SpaceX, Super Heavy Roketini Starship’te İlk Defa Yeniden Kullanacak

This decision by SpaceX became clear following the successful static fire test of a Super Heavy booster that previously participated in the seventh test of Starship. According to the company’s information, 29 of the rocket’s 33 engines already have flight history, demonstrating that reuse is feasible not just in theory but in practice as well.

The Super Heavy booster that will be reused is set to play a role in Starship’s ninth flight. This will mark the first time SpaceX attempts to send a booster to space for the second time during Starship tests. If this flight is completed successfully, it will validate SpaceX’s reusability philosophy in a tangible way. Furthermore, reusing a rocket with so many engines would represent another unprecedented achievement in space history.

Why is the ninth test of Starship so critical?

The upcoming test flight is not merely a reuse attempt; it will also be the third flight of Starship’s second-generation upper-stage rocket. This upper-stage rocket has not succeeded in separation during the previous two missions (Flights 7 and 8), resulting in failures. During Flight 7, engine shutdowns occurred due to vibrations in the propulsion system, while details regarding Flight 8 have yet to be disclosed. However, in both cases, the Starship upper stage disintegrated in the atmosphere and fell to the ground.

So far, the upper stage has either disintegrated during flight or made a controlled descent into the ocean. In contrast, the lower stage Super Heavy has shown, as demonstrated in recent tests, that it can now return seamlessly to the launch pad and be captured mid-air by robotic arms.

Currently, no date has been announced for Starship’s next test flight. However, the successful static fire of the Super Heavy indicates that a significant step has been achieved in the launch preparations.