LazaroFilmThe earth stabilized video of the re-entry also gives a better idea of what was happening.
pageWhat an absolute shit show. Why SpaceX isn’t getting raked over the coals for not being able to even maintain control on reentry is insane. That is like the least difficult challenge they face in getting Starship to work and they failed spectacularly. Not to even mention losing tiles that high up in the atmosphere.
My bet is that, just like with Falcon 9, Starship will become expendable with first stage reuse. They’ll continue to pump out Starlink for their primary customers, governments, and Musk will eventually talk himself into securities and espionage charges. At which point sober responsible adults will take over SpaceX and drop his pet project that is costing them billions. Raptor may or may not be repurposed.
There is no part of space travel that is easy. Do not so easily dismiss the challenge. Nor demean the progress SpaceX has made to solving those challenges. The starship has no near-peer competitor.
This test got further than the prior test and nothing unexpected was lost.
I’m no fan of Musk, and I’m not a big fan of SpaceX, but credit where credit is due, they are bringing progress and leading an industry that was once very stagnant.