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SpaceX's Recovered Starship 40 Will Take Months To Get Back To Texas
Engadget • • technology
Key Points:
- SpaceX's Starship 40 completed a suborbital flight from Texas to the Indian Ocean in about 65 minutes, deploying 20 Starlink V3 satellites that were intentionally deorbited shortly after deployment for testing purposes.
- Unlike previous Starship upper stages, Starship 40 survived its splashdown intact, allowing engineers to study the spacecraft in detail rather than relying solely on telemetry or debris analysis.
- The recovery process involved towing the spacecraft to calmer waters near Christmas Island before transferring it onto the transport ship Forte using a ballast system to lift it onto a custom cradle.
- The return journey from the Indian Ocean to SpaceX's Starbase in Texas is expected to take several months, with an estimated arrival around October 8, likely following a route around the Cape of Good Hope.
- Data collected from heat-shield samples during reentry will inform improvements to future Starship designs, as SpaceX aims to achieve fully reusable missions with direct returns to their Texas launch facility.
