Starship Completes Fourth Test Flight: A Step Towards Mars and Beyond

On June 6, AmericaStarship completed its fourth test flight, marking a major milestone in the development of this powerful launch vehicle. The launch took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 7:50 p.m. Hanoi time.

The Starship launch system consists of two key components: the Starship spacecraft on the upper stage and the Super Heavy booster rocket. During the test flight, both the capsule and boosters landed safely after experiencing extreme temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere. The Super Heavy booster successfully completed its engine burn for the first time to land in the Gulf of Mexico about 8 minutes after launch, while the Starship capsule flew into orbit and reentered control 50 minutes later.

The heat shield of the vehicle, covered with 18,000 ultra-light hexagonal ceramic panels, protected it during reentry. Each test flight has a unique goal to enhance the development of the Starship as SpaceX continues to update its hardware and software to build a fully reusable transportation system for carrying passengers and goods to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Despite previous test flight failures, SpaceX remains dedicated to advancing the Starship for future missions to Mars. The Starship is pivotal in Elon Musk’s goal of sending humans to Mars. NASA has selected the Starship for its Artemis program to bring astronauts back to Earth’s moon as early as 2026.