SpaceX test flight of Starship SN-5 [video]
I really love the out-in-the-open development process. It doesn&#x27;t cost SpaceX anything, yet they attract lots of internet media where people set up streams, discuss progress etc.
The next year should be pretty exciting as they develop things further. Starship has a number of big innovations, which are:<p>- the raptor engine. This was developed behind closed doors and is sort of finished. We won&#x27;t see much of it, but it is the most advanced rocket engine ever made and I&#x27;m not aware of any upcoming engine that can compete with it.<p>- Stainless steel construction. What we&#x27;re seeing with SN5 is the basic tank structure of the second stage. The hopper that flew last year was a neat demo, but SN5 was pressurized and the design is way closer to what the actual starship will end up having. The first stage tanks will also be a stretched version of these tanks, so that&#x27;s why you see them focus on this so much right now.<p>- belly-flop landing. To land, starship will be coming downhorizontal until a few hundred meters above ground when it&#x27;ll make itself vertical to land. SN5 won&#x27;t have the fins and cone to perform this, but SN6 will. It might be possible to see this before the end of the year - SN6 (with 3 engines) goes up 20km, goes horizontal to burn off speed, then lands vertically.<p>- belly-first re-entry. Instead of a heatshielf that withstands a high temperature, Starship will burn off speed with its belly, but do it over a longer time period of time so that while the total heat is the same, the max temperature doesn&#x27;t rise too much. The stainless steel can&#x27;t take the temperatures ablative heatshields on capsules can. Don&#x27;t know if Starhip will be able to perform this meaningfully without a booster.<p>- in-orbit refueling. Starship is big and heavy and basically can&#x27;t get anywhere unless it&#x27;s re-fueled in orbit. I don&#x27;t think this has been done before, definitely gonna need 2+ starhips and boosters to show this.<p>- superheavy booster. This might be the simplest part of the whole system - a first stage with 31 raptor engines.<p>Lots of stuff coming in the next few years.