'Starship' 6th Test Flight Completed
Raptor Engine Restart Successful, Booster Mid-Air Recovery Failed
Trump Observes, Showcases Close Ties with Musk
The sixth test flight of 'Starship,' which had garnered attention with the presence of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, concluded successfully. Local media reported that although the booster’s mid-air recovery failed, the bond between President-elect Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk was further strengthened.
On the 19th (local time), SpaceX announced on the social networking service X (formerly Twitter), "Splashdown has been confirmed," and congratulated the entire SpaceX team on the exciting sixth test flight of Starship. Starship is a large spacecraft developed by SpaceX aimed at lunar and Mars exploration, boasting the largest size ever.
Launched at 4 p.m. (Central Time) from the 'Starbase' space launch facility located on the Boca Chica beach in southern Texas, Starship completed about an hour of flight before landing in the Indian Ocean. This test flight, broadcast live online, was an unmanned flight with no astronauts or cargo onboard.
Prior to this launch, local media speculated that, as with the fifth test flight last month, the 'Super Heavy' booster separated from Starship might be spectacularly recovered mid-air by the launch tower’s 'Mechazilla' equipment. However, in this sixth test flight, the separated booster landed in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX explained, "The conditions for mid-air booster recovery were not fully met."
Regarding this, Greg Autry, Associate Dean for Space Programs at the University of Central Florida, remarked, "I don’t know what decision-making process took place, but perhaps there was concern about embarrassing the U.S. President-elect."
President-elect Trump also attracted attention by attending the launch site. On the plane heading to the launch site, Trump posted on his social media, "Heading to great Texas to see the largest object ever lifted from the ground heading to space," expressing his anticipation by saying, "Good luck to Elon Musk and the great patriots involved in this amazing project." CEO Musk responded by saying it was an honor to have President-elect Trump’s attendance. It was also reported that Texas Senator Ted Cruz was present at the site.
Local media have interpreted President-elect Trump’s attendance as signaling a strengthening of the bond with CEO Musk, the 'first buddy.' The Guardian noted, "The two appearing together at the sixth Starship test flight launch means more than just mutual support," adding, "Trump has not yet decided who will lead NASA next." Since NASA is expected to halt its own rocket launch program under the next Trump administration and rely more on the private sector for the lunar exploration program 'Artemis,' Musk’s influence is anticipated to grow stronger.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also tweeted that "seeing the Raptor engine reignite in space is exciting and a major step toward orbital flight," emphasizing, "Starship’s success is Artemis’s success." The Washington Post reported, "In this sixth test flight, Starship succeeded in reigniting the Raptor engine for the first time," diagnosing this as an essential capability for orbital missions.
Previously, SpaceX conducted five similar Earth orbit test flights in April and November of last year, and March, June, and October of this year. Among these, the first four flights until June experienced significant failures, but the fifth flight on the 13th of last month successfully completed almost the entire process as planned.
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