Starship Flight Test 6 was the sixth integrated, near orbital test flight of the Starship rocket, using the Starship 13/31 with Booster 13 and Ship 31. It was launched on 19 November 2024 at 4:00PM CT (GMT-4). It has a similair flight profile as Flight 5, with a few adaptions such as the Ship doing a in-space burn. SpaceX put a banana as payload in the Ship's payload bay. Due to a loss of communications with the tower computer, the catch of Booster 13 was aborted.[1] The FAA recorded no mishap.[2]
On Flight 5, SpaceX installed aluminium coated tiles, to see if steel would weaken at certain points during re-entry. Since then SpaceX has removed 8 collumns of tiles from the side of S31 for catch-enabling hardware on future vehicles, thus continuing their effort to get as much data as possible on the heat shield.
According to Elon Musk, the liftoff thrust is ~7500 tons and the mass is ~5000 tons for this flight test, while Version 3 ships will weigh over 7000 tons.[3] Taking into account the thrust of around 230 tons per engines, this means, that the booster lifted off with approximately 100% thrust levels.
The rocket lift off the ground and passed through Max Q and hotstaged successfully. Although a command for booster catch was given shortly after staging, an abort criteria on the tower was later met and the booster was diverted to landing in the ocean (according to Elon, a wrong setting in the engines caused by a communication cut, which itself was caused by the comunication antena being bent during liftoff), where it splashed down as planned. Meanwhile, the ship continued on nominal trajectory and did a successful SECO. The Ship went through coast phase, at the end of which it relit one of its three center engine to demonstrate the capability of a deorbit burn. It re-entered earth's atmosphere, passing through peak heat phase without major problems, this flight, Elon Musk found out that despite the improved heat shield, the ships that landed reciently suffered a lot damage during reentry, and there was still plasma going through the hinges of the foward flaps. After reentry, the ship conducted the belly-flip maneuvre during daylight and successfully and softly splashed down in the Indian Ocean, before breaking in two and lightning on fire.
Elon Musk after seeing the buoycam video released a tweet saying:
"The biggest technology challenge remaining for Starship is a fully and immediately reusable heat shield
Being able to land the ship, refill propellant & launch right away with no refurbishment or laborious inspection. That is the acid test." [4]
Gallery[]
Post-launch updates[]
27 November 2024[]
Interstellar Gateway observed the return of a Ship 31 recovery mission, bringing back items such as TPS tiles, COPV tanks and other components from the ship. These were conducted by offshore support vessels "LIMITLESS" and offshore tug "BHAGWAN RENEGADE", who followed the floating debris for over 27 hours. Additionally, buoys that observed the splashdown were returned as well.[5]
20 November 2024[]
Elon Musk announced the reason for the catch abort: "Lost comms to the launch tower computer. Catch would probably still have worked, but we weren't sure, so erred on the side of caution."[1] It's unknown, if this was due to the damaged antenna on the top of the launch tower.
FAA: "There was no mishap. All flight events for both the Starship vehicle and the Super Heavy booster occurred within the scope of planned and authorized activities."[2]
Sen captured the launch plume live from their cameras on the ISS.[6]
19 November 2024 - SpaceX Web[]
The sixth flight test of Starship launched from Starbase on November 19, 2024, seeking to expand the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online.
The Super Heavy booster successfully lifted off at the start of the launch window, with all 33 Raptor engines powering it and Starship off the pad from Starbase. Following a nominal ascent and stage separation, the booster successfully transitioned to its boostback burn to begin the return to launch site. During this phase, automated health checks of critical hardware on the launch and catch tower triggered an abort of the catch attempt. The booster then executed a pre-planned divert maneuver, performing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Starship completed another successful ascent, placing it on the expected trajectory. The ship successfully reignited a single Raptor engine while in space, demonstrating the capabilities required to conduct a ship deorbit burn before starting fully orbital missions. With live views and telemetry being relayed by Starlink, the ship successfully made it through reentry and executed a flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
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.
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.[7]
19 November 2024 - Updates[]
Elon Musk: "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."[8]
Bill Nelson: "Congrats to @SpaceX on Starship's sixth test flight. Exciting to see the Raptor engine restart in space—major progress towards orbital flight. Starship’s success is #Artemis’ success. Together, we will return humanity to the Moon & set our sights on Mars."[9]
Launch[]
Resources[]
- SpaceX recap video, published 03 January 2025 (here)
- SpaceX stream: on X (here)
- Sen livestream from ISS (here)
Liftoff. c SpaceX
Hot staging and boostback burn. c SpaceX
S31 Splashdown in Indian Ocean. c SpaceX
Splashdown view from buoy. c SpaceX; more views here
Timeline[]
- 07:59 | -08:00 | Road closed
- 09:24 | SpaceX "All systems and weather are looking good for today's flight test of Starship. The live launch webcast on @X will go live ~40 minutes before liftoff, which is targeted for 4:00 p.m. CT"[10]
- 09:30 | -06:27 | Pad cleared; all personnel and nonessential equipment cleared
- 09:58 | -06:01 | Chopsticks opened
- 10:15 | -05:44 | Chopsticks in catch position, landing rails deployed
- 10:27 | -05:32 | B13 transport stand parked at road block
- 14:33 | -01:27 | NASA WB-57 plane has taken off from Houston towards Starbase for high altituted surveillance[11]
- 14:47 | -01:13 | SpaceX: "The Starship team is go for prop load"[12]
- 15:04 | -00:55 | LOX and CH4 subcoolers started venting
- 15:10 | -00:50 | CH4 and LOX loading onto ship. SpaceX: "Propellant load of Starship’s upper stage is now underway"[13]
- 15:18 | -00:41 | CH4 and LOX loading onto booster. SpaceX: "Propellant load of the Super Heavy booster is underway. Live coverage of Starship’s sixth flight test starts in ~5 minutes"[14]
- 15:25 | -00:35 | Range is currently GO for launch
- 15:35 | -00:25 | The banana payload was revealed on the stream
- 15:40 | -00:19:40 | Engine chill began. SpaceX: "Starship and Super Heavy’s 39 Raptor engines are chilling down in preparation for liftoff"[15]
- 15:54 | -00:05 | Gav Cornwell: "GO from range safety! No wayward boats"[16]
- 16:00:03 | 00:00:03 | Lift off
- 16:02 | 00:02 | S31 engine ignition, hot staging, boostback burn startup
- 16:06 | 00:06 | B13 landed in the gulf of mexico
- 16:07 | 00:07:12 | B13 explosion visible (not yet completely destroyed)
- 16:08 | 00:08 | SECO
- 16:32 | 00:32 | SpaceX: "Starship is ~30 minutes into its sixth fight test and all systems continue to look nominal"[17]
- 16:37 | 00:37:52 | One center engine relit and adjusted the trajectory. SpaceX: "Starship has successfully ignited one of its Raptor engines while in space for the first time"[18]
- 16:42 | 00:42:32 | Re-entry phase began|
- 17:05 | 01:05:30 | Landing / S31 splahdown. SpaceX: "Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting sixth flight test of Starship!"[19]
- 17:22| 01:22 | Booster some more explosion
- ~18:00 | ? | B13 transport stand moved away from road block area
- ~18:38 | ? | Road opened
Telemetry and analysis[]
Jonathan McDowell showed that Flight 6 initially inserted at a 8x190km orbit that was boosted to 50x228km orbit after the engine restart. This marks the first transatmospheric orbit for Starship. (An orbit with a positive perigee but still inside the atmosphere).[20][21]
Zack Golden identified visual warping during peak re-entry heating of the Ship's body near the payload bay in the area where heatshield tiles were removed.[22]
Visual warping, identified from SpaceX's feed. Re-entry over Indian Ocean.
Images of the launch tower showed that the lightning and comms tower on top of OLIT-1 has been damaged during liftoff.[23]
Launch information[]
Aims[24][]
- Get ship and booster capabilities closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online
- Second booster catch with the same requirements and conditions as on flight test 5
- Reignition of a Raptor engine on the ship in space. This capability will be necessery for a deorbit burn, when SpaceX proceeds a fully orbital profile.
- Testing of several heatshield experiments, with entire sections of tiles being removed on either side in locations studied for catch-enabling hardware on future ships. They added some aluminium covered tiles, as SpaceX is experimenting for the best way to create a rapidly reusable heat shield. In this context, Elon Musk mentioned that "Metallic shielding, supplemented by ullage gas or liquid film-cooling is back on the table as a possibility"[25].
- Assessment of secondary thermal protection materials
Mission Profile of Flight Test 6. c SpaceX
Upgrades and changes since Flight Test 5[24][]
- Additional redundancy to booster propulsion systems
- Increased structural strength at key areas of the booster. This likely includes measures to improve failure points identified on flight test 5, such as the spin gas support that didn't have the right spin up time, nearly causing an abort and RUD, as well as the damaged chine coverings that house single point failure valves critical for a landing. [see flight 5 and gaming video from Elon Musk[26]]
- Shorter timeline to offload propellants from the booster following a successful catch
- Updated software controls and commit criteria for booster launch and return
- Maneuvering changes for ship reentry: Higher angle of attack in the final phase of descend, purposefully stressing the limits of flap control to gain data on future landing profiles; this will also result in higher peak heating.[27]
- Faster/harder booster catch[27]
- Adjusted launch window to late afternoon to enable visual observations of ship reentry (Daylight landing)
Countdown[24][]
All Times Approximate
| Hr/Min/Sec | Event |
|---|---|
| 01:15:00 | SpaceX Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load |
| 00:49:50 | Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway |
| 00:49:21 | Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway |
| 00:41:15 | Booster fuel load underway |
| 00:35:39 | Booster LOX load underway |
| 00:19:40 | Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship |
| 00:03:20 | Ship propellant load complete |
| 00:02:50 | Booster propellant load complete |
| 00:00:30 | SpaceX flight director verifies GO for launch |
| 00:00:10 | Flame deflector activation |
| 00:00:03 | Raptor ignition sequence begins |
| 00:00:00 | Excitement guaranteed |
Flight test timeline[24][]
All Times Approximate
| Hr/Min/Sec | Event |
|---|---|
| 00:00:02 | Liftoff |
| 00:01:02 | Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket) |
| 00:02:32 | Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off) |
| 00:02:39 | Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation) |
| 00:02:44 | Super Heavy boostback burn startup |
| 00:03:38 | Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown |
| 00:03:40 | Hot-stage jettison |
| 00:06:25 | Super Heavy is transonic |
| 00:06:38 | Super Heavy landing burn start |
| 00:07:00 | Super Heavy landing burn shutdown and catch |
| 00:08:27 | Starship engine cutoff |
| 00:37:46 | Raptor in-space relight demo |
| 00:47:13 | Starship entry |
| 01:02:06 | Starship is transonic |
| 01:03:12 | Starship is subsonic |
| 01:04:56 | Landing flip |
| 01:05:01 | Landing burn |
| 01:05:24 | An exciting landing! |
SpaceX Web Introduction[]
The sixth flight test of Starship is targeted to launch as early as Monday, November 18. [...] The 30-minute launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change [...].
Starship’s fifth flight test was a seminal moment in iterating towards a fully and rapidly reusable launch system. On the first attempt, the Super Heavy booster successfully returned to the launch site and was caught by the chopstick arms of the launch and catch tower at Starbase. Starship’s upper stage went on to demonstrate several improvements, resulting in a controlled entry and high accuracy splashdown at the targeted area in the Indian Ocean.
The next Starship flight test aims to expand the envelope on ship and booster capabilities and get closer to bringing reuse of the entire system online. Objectives include the booster once again returning to the launch site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine while in space, and testing a suite of heatshield experiments and maneuvering changes for ship reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean.
The success of the first catch attempt demonstrated the design feasibility while providing valuable data to continue improving hardware and software performance. Hardware upgrades for this flight add additional redundancy to booster propulsion systems, increase structural strength at key areas, and shorten the timeline to offload propellants from the booster following a successful catch. Mission designers also updated software controls and commit criteria for the booster’s launch and return.
Analogous to the fifth flight test, distinct vehicle and pad criteria must be met prior to a return and catch of the Super Heavy booster, which will require healthy systems on the booster and tower and a final manual command from the mission’s Flight Director. If this command is not sent prior to the completion of the boostback burn, or if automated health checks show unacceptable conditions with Super Heavy or the tower, the booster will default to a trajectory that takes it to a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. We accept no compromises when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and our team, and the return will only take place if conditions are right.
The returning booster will slow down from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the landing zone. Generally, the only impact to those in the surrounding area of a sonic boom is the brief thunder-like noise with variables like weather and distance from the return site determining the magnitude experienced by observers.
Starship’s upper stage will fly the same suborbital trajectory as the previous flight test, with splashdown targeted in the Indian Ocean. An additional objective for this flight will be attempting an in-space burn using a single Raptor engine, further demonstrating the capabilities required to conduct a ship deorbit burn prior to orbital missions.
Several thermal protection experiments and operational changes will test the limits of Starship’s capabilities and generate flight data to inform plans for ship catch and reuse. The flight test will assess new secondary thermal protection materials and will have entire sections of heat shield tiles removed on either side of the ship in locations being studied for catch-enabling hardware on future vehicles. The ship also will intentionally fly at a higher angle of attack in the final phase of descent, purposefully stressing the limits of flap control to gain data on future landing profiles. Finally, adjusting the flight’s launch window to the late afternoon at Starbase will enable the ship to reenter over the Indian Ocean in daylight, providing better conditions for visual observations.
Future ships, starting with the vehicle planned for seventh flight test, will fly with significant upgrades including redesigned forward flaps, larger propellant tanks, and the latest generation tiles and secondary thermal protection layers as we continue to iterate towards a fully reusable heat shield. Learnings from this and subsequent flight tests will continue to make the entire Starship system more reliable as we close in on full and rapid reusability.[24]
Timeline of Announcements and Updates[]
19 November 2024[]
SpaceX: "All systems and weather are looking good for today's flight test of Starship. The live launch webcast on @X will go live ~40 minutes before liftoff, which is targeted for 4:00 p.m. CT"[10]
Donald Trump: "I’m heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to Space, but simply by lifting off the ground. Good luck to @ElonMusk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!"[28]
SpaceX: "Objectives include the booster once again returning to the launch site for catch, reigniting a ship Raptor engine while in space, and testing a suite of heatshield experiments and maneuvering changes for ship reentry and descent over the Indian Ocean"[29]
SpaceX: "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."[30]
17 November 2024[]
Shana Diez (Director of Starship Engineering): "Good tanking test this morning, team marching towards a Tuesday flight test. Weather looking pretty good for Tuesday as well."[31]
18 November 2024[]
SpaceX: "Less than 24 hours to Starship's sixth flight test from Starbase"[32]
The installation of S31 FTS installation, which was for long unknown to the community, was located in the night from Nov 12, 19:48 to Nov 13 0:21 (B.J. Schnettler)[33]
15 November 2024 - Delay due to weather; TFR, FTS[]
TFRs posted for Nov 18 (21:45-23:07 UTC), primary; and backup on 19-20 November[34]
SpaceX delayed the launch by one day due to weather: "Targeting Tuesday, November 19 for Starship’s sixth flight test. A 30-minute launch window opens at 4:00 p.m. CT"[35]. This delay was already posted by a CNBC article with Michael Sheetz citing Gwynne Shotwall, that "SpaceX is targeting as soon as Tuesday for Starship’s sixth flight test"[36].
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/15/spacex-gwynne-shotwell-starlink-competition.html?
FTS installed on booster[37]
14 November 2024[]
FAA operations advisory board lists flight 6[38]
LR11000X lowered ahead of launch
MSIB issued for November 18 as well as backup 19-24
Navigational warning for S31 splashdown released by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency[39]
13 November 2024[]
Flight testing closures 18-20 November 2024 (8am-10pm) issued by Cameron County Judge
12 November 2024[]
S31 FTS installation, as later identified (B.J. Schnettler)
08 November 2024[]
NOTAM for Mexican side issued[40]
07 November 2024[]
New videos of S31 and B13 released.
6 November 2024 - SpaceX announcement and NOTAM[]
FAA NOTAMs for 18-22, 25-26 November 2024 added; secondary liftoff window at 3pm.
SpaceX released an announcement saying they are targeting November 18th, 4pm CT for Flight 6.[41] They also posted the Flight 5 recap.[42] Also a Mexican NOTAM was released for launch on November 18.
25 October 2024[]
Spacex conducted a static fire of booster 13, paving the way for flight as all that is left is the heat shield work to be completed on Ship 31
12 October 2024 - Launch License[]
SpaceX requested the launch license modification for the flight profile of Flight Test 6 together with Flight Test 5. The license covering both flight profiles was issued on 12 October 2024.[43] [44]
Which meant that Spacex has been granted approval for flight 6, and can launch it anytime they please to
18 September 2024[]
SpaceX refered to Ship 31 as Flight 6 Starship in a tweet about S31's static fire test.[45]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859305986760245641
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://x.com/BCCarCounters/status/1859299913718231300 (Adrian Beil citing the FAA)
- ↑ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1858927701220049023
- ↑ https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859068810692644949
- ↑ Thread: https://x.com/interstellargw/status/1861832392882663568
- ↑ https://x.com/sen/status/1859252625587200232
- ↑ https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-6
- ↑ https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859036912348262787
- ↑ https://x.com/SenBillNelson/status/1859016550264811863
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1858894148914606196
- ↑ https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA926/history/20241119/2042Z/KEFD/KEFD
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1858975437965463582
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1858981291645140997
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1858983230915084420
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1858989712075354538
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1858992214246060419
- ↑ https://x.com/spacex/status/1859001810528415945
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1859003365382033668
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1859010620471079361
- ↑ https://x.com/planet4589/status/1859027291705405672
- ↑ https://discord.com/channels/577909263012462594/732227281006755922/1308778763412181012
- ↑ https://twitter.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1859017865376186719
- ↑ https://x.com/i/status/1858998330401190375
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-6
- ↑ https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859297019891781652
- ↑ https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1849914261482652113
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1858867695233425734
- ↑ https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1858956663711256605
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1858984988991254768
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1858984884087517632
- ↑ https://x.com/ShanaDiez/status/1858244208529715221
- ↑ https://fixupx.com/spacex/status/1858669032989487389
- ↑ https://twitter.com/BJSchnettler/status/1858511651240120661
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceTfrs/status/1857540747714494713
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1857624156952735839
- ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/15/spacex-gwynne-shotwell-starlink-competition.html
- ↑ https://x.com/starshipgazer/status/1857620709503107175
- ↑ https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp
- ↑ https://discord.com/channels/577909263012462594/732227281006755922/1306692399321579625
- ↑ https://x.com/fronteraspacial/status/1854994833703592294
- ↑ https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-6
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1854230607603360190
- ↑ https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/DRSDOCID173891218620231102140506.0001?modalOpened=true
- ↑ https://x.com/bccarcounters/status/1845153328210018448
- ↑ https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1836606716282311166