SpaceX is in the process of recovering its Starship prototype after a successful test flight. The vehicle, called Ship 40, landed in the Indian Ocean and is being towed back to shore.
Recovery Efforts
Satellite images show the recovery attempt, with a small boat deployed next to the Starship and a line attached to its nose. The towing process has begun, with two Norwegian tugboats, Normand Ranger and Skimmer Tide, assisting in the effort.
SpaceX did not expect to recover Ship 40, but the vehicle’s gentle splashdown and airtight condition made recovery possible. The company is analyzing the vehicle’s heat shield and gathering data on its performance.
Starship Development
The Starship program has seen a mix of successes and failures over the past three years. SpaceX has attempted to fly the Starship along a suborbital path, tweaking and re-imagining the design to address issues that have emerged during the flight campaign.
The company aims to build a lunar version of the Starship for NASA to use to land astronauts on the moon. The Starship is also intended to deploy Starlink internet and AI data center satellites and eventually carry humans to Mars.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
