On the evening of October 13, local time, at the Boca Chica launch site in Texas, the new generation of heavy-duty carrier rocket "Starcraft" of the American Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) successfully completed its 11th test flight. The rocket successfully separated after takeoff, flew out of space and peacefully returned to Earth, finally landed precisely in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, achieving the phase goal of making the "Starcraft" "fly back" - completing the complete closing circle from launch to controlled landing.
For SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and the entire U.S. commercial aerospace community, this mission is not just a technological victory, but also marks the beginning of a new phase.
What is “Star Ship”?
SpaceX’s “star ship” is not an ordinary rocket.The world's largest, most thrust, fully reusableThe space transportation system consists of two parts: a "super heavy booster" and an upper spacecraft. The entire system is up to 121 meters; The full-load takeoff thrust is about 7,600 tons, which is equivalent to the force of 15 Boeing 747s taking off at the same time. Its low-Earth orbit design capacity can reach 150 tons, significantly exceeding NASA's space launch system.
Musk's idea is to use a "starship" to achieve itLow-cost, high-frequency space transportation system, from large-scale launching of the "Star Link" satellite, to sending cargo and humans to the moon and Mars, and even realizing "point-to-point ultra-high-speed transportation on the earth." He once described the "starship" as not a disposable rocket, but a future space plane.
In order to this vision,SpaceX is already on the "starship"The cumulative investment in the project exceeds US$5 billion.Among them, the "Star Base" in Boca Chica, Texas, cost about $3 billion, and Florida's new launch facilities are expected to invest $1.8 billion. Each test flight almost meant tens of millions of dollars of "real gold and silver" burned, so it is also known in the industry as the "burning money for future" experiment.
Supporters argue that once the "StarShip" is fully reusable, the cost of a single launch is expected to fall to just a few million dollars, close to the cost of large passenger aircraft cross-sea flights; while questioners warn that this "money-burning innovation" still presents unpredictable risks.
Mission review: From explosion to "coming back alive"
So far, the “Star”10 test flights have been completed.From early low-altitude jumps, to full-scale orbital-level flights, every step brings data breakthroughs at different levels. It is generally believed in the industry that although these 10 test flights were "nine dangers and one win", each time they verified different systems-propulsion, separation, thermal protection, attitude control-and accumulated valuable data through "explosive trial and error". As commented by Ars Technica, an American professional technology media, SpaceX has sent mankind higher and farther through constant failures.
The 11th test flight this time is widely regarded in the industry as the "graduation exam" for the second-generation "starship".
This time, the "Starcraft" is equipped with the upgraded Vogel 2 engine, with a lighter structure and a reinforced thermal wave system. Compared to the first 10 times, this time the focus is on verifying high-temperature re-entry, anti-heat wave sealing, engine restart and load release system.
In the past 10 trial flights, the "Starcraft" has never been able to fully "return alive" - either to explode in the airlift phase or to disintegrate when returning to the atmosphere. Even in the 10th trial flight in June this year, although the spacecraft was successful in returning to Earth and soft landing on the sea surface, it was still partially damaged.
This time, the "Starship" once again completed the complete journey "from departure to home", marking that the "closed loop of reentry" that SpaceX dreamed of has finally been realized. Next, SpaceX will shift its focus to the development of a new generation of "Starship" 3.
Breakthrough 1: Rocket reuse technology is broken
The most immediate significance of this success is that SpaceX has truly crossed the threshold of reusable heavy rockets for the first time.
The first is that the heat protection system can withstand extreme heat; the second is that the engine is successfully restarted after re-entry; the propeller also achieves controlled landing. If subsequent tests go smoothly, the future "star ship" will be able to be recycled, renovated and reused in a short time, which will greatly reduce the cost of aviation, as Musk said, future space transport will be achieved as frequent as the current air transport.
Breakthrough 2: Manned lunar landing strategy gains fulcrum
At the level of U.S. space strategy, this test flight is also symbolic. International aerospace competition is intensifying, and the successful test flight has provided important "scientific and technological achievements" for the White House in the next election cycle.
In addition, the "StarShip" was designated as the moon landing cabin for NASA's "Armageddon 3" moon mission, the successful test flight, which means that NASA is a step closer to achieving the goal of manned moon landing. The "Wall Street Journal" has previously noted that the "StarShip" progress is directly related to the U.S. return to the moon timetable, the 11th test flight successfully completed, so that this plan restored confidence.
Breakthrough 3: Human deep space exploration capabilities have been accumulated
Each "star ship" test flight is a preparation for future deep space missions.This test flight mission verifies key technologies such as re-entry and gesture control, and accumulates real flight data for future lunar supply, Mars transportation and even interstellar missions.
In a sense, the flight of the "Starcraft" is also a civilization experiment — to explore whether it can make space a daily transport.
The success of the 11th test flight means that Musk has fulfilled his repeated pledge – to get the rocket “live back” – which also laid the foundation for future deep space transportation, lunar supply and even Mars exploration.
(Reviewed by Red Journalist)