SpaceX has begun data analysis of the twelfth flight of the reusable Starship rocket

Shortly after midnight on May 23 (Italian time), the reusable Starship rocket from SpaceX took off from Pad 2 at Starbase in Texas. This was the twelfth flight (Flight 12) of this experimental vehicle, which made its debut with Super Heavy Booster 19 and Ship 39, showcasing a third version rich in technical and design innovations. Not everything went as planned, but it seems that Elon Musk's company is optimistic about the continued development ahead of the operational debut expected next year.

During the flight, SpaceX collected a vast amount of data regarding Starship and its performance. As officially stated on the website, after takeoff, Super Heavy Booster 19 began its ascent powered by the new Raptor 3 engines, with one Raptor engine shutting down during this phase. This was followed by the stage separation using the hot-staging technique, with the upper stage Ship 39 igniting its six Raptor 3 engines (three for atmospheric use and three for vacuum) to continue its mission.

The issues of the twelfth flight of Starship

The first stage started the maneuver to return to the landing area in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to a technical issue, two engines exploded, affecting the ignition of the remaining engines. Super Heavy attempted to light all planned thrusters but failed to slow down its descent, crashing heavily on the ocean's surface and destroying itself.

Returning to Ship 39, one of the vacuum Raptor 3 engines (RVac) shut down prematurely, but this did not compromise the mission as a whole. The good news is that SpaceX was able to release 20 third-generation Starlink simulators and two satellites equipped with cameras. However, they could not ignite an engine in space as planned. The upper stage of Starship then reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, collecting critical data on the performance of the thermal shield and structure.

During the final phase before landing, Ship 39 executed a maneuver to understand the structural limits of the rear flaps, simulating the reentry towards the launch site, which we will see in future missions. The landing was successfully carried out with the ignition of two out of six engines.

In general, Flight 12 had its positive and negative moments. It's important to remember that these are prototypes, and their development will impact space exploration and lunar missions of the Artemis program (which could be mitigated by using a different lunar lander, such as Blue Moon MK2 from Blue Origin). Currently, it seems likely that Flight 13 will see the landing of Super Heavy Booster 20 and Ship 40, while it was initially expected that the first stage would be recovered for possible reuse. Musk stated that two successful landings will be needed before recovering an upper stage to improve the launch cadence.

Italian engineer Chiara Bernardini (propulsion engineer for Starship) stated after the conclusion of Flight 12 that "we did it. It’s hard to describe how much effort, intensity, sweat (literal when walking in the oxygen tank of Ship or in the upper section), and passion have gone into S39 from my dedicated Ship team and all the teams of the Ship and the booster and all the others. It’s always this that amazes me in a successful launch like this, and especially this: how I have the honor to witness and live alongside human companions and friends driven by their endless desire, each expressing it in the way they were given, whether it’s a thermal fluid analyst, a supply chain engineer, a cook, or a construction engineer or a technician. Starship, and humans, are made to fly."

It is interesting to note that the performance of the new Raptor 3 engines, significantly superior to previous versions, allowed Starship to leave the launch pad more quickly and improve future operations when there is an actual payload. Elon Musk stated that SpaceX aims to launch over 10,000 Starships per year (more than one every hour).

In the future, there will be the possibility to carry into space over 200 tons of payload, including over 100,000 third, fourth, and fifth-generation Starlink satellites (currently at Starlink 2 mini) dedicated to high-speed Internet connectivity and direct cellular connectivity with Starlink Mobile. Musk predicts that Starlink will support most Internet traffic, "at that point, the satellite constellation will be the Internet, and everything else will just connect to Starlink," he stated.

During the initial data review of Flight 12, there were also, among others, Jared Isaacman (NASA administrator) and Walter Isaacson, biographer of Elon Musk. Isaacson wrote, "yesterday's Starship launch was incredible, and it was inspiring to see Jared Isaacman so engaged with Bill Riley, Mark Juncosa, Musk, and the entire SpaceX team. It has given new energy to the space program."