After its recovery ships were spotted near the splashdown zone of the Super Heavy booster for the fourth Starship test flight last week, SpaceX has recovered pieces of the rocket from the ocean, according to a fresh image shared by Elon Musk. Musk and SpaceX are waiting for the FAA's approval for the fifth Starship test flight, which can take place in November at the earliest.
Starship Flight 5 will be the first test in SpaceX's campaign to catch the booster with the launch tower's catch arms. The Flight 4 booster's recovery is also the first time that SpaceX has recovered the booster post launch as part of its current tests.
Starship Flight 4 Super Heavy Booster Recovered With Center Ring Of Engines Missing Shows Image
Throughout last week, observers on X had noted that SpaceX's recovery ships had left port and were in the region where the Flight 4 booster had splashed down. During its Starship test campaign, SpaceX has progressively improved its booster recovery. The first Starship integrated flight led to the booster being destroyed in mid air, the second saw it explode during the boost back burn. This is the portion of the rocket's return profile when it fires its engines to cut its speed to enable a landing.
The third flight was progressively successful, as while the boost back burn did start, it didn't complete successfully. This led to the rocket being destroyed less than 500 meters above the ocean's surface. Consequently, Flight 4 was the first mission where the Super Heavy booster successfully splashed down in the ocean, and by the looks of it, SpaceX had not initially planned to recover the 232 feet tall rocket from the ocean floor.
Starship Flight 4 had lifted off in June, and since then, SpaceX has focused its attention on rockets for the fifth and sixth test flights. The latest bit of its pre launch preparations saw the firm stack the Flight 5 ship on the booster at the pad last week.
The image shared by Musk shows the outer ring of the Super Heavy booster's raptor engines, making it unclear whether SpaceX was able to recover the entire rocket. Starship's Raptor engines are among the most advanced in the world. As a result, they are also subject to export control laws, which prevent any photography of their interior, among other restrictions.
Soon after Flight 4, a fan theory circulating on social media suggested that following its successful soft splashdown, the Super Heavy booster had exploded after tipping over. Looking closely at the image shared by Musk, the Raptor engine nozzles are filled with dirt, and the incomplete outer ring appears to be cleanly cut to facilitate its recovery.
It's likely that SpaceX has recovered the booster to prepare itself for future Starship flights as it plans to attempt a tower catch attempt on Flight 5. Apart from the tower catch, Flight 5 will also jettison the inter stage ring at a different location, the reason for which is unclear. Additionally, while SpaceX will attempt a tower catch with the booster, it will wait for more successful soft splashdowns of the Starship second stage before returning it to the launch site.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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