Tonight, Musk became the focus of attention in the global technology community.
At around 20:50 Beijing time on June 6, 2024, the SpaceX spacecraft conducted its fourth orbital level flight test, with the launch site still located at the Boca Chica Starship Base on the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, USA. Shortly after launch, the booster rocket successfully landed on the sea surface as planned. The starship flew for about an hour, but when it entered the atmosphere, the insulation tiles fell off and the wing surface was burned through. However, in the end, it persisted until landing on the sea surface, completing all the established tasks and goals.
Tonight's test flight is the first time in the history of the SpaceX super rocket "Starship" that it has completed all its missions. SpaceX founder Musk announced that the Starship has successfully made a soft landing on the ocean, congratulating the SpaceX team on their tremendous achievements.
In Musk's vision, the "starship" is a vehicle that will send humans to Mars, which is also the core goal of his founding SpaceX company. Thanks to its rapid development momentum, SpaceX's valuation is skyrocketing. At the end of May this year, the media reported, citing insiders, that SpaceX, a subsidiary of Musk, had begun discussing the sale of existing stocks, and the company's valuation may reach $200 billion (approximately RMB 1450 billion).
The starship completed its fourth test flight: successfully splashed down in the Indian Ocean
According to the schedule provided by SpaceX, after the starship takes off at 20:50 Beijing time, the entire test flight process will last approximately 66 minutes.
At 20:50 Beijing time, the starship complex ignited and took off.
At 20:51 Beijing time, the rocket reached its maximum aerodynamic pressure.
At 20:52 Beijing time, the starship spacecraft successfully implemented thermal separation from the "overweight" rocket, while the "overweight" rocket carried out flipping maneuvers and thrust ignition.
20:54 Beijing time: Thermal separation ring ejection.
At 20:57 Beijing time, the "overweight" rocket successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, and SpaceX employees cheered and celebrated.
At 20:58 Beijing time, the engine of the starship spacecraft successfully shut down.
At around 21:00 Beijing time, the starship is flying in Earth orbit and there is no video signal during this phase. The instrument shows that the spacecraft is in normal condition.
At 21:28 Beijing time, the signal was restored and the starship spacecraft was flying steadily. It will re-enter the atmosphere in about 10 minutes, which will be the most crucial step of this test flight.
At 21:48 Beijing time, the spacecraft has reached the thickest position in the atmosphere, and it seems that it is starting to struggle.
At 21:55 Beijing time, the spacecraft successfully landed, ignited, and flipped over, splashing down in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX employees are celebrating wildly!
Subsequently, SpaceX announced that the starship's main body was confirmed to have splashed down in the Indian Ocean, and its fourth test flight was successful.
Musk also announced the latest news at the first time: "Despite losing many tiles and damaged flaps, the starship still successfully landed on the ocean with a soft landing! Congratulations to the @ SpaceX team for achieving great success!"
Musk wrote on social media last Saturday, "The main goal of this mission is to fly further when re entering the atmosphere, preferably able to withstand the highest temperatures."
The strongest carrier rocket in history
Previously, the starship had conducted three test launches.
The first test flight in April 2023 saw the rocket explode a few minutes after taking off. In November 2023, the second test flight of the starship achieved the separation of the first stage booster and the upper level spacecraft.
In the second test flight, the rocket successfully took off and experienced "rapid unplanned disassembly" after the separation of the two stages, which was the explosion of a super heavy booster. About 15 minutes after the rocket launch, the mission control center lost contact with the starship. After the rocket took off, the first and second stages successfully separated, but then the booster and spacecraft exploded one after another.
On March 14, 2024, the starship made its third test flight, and after 2 minutes and 48 seconds of takeoff, its super heavy boosters separated from the spacecraft. The Starship successfully completed the combustion process of its engine and briefly entered Earth orbit after about 9 minutes of flight, shutting down the engine. But the starship lost contact during its re-entry into the atmosphere, and the test flight mission ended prematurely.
According to the website of Space Exploration Technology Company, the new generation of heavy carrier rocket "Starship" is the largest and most powerful carrier rocket in the world to date, with a total height of about 120 meters and a diameter of about 9 meters. The rocket consists of two parts, with a super heavy booster at the bottom, which is about 69 meters high and equipped with multiple Raptor engines; The top is a spaceship, about 50 meters high, and can be reused. Currently, NASA has invested nearly $4 billion in this project.
Pengpai News reported that the Starship, a rocket nearly 400 feet (approximately 121 meters) high, was built for NASA to transport astronauts to the moon. Its ultimate goal may be to one day send humans to Mars.
According to securities firm China, in 2023, the United States launched a total of 116 rockets, of which SpaceX accounted for 98. The former quasi national team - ULA (Joint Launch Alliance, jointly established by Boeing and Lockheed Martin) only launched three times.
According to Musk's plan, in 2024, when only Falcons (including Heavy Falcons) are available, SpaceX will launch 144 times, with orbital mass accounting for 90% of the global total, which is 10 times that of other countries combined.
Once the starship matures, SpaceX's orbital mass will account for 99% of the global total, 100 times that of other countries combined.
In terms of revenue, estimates show that SpaceX's revenue has doubled continuously in the past three years, from $2.3 billion in 2021 to $8.7 billion. In 2023, it even achieved quarterly profits for the first time, becoming an important milestone in this business model.
Data source: payloadspace
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