"SpaceX's Starship rocket completed its tenth test flight on Tuesday, deploying dummy Starlink satellites and testing new heat shield tiles. Starship is central to NASA's plan for a crewed lunar landing and to Tesla billionaire Elon Musk's goal of making spaceflight fully reusable and capable of carrying humans to Mars. What did Starship achieve in this flight? The 123-meter (403-foot) vehicle lifted off at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) and separated from its Super Heavy booster three minutes into flight."
"Roughly 30 minutes later, it demonstrated satellite deployment for the first time by ejecting eight dummy Starlink units through its new "Pez"-style dispenser. On reentry, upgraded heat shield tiles were tested successfully before the spacecraft splashed down in the Indian Ocean. What challenges remain for Starship? Musk has said the toughest hurdle is developing a reusable heat shield. Unlike the Space Shuttle, which took months to refurbish, Starship's shield must be reused immediately."
SpaceX's Starship completed its tenth test flight, lifting off at 7:30 p.m. EDT and separating from its Super Heavy booster three minutes into flight. Roughly 30 minutes later, Starship ejected eight dummy Starlink units through a new "Pez"-style dispenser, marking the first demonstration of satellite deployment. On reentry, upgraded heat shield tiles were tested successfully before the vehicle splashed down in the Indian Ocean. Starship is central to NASA's crewed lunar landing plans and to Elon Musk's goal of reusable, crew-capable Mars transport. Major remaining challenges include developing a heat shield that can be reused immediately and achieving orbital refueling with super-cooled propellant.
Read at www.dw.com
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