>> Starship/SpaceX
The American SpaceX corporation conducted the fourth test launch of the super-heavy Starship launch vehicle. The launch took place on June 6 from a private spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas.
The tests practiced the return to Earth of the first stage of the Super Heavy and the spacecraft itself.
During test flight SpaceX managed to gently bring down the Super Heavy, which completely extinguished the vertical speed and touched the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. During the next tests, SpaceX will try to “catch” the accelerator with the huge mechanical legs of the launch table.
During the launch, 32 of the 33 Raptor engines worked normally, during the landing of the booster – 12 out of 13 engines.
Starship reached space and an altitude of about 170 km and a speed of about 7.3 km/s. The task of going into orbit was not set, so Starship was not accelerated to the first space speed, this is a suborbital test.
During the controlled descent, the spacecraft used the dense layers of the atmosphere for braking. At an altitude of about 50 km, the Starship began to lose its protective thermoplates, and one of the front “fins” began to burn out. But the ship remained stable, cameras and rudders were working, telemetry was coming in, the ship turned around and landed.