon re-entry, and made its first ever landing burn, according to SpaceX.
“Splashdown confirmed,” SpaceX stated on X. “Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting fourth flight test of Starship.”
Elon Musk also took to X to congratulate the SpaceX team.
“Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap, Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean,” Musk said.
SpaceX said the fourth launch shifted the focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy.
“The primary objectives will be executing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and achieving a controlled entry of Starship,” SpaceX stated.
The fourth test flight followed a similar trajectory as the third flight, with a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
This was the quickest turnaround between Starship test launches, with a gap of 84 days. There was a gap of 212 days between the first and second launch, and a 117-day gap between the second and third.
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