On the evening of March 14th, Beijing time, the U.S. Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX)'s new generation heavy-lift launch vehicle "Starship" and the spacecraft integrated system launched its third test launch at the base in Boca Chica, Texas, USA. SpaceX subsequently released news that during this test mission, the second-stage spacecraft of the "Starship" lost contact during the re-entry stage. However, the mission achieved a number of major breakthroughs and completed multiple "firsts", which will provide SpaceX with valuable data for its ambitious goal of developing interstellar spacecraft.
Picture of the spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere
According to the plan previously released by SpaceX, a series of predetermined goals will be achieved in the third test launch mission of "Starship". These include opening and closing the payload bay door on the second-stage S28 spacecraft of the "Starship", which is also considered to be a technical verification for the future "Starlink" satellite launch mission; and performing the re-ignition of the "Raptor" engine in space under vacuum. In addition, during this mission, the "Starship" will also try a new flight trajectory, and finally choose to splash down in the Indian Ocean. It is worth noting that this launch mission is still a suborbital launch in the strict sense. The perigee of the planned orbit is 50 kilometers from the ground, and the apogee is 235 kilometers from the ground.
SpaceX's live broadcast showed that more than two minutes after the launch of "Starship", the rocket's first-stage "Super Heavy Booster" B10 and the second-stage S28 spacecraft successfully achieved "thermal separation." Subsequently, the "Starship" entered the space taxiing stage and completed technical demonstrations such as opening and closing the payload bay door and propellant transfer. After flying for a period of time, the "Starship" tried to re-ignite the "Raptor" engine in space and conduct a controlled reentry into the atmosphere, but lost contact during the atmospheric passage.
According to a subsequent mission report released by SpaceX, during the third test launch of "Starship", multiple engines of the B10 booster failed to start the landing ignition procedure as planned. This also caused the B10 to be unable to achieve a vertical sea descent under a controlled state. The "Raptor" vacuum engine of the second-stage S28 also failed to perform space re-ignition, which also caused the S28 to enter the atmospheric re-entry stage early and eventually lost contact.
"Although the mission did not achieve all scheduled test goals, SpaceX considers the launch mission to be a success." The U.S. Space News website quoted the company's official statement on March 14 as saying that the results achieved during this test launch will provide SpaceX with valuable data to continue to rapidly develop the interstellar spacecraft.
In this official statement, SpaceX stated that several important "firsts" were completed during this test launch mission, including: all 33 "Raptor" engines on the "Super Heavy Booster" B10 were successfully started during ignition and completed the full combustion during the ascent; "Starship" once again successfully achieved interstage thermal separation. During separation, the B10 booster retained 3 engines and shut down 3 0 engines, and successfully ignited the six "Raptor" vacuum engines on the second-stage S28 spacecraft before the separation of the first and second stages; after separation, the B10 booster successfully completed the flip maneuver, ignited and pushed back throughout the entire process, guiding it to the scheduled landing site in the Gulf of Mexico; after all six "Raptor" vacuum engines were started, the S28 spacecraft was sent into the predetermined orbit, becoming the first "starship" to complete the entire lift-off and ignition.
Regarding the third test launch of "Starship", NASA Administrator Nielsen posted on social media X to congratulate SpaceX on its successful test flight. On the Internet at home and abroad, the relevant pictures of this launch mission are also the focus of discussion among netizens. Especially during the re-entry of the second-stage S28 spacecraft into the atmosphere, the camera installed on the flaps of the "Starship" captured the rare footage of the S28 passing through the plasma field, which aroused heated discussion. The American space news website described this scene as "dramatic" and introduced that SpaceX's "Starlink" satellite and NASA's TDRSS data relay satellite provided technical support for data transmission. Space Exploration Technology Company advertised its "Starlink" on its social media account, saying that even if the "Starship" passes through the plasma field at a speed of 27,000 kilometers per hour, "Starlink" can provide reliable high-speed, low-latency Internet services around the world. This is also a technology verified by "Starship" during this mission. That is, "Starship" provided valuable data on high temperatures and aircraft control during hypersonic re-entry for the first time during re-entry into the atmosphere. Through the "Starlink" terminal on the "Starship", real-time observation of the reentry process is achieved.
In addition, during this mission, the "Starship" also demonstrated on-orbit propellant transfer technology for the first time. Regarding this technology, aerospace science expert Qian Hang said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times on March 15 that there are two small propellant tanks installed in the nose cone of the second stage of the "Starship", one is a liquid oxygen tank with a reserve of 10 tons, and the other is a methane tank with a reserve of 4 tons. According to SpaceX's mission plan, it is planned to transfer the liquid oxygen from the 10-ton liquid oxygen tank in the nose cone to the main liquid oxygen tank of the "Starship" during the flight mission, thereby realizing a small amount of liquid oxygen as one of the propellants to be transferred in orbit. The successful demonstration of this technology will provide first-hand measured data and experience for the future propellant transfer of two "Starship" in-orbit demonstrations. Even if the demonstration fails, it can provide valuable positive feedback information and test lessons for the "Starship" test team.
"If everything goes well, SpaceX plans to conduct a dual 'Starship' in-orbit demonstration of propellant transfer capabilities in the future. After one 'Starship' docks with another 'Starship' in orbit, the two 'Starships' will transfer two propellants, namely liquid oxygen and liquid methane, that is, Realize the on-orbit ‘refueling’ of the ‘Starship’. The next step is to demonstrate the refueling version of the ‘Starship’ for the on-orbit refueling test of the manned version.” Qian Hang said that this technology can be regarded as a key technical reserve for future “Starships” to achieve manned landings on Mars and even interstellar migration.
Even though the third test mission of "Starship" is not a success, Musk, the founder of the American Space Exploration Technology Company, excitedly stated on his personal social media platform that "Starship" will allow humans to become a multi-planetary species and take humans to Mars. However, compared to Musk's vision of using "starships" to achieve the lofty goals of manned landing on Mars and interstellar immigration, some people in the industry believe that once "starships" are maturely used, the changes it will bring to the space launch market will be "imminent" and will even bring a huge "impact" to the traditional space launch market.
Yang Feng, CEO of China's commercial SAR remote sensing satellite and scientific research satellite company Tianyi Research Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times on March 15 that once the "Starship" is used for satellite launch missions in the future, its greatest significance is to provide commercial satellite companies with greater transportation capacity and lower launch costs. This also means that launching large quantities of satellites in the future will be a simpler matter.
Yang Feng cited the "mobile phone direct connection satellite" technology as an example. After SpaceX used the "Falcon 9" rocket to launch the "Starlink" second-generation satellites that can directly connect to mobile phones, it was clearly felt that the number of satellites in the sky was not enough. In the future, "Starships" will be used to launch "Starlink" satellites and satellite constellations that can directly connect to mobile phones will develop faster. This will inevitably build a new Internet form in the future.
He further said that in the past, satellite launch costs in the United States were as high as tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram. Later, with the development of aerospace technology, satellite launch costs remained at around $15,000 to $20,000 per kilogram. After SpaceX developed the Falcon 9 rocket, the cost of commercial satellite launches dropped to approximately US$3,000 to US$4,000 per kilogram. Nowadays, "Starship" can reduce the launch cost per kilogram of payload to about US$900. In the future, as this type of rocket continues to mature and its transport capacity is further improved, its launch cost will continue to decline.
Faced with the "impact" brought by "Starship", Yang Feng believes that it should be viewed from a more positive perspective, "If 'Starship' can indeed bring about changes in the space launch market, China's commercial aerospace companies will surely be able to find a direction for their efforts and investment, which will ultimately promote the development of China's aerospace industry."
Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of "Aviation Knowledge", told a reporter from the Global Times on the 15th that the full implementation of "Starship" in mature applications in the future will have two impacts: First, it means that the launch cost of heavy-lift rockets will be greatly reduced around the world, and the launch efficiency will be sharply improved, which to some extent will change or reshape the global commercialization pattern of heavy-duty rockets. Secondly, if "Starship" is successfully put into market application, it means the establishment of a "label", that is, private high-tech innovative enterprises can change the market structure of a certain global industry in the short term through technological innovation. For example, Boeing's jets are considered to have changed the structure of global commercial aviation. However, it took Boeing decades to achieve this achievement, but SpaceX was only born 22 years ago, and its development of super-heavy rockets took only more than ten years at most. Such rapid progress shows that technologically innovative companies can explode into great industrial value as long as they have the right environment and the right strategy.