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Starship’s Engineering by Subtraction: Belly Flop, Header Tanks, and Tower Catch Starship redefines rocket recovery through engineering by subtraction. Instead of carrying heavy landing legs and massive propellant reserves for a vertical descent, it enters the atmosphere sideways in a controlled belly flop. Its broadside maximizes aerodynamic drag, bleeding...

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Lacey

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13,533 views • 2 months ago •via X (Twitter)

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Starship’s bellyflop landing is engineering on another level. Instead of landing like a normal rocket, Starship intentionally descends sideways, using its body and four flaps to control drag, attitude, and direction through the atmosphere That maneuver slows the vehicle without wasting as much propellant. Then, at the last second, it relights its Raptor engines and snaps upright for landing. It may look like chaos but it is actually a precise fusion of aerodynamics, flight software, and propulsion, one of the boldest landing maneuvers ever built in aerospace.
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Starship’s bellyflop landing is engineering on another level. Instead of landing like a normal rocket, Starship intentionally descends sideways, using its body and four flaps to control drag, attitude, and direction through the atmosphere That maneuver slows the vehicle without wasting as much propellant. Then, at the last second, it relights its Raptor engines and snaps upright for landing. It may look like chaos but it is actually a precise fusion of aerodynamics, flight software, and propulsion, one of the boldest landing maneuvers ever built in aerospace.

SMX 🇺🇸

43,534 views • 5 months ago

SpaceX is not attempting to catch the Super Heavy Booster for Starship Flight 9 due to a strategic decision to prioritize other mission objectives and reduce risks. The booster, Booster 14-2, previously flew on Flight 7 and is set to perform a landing burn in the Gulf of America, instead of returning to the launch tower for a catch. This choice likely stems from the need to focus on resolving ongoing issues with the Starship upper stage, which has failed in the last two flights (Flights 7 and 8) due to engine-related anomalies. By opting for a simpler booster landing profile, SpaceX can concentrate on testing and refining the Block 2 Starship design, particularly its heat shield and reentry capabilities, without the added complexity of a tower catch.
7:23

SpaceX is not attempting to catch the Super Heavy Booster for Starship Flight 9 due to a strategic decision to prioritize other mission objectives and reduce risks. The booster, Booster 14-2, previously flew on Flight 7 and is set to perform a landing burn in the Gulf of America, instead of returning to the launch tower for a catch. This choice likely stems from the need to focus on resolving ongoing issues with the Starship upper stage, which has failed in the last two flights (Flights 7 and 8) due to engine-related anomalies. By opting for a simpler booster landing profile, SpaceX can concentrate on testing and refining the Block 2 Starship design, particularly its heat shield and reentry capabilities, without the added complexity of a tower catch.

Ellie in Space 🚀💫

107,588 views • 1 year ago

Why catch a rocket when you can just land it? Physics YouTuber explains the high-stakes engineering behind SpaceX’s “Mechazilla” catch system. As a rocket descends, its engines become less efficient due to air resistance, often forcing them to shut off just before touchdown; causing the vehicle to literally fall out of the sky. By ditching heavy, unreliable landing legs for a precision mid-air catch, SpaceX can save weight and increase reliability, turning a "catastrophic fall" into a perfectly timed capture. Credit: James Tagg
0:51

Why catch a rocket when you can just land it? Physics YouTuber explains the high-stakes engineering behind SpaceX’s “Mechazilla” catch system. As a rocket descends, its engines become less efficient due to air resistance, often forcing them to shut off just before touchdown; causing the vehicle to literally fall out of the sky. By ditching heavy, unreliable landing legs for a precision mid-air catch, SpaceX can save weight and increase reliability, turning a "catastrophic fall" into a perfectly timed capture. Credit: James Tagg

Cosmos Archive

49,873 views • 7 months ago

Chinese space startup, Nayuta Space released renders of wanting to belly flop the booster and land it horizontally. Let me break down why I don't think that's the best idea: 1. The booster is already designed to be structurally adequate vertically on ascent, so having the descent phase have landing loads horizontally adds a lot of extra mass and considerations. 2. The animation shows the booster flying more horizontally which is not something dihedral actuating flaps would be good at. They're good for maintaining orientation belly-ish first when they are perpendicular to wind flow, not parallel. In fact, I'll bet grid fins and using the fuselage as a lifting surface might have better cross range capabilities. 3. Although vertical landings look difficult, they're actually quite controllable, with physics similar to balancing a broomstick. Landing horizontally along a huge moment arm and several engines actually leaves little room for error. 4. Obviously landing horizontally requires additional engines that have no other use in flight, this is extra dry mass that takes away from the performance of the vehicle. Plus your main engines pull propellant through the bottom of your tanks, so if there'd have to be additional tanks or at least extra considerations to have tanks that can be used in the horizontal regime. 5. The booster doesn't experience that great of peak temperature during reentry because it's peak velocity during reentry is much lower, which is why you see rockets like Starship and Electron able to survive pencil diving back through the atmosphere without a reentry burn. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Best of luck Nayuta space, prove me wrong!
0:38

Chinese space startup, Nayuta Space released renders of wanting to belly flop the booster and land it horizontally. Let me break down why I don't think that's the best idea: 1. The booster is already designed to be structurally adequate vertically on ascent, so having the descent phase have landing loads horizontally adds a lot of extra mass and considerations. 2. The animation shows the booster flying more horizontally which is not something dihedral actuating flaps would be good at. They're good for maintaining orientation belly-ish first when they are perpendicular to wind flow, not parallel. In fact, I'll bet grid fins and using the fuselage as a lifting surface might have better cross range capabilities. 3. Although vertical landings look difficult, they're actually quite controllable, with physics similar to balancing a broomstick. Landing horizontally along a huge moment arm and several engines actually leaves little room for error. 4. Obviously landing horizontally requires additional engines that have no other use in flight, this is extra dry mass that takes away from the performance of the vehicle. Plus your main engines pull propellant through the bottom of your tanks, so if there'd have to be additional tanks or at least extra considerations to have tanks that can be used in the horizontal regime. 5. The booster doesn't experience that great of peak temperature during reentry because it's peak velocity during reentry is much lower, which is why you see rockets like Starship and Electron able to survive pencil diving back through the atmosphere without a reentry burn. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Best of luck Nayuta space, prove me wrong!

Everyday Astronaut

329,413 views • 1 year ago

BREAKING: For 10 years the world believed there was one way to reuse a rocket: land it upright on its engines, the way SpaceX does. Today China refused to copy it, and pulled off something SpaceX never managed on a first flight. It caught the rocket instead. The Long March 10B lifted off from Hainan, China this morning, and about 6 minutes later its first stage came back down toward a 25,000-ton ship at sea. It did not land. Hooks on the falling booster snagged a net of tensioned steel wires strung across the deck, the wires riding robotic rails that slid into place to meet it. No landing legs. No touchdown. A rocket plucked out of its own descent by a moving net, on the maiden flight of a brand-new vehicle. No one handed China this. SpaceX guards its rocket tech as “trade secrets”, not “patents”, precisely so it cannot be read and copied. China watched a decade of public flights and then built an entirely different machine to reach the same prize, catching instead of landing, which sheds the heavy legs and spares the fuel a soft touchdown burns to hover. And this was never about cheaper satellites, though it delivers those too, feeding the thousands of birds in China's Starlink rival. Its deeper purpose is the Moon. That booster shares its core with the rocket meant to land Chinese astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030. In the same season, America's own Moon rocket, Starship, has flown 12 times and still has not shown the single maneuver its lunar plan depends on. One flight does not dethrone SpaceX. It has landed hundreds. What ended today is not SpaceX's lead. It is Uncle Sam’s belief that it owns the only road to the Moon. The piece works out which way of coming home actually wins.
0:28

BREAKING: For 10 years the world believed there was one way to reuse a rocket: land it upright on its engines, the way SpaceX does. Today China refused to copy it, and pulled off something SpaceX never managed on a first flight. It caught the rocket instead. The Long March 10B lifted off from Hainan, China this morning, and about 6 minutes later its first stage came back down toward a 25,000-ton ship at sea. It did not land. Hooks on the falling booster snagged a net of tensioned steel wires strung across the deck, the wires riding robotic rails that slid into place to meet it. No landing legs. No touchdown. A rocket plucked out of its own descent by a moving net, on the maiden flight of a brand-new vehicle. No one handed China this. SpaceX guards its rocket tech as “trade secrets”, not “patents”, precisely so it cannot be read and copied. China watched a decade of public flights and then built an entirely different machine to reach the same prize, catching instead of landing, which sheds the heavy legs and spares the fuel a soft touchdown burns to hover. And this was never about cheaper satellites, though it delivers those too, feeding the thousands of birds in China's Starlink rival. Its deeper purpose is the Moon. That booster shares its core with the rocket meant to land Chinese astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030. In the same season, America's own Moon rocket, Starship, has flown 12 times and still has not shown the single maneuver its lunar plan depends on. One flight does not dethrone SpaceX. It has landed hundreds. What ended today is not SpaceX's lead. It is Uncle Sam’s belief that it owns the only road to the Moon. The piece works out which way of coming home actually wins.

Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡

2,634,206 views • 2 months ago

Why Japan Is Teaching Rockets to Come Home The concept of a reusable rocket is deceptively simple: instead of discarding an expensive stage into the ocean after every launch, land it and launch it again. SpaceX built its competitive edge on this very principle—and now others are mastering the same technology. Japan joined this club over the weekend. Its space agency, JAXA, conducted the first flight of the RV-X—a small experimental rocket developed in partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The flight was brief, lasting less than a minute: it rose 11 meters, shifted 16 meters laterally, and executed a soft, vertical landing. Keeping a rocket upright on a column of thrust is akin to balancing a pencil on your fingertip—except the pencil weighs tons and is powered by a flame. A split-second error is all it takes to lose that vertical stability. Engineering features play a crucial role here: an upgraded engine that has undergone 165 hot-fire tests and four shock-absorbing legs designed to cushion the impact with the ground. All of this serves as a rehearsal for a far more ambitious goal: a future reusable successor to the current expendable H3 rocket, intended to deliver payloads to orbit at a significantly lower cost. Japan is not acting alone; it is developing the RV-X in collaboration with France and Germany, while just a day earlier, China successfully recovered a first stage for the first time. The world is gradually shifting toward rockets that do not burn up after a single flight but instead return to pick up their next payload.
1:05

Why Japan Is Teaching Rockets to Come Home The concept of a reusable rocket is deceptively simple: instead of discarding an expensive stage into the ocean after every launch, land it and launch it again. SpaceX built its competitive edge on this very principle—and now others are mastering the same technology. Japan joined this club over the weekend. Its space agency, JAXA, conducted the first flight of the RV-X—a small experimental rocket developed in partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The flight was brief, lasting less than a minute: it rose 11 meters, shifted 16 meters laterally, and executed a soft, vertical landing. Keeping a rocket upright on a column of thrust is akin to balancing a pencil on your fingertip—except the pencil weighs tons and is powered by a flame. A split-second error is all it takes to lose that vertical stability. Engineering features play a crucial role here: an upgraded engine that has undergone 165 hot-fire tests and four shock-absorbing legs designed to cushion the impact with the ground. All of this serves as a rehearsal for a far more ambitious goal: a future reusable successor to the current expendable H3 rocket, intended to deliver payloads to orbit at a significantly lower cost. Japan is not acting alone; it is developing the RV-X in collaboration with France and Germany, while just a day earlier, China successfully recovered a first stage for the first time. The world is gradually shifting toward rockets that do not burn up after a single flight but instead return to pick up their next payload.

Black Hole

16,794 views • 2 months ago

Elon Musk: Our goal is to fly Starship like an aircraft. “In order to achieve full reusability, everything's got to be perfect. The engines, the structure, the avionics, the choice of propellant. You've got to go to extreme measures for mass optimization, which is why we have the tower catch the rocket. Instead of putting on landing legs, which are heavy, the rocket can simply be caught by the tower. And we haven't achieved full reusability yet, but we do expect to achieve that hopefully later this year with Starship. If you're going to go a step beyond that, which is to make it rapidly reusable such that the rocket lands, it gets caught by the tower, gets put back on the launch stand and can be flown again without any refurbishment or laborious inspection. Like an aircraft. Yeah, this is incredibly difficult. This is the first time that there's ever been a rocket where that is possible. That's what makes Starship so profound.” Source: AI Satellite presentation, SpaceX, June 8, 2026
0:52

Elon Musk: Our goal is to fly Starship like an aircraft. “In order to achieve full reusability, everything's got to be perfect. The engines, the structure, the avionics, the choice of propellant. You've got to go to extreme measures for mass optimization, which is why we have the tower catch the rocket. Instead of putting on landing legs, which are heavy, the rocket can simply be caught by the tower. And we haven't achieved full reusability yet, but we do expect to achieve that hopefully later this year with Starship. If you're going to go a step beyond that, which is to make it rapidly reusable such that the rocket lands, it gets caught by the tower, gets put back on the launch stand and can be flown again without any refurbishment or laborious inspection. Like an aircraft. Yeah, this is incredibly difficult. This is the first time that there's ever been a rocket where that is possible. That's what makes Starship so profound.” Source: AI Satellite presentation, SpaceX, June 8, 2026

ELON CLIPS

19,272 views • 3 months ago

LIST OF ALL STARSHIP FLIGHTS IN ORDER • Back on April 20, 2023, Starship Flight 1 blasted off with an explosive debut – it lifted off strong but lost control and broke apart minutes later. • November 18, 2023’s Flight 2 pulled off the first hot-staging separation successfully, sending the ship higher even though neither stage survived to the end. • On March 14, 2024, Flight 3 reached space for the first time, completed major test objectives, and proved real progress despite a rough reentry. • June 6, 2024 brought Flight 4 and the first controlled soft splashdowns for both booster and ship – reusability was starting to feel within reach. • October 13, 2024’s Flight 5 was unforgettable: they caught the returning Super Heavy booster with the tower arms on the very first try. • November 19, 2024 saw Flight 6 carry the first payload to space and nail a beautiful daylight ship splashdown in the ocean. • January 16, 2025 marked Flight 7 and the Block 2 era – another booster catch but the ship was lost to a propellant issue. • March 6, 2025 on Flight 8 delivered yet another successful tower catch despite some engine trouble on the booster. • May 27, 2025’s Flight 9 pushed the limits of booster reuse but ran into landing problems, while the ship faced its own reentry challenges. • August 26, 2025 Flight 10 shone bright with successful satellite deployment, an in-space engine relight, and a spot-on ship splashdown. • October 13, 2025’s Flight 11 wrapped up the Block 2 program on a high with excellent reentry performance and precise targeting. • May 22, 2026 brought Flight 12 with the new V3 Starship launching from Pad 2 – it deployed payloads and had the ship mostly ace its profile, though the booster had a tough ocean impact.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Clip: Nic Cruz Patane
0:45

LIST OF ALL STARSHIP FLIGHTS IN ORDER • Back on April 20, 2023, Starship Flight 1 blasted off with an explosive debut – it lifted off strong but lost control and broke apart minutes later. • November 18, 2023’s Flight 2 pulled off the first hot-staging separation successfully, sending the ship higher even though neither stage survived to the end. • On March 14, 2024, Flight 3 reached space for the first time, completed major test objectives, and proved real progress despite a rough reentry. • June 6, 2024 brought Flight 4 and the first controlled soft splashdowns for both booster and ship – reusability was starting to feel within reach. • October 13, 2024’s Flight 5 was unforgettable: they caught the returning Super Heavy booster with the tower arms on the very first try. • November 19, 2024 saw Flight 6 carry the first payload to space and nail a beautiful daylight ship splashdown in the ocean. • January 16, 2025 marked Flight 7 and the Block 2 era – another booster catch but the ship was lost to a propellant issue. • March 6, 2025 on Flight 8 delivered yet another successful tower catch despite some engine trouble on the booster. • May 27, 2025’s Flight 9 pushed the limits of booster reuse but ran into landing problems, while the ship faced its own reentry challenges. • August 26, 2025 Flight 10 shone bright with successful satellite deployment, an in-space engine relight, and a spot-on ship splashdown. • October 13, 2025’s Flight 11 wrapped up the Block 2 program on a high with excellent reentry performance and precise targeting. • May 22, 2026 brought Flight 12 with the new V3 Starship launching from Pad 2 – it deployed payloads and had the ship mostly ace its profile, though the booster had a tough ocean impact.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Clip: Nic Cruz Patane

🌋🌋 Deep₿lueCrypto 🌋🌋

51,779 views • 4 months ago

WHY THE CHOPSTICKS SYSTEM WILL LEAD US INTO A MULTI PLANETARY SPECIES SpaceX’s "chopsticks" has officially redefined how rockets return to Earth, solving a key issue with the Super Heavy booster landings. By catching the rocket mid-air, this system eliminates the need for landing legs, drastically reducing the booster’s mass and fuel consumption while increasing payload capacity. This advancement allows for quicker reuse of rockets, cutting down both maintenance time and costs. The solution is more than just an engineering feat—it marks a critical shift in space travel’s future. By perfecting rocket reusability, SpaceX is breaking down barriers to space exploration, making missions more affordable and sustainable. It brings humanity closer to frequent space travel, allowing businesses, researchers, and even individuals to explore new frontiers, with a long-term vision of life beyond Earth. Video Source: Sawyer Merritt
0:22

WHY THE CHOPSTICKS SYSTEM WILL LEAD US INTO A MULTI PLANETARY SPECIES SpaceX’s "chopsticks" has officially redefined how rockets return to Earth, solving a key issue with the Super Heavy booster landings. By catching the rocket mid-air, this system eliminates the need for landing legs, drastically reducing the booster’s mass and fuel consumption while increasing payload capacity. This advancement allows for quicker reuse of rockets, cutting down both maintenance time and costs. The solution is more than just an engineering feat—it marks a critical shift in space travel’s future. By perfecting rocket reusability, SpaceX is breaking down barriers to space exploration, making missions more affordable and sustainable. It brings humanity closer to frequent space travel, allowing businesses, researchers, and even individuals to explore new frontiers, with a long-term vision of life beyond Earth. Video Source: Sawyer Merritt

Mario Nawfal

220,849 views • 1 year ago

Super Heavy + Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket system ever built. SpaceX has developed a fully reusable two-stage vehicle that significantly exceeds all previous rockets in height, thrust, and payload capacity. The design combines extreme scale with the goal of rapid reusability, something no other launch system has achieved at this level. This architecture is intended to support much higher launch cadence and entirely new classes of missions that were previously impractical. • Height: 121 meters when stacked, taller than any rocket ever flown • Thrust: Super Heavy produces over 16.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff using 33 Raptor engines • Upper stage: Starship is powered by six Raptor engines and designed for orbital refuelling, reentry, and precise landing • Payload: Can deliver more than 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit in fully reusable configuration • Reusability: Both stages are built for multiple flights, with the booster targeted for tower catch recovery • Mission scope: Enables large satellite constellations, sustained lunar logistics, and cargo transport to Mars • Development impact: Forces the entire industry to rethink what is possible in terms of launch scale and cost This vehicle is the foundation for making humanity multiplanetary. Its success will determine how quickly large-scale space infrastructure can be built and how soon sustained operations beyond Earth become realistic.
1:05

Super Heavy + Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket system ever built. SpaceX has developed a fully reusable two-stage vehicle that significantly exceeds all previous rockets in height, thrust, and payload capacity. The design combines extreme scale with the goal of rapid reusability, something no other launch system has achieved at this level. This architecture is intended to support much higher launch cadence and entirely new classes of missions that were previously impractical. • Height: 121 meters when stacked, taller than any rocket ever flown • Thrust: Super Heavy produces over 16.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff using 33 Raptor engines • Upper stage: Starship is powered by six Raptor engines and designed for orbital refuelling, reentry, and precise landing • Payload: Can deliver more than 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit in fully reusable configuration • Reusability: Both stages are built for multiple flights, with the booster targeted for tower catch recovery • Mission scope: Enables large satellite constellations, sustained lunar logistics, and cargo transport to Mars • Development impact: Forces the entire industry to rethink what is possible in terms of launch scale and cost This vehicle is the foundation for making humanity multiplanetary. Its success will determine how quickly large-scale space infrastructure can be built and how soon sustained operations beyond Earth become realistic.

Joe Hansen

12,001 views • 2 months ago

Here is one of our experimental 3D printed Hadfield liquid rocket engines going through some thrust vector control (TVC) profiles! As we scale to our first light-lift orbital launch vehicle, Tundra, and then our medium-lift reusable launch vehicle, Titan, precise control of the rocket at every phase of flight is critical to mission success. Guiding a rocket to orbit, and eventually back to Earth, demands close coordination across every sub-team. Some of the key challenges we’re tackling: ➡️ Reliable & repeatable TVC actuation: ensuring the engine gimbal responds consistently across every test and flight ➡️ High-frequency control loops: real-time systems that keep the vehicle stable from liftoff to orbital insertion ➡️ Propellant sloshing: accounting for the movement of fluids in tanks and its effect on vehicle dynamics ➡️ Wind shear compensation: countering atmospheric disturbances during ascent ➡️ Structural bending & flex modes: managing how the vehicle’s primary structure responds to aerodynamic and thrust loads ➡️ Precision payload delivery: hitting the exact target orbit, every time Our team at NordSpace has been advancing our propulsion systems on many fronts, as we work to unveil our orbital-scale, pump-fed Hadfield and Garneau rocket engines in the near future — the engines that will carry Canada to orbit for the first time, and unlock sovereign access to space. Check out some of our rocket hardware, meet our engineers, join over 400 attendees and over 40 speakers at the Canadian Space Launch Conference, taking place this May 5th in Ottawa. National Defence Defence Research and Development Canada Canadian Space Agency NSERC / CRSNG
0:28

Here is one of our experimental 3D printed Hadfield liquid rocket engines going through some thrust vector control (TVC) profiles! As we scale to our first light-lift orbital launch vehicle, Tundra, and then our medium-lift reusable launch vehicle, Titan, precise control of the rocket at every phase of flight is critical to mission success. Guiding a rocket to orbit, and eventually back to Earth, demands close coordination across every sub-team. Some of the key challenges we’re tackling: ➡️ Reliable & repeatable TVC actuation: ensuring the engine gimbal responds consistently across every test and flight ➡️ High-frequency control loops: real-time systems that keep the vehicle stable from liftoff to orbital insertion ➡️ Propellant sloshing: accounting for the movement of fluids in tanks and its effect on vehicle dynamics ➡️ Wind shear compensation: countering atmospheric disturbances during ascent ➡️ Structural bending & flex modes: managing how the vehicle’s primary structure responds to aerodynamic and thrust loads ➡️ Precision payload delivery: hitting the exact target orbit, every time Our team at NordSpace has been advancing our propulsion systems on many fronts, as we work to unveil our orbital-scale, pump-fed Hadfield and Garneau rocket engines in the near future — the engines that will carry Canada to orbit for the first time, and unlock sovereign access to space. Check out some of our rocket hardware, meet our engineers, join over 400 attendees and over 40 speakers at the Canadian Space Launch Conference, taking place this May 5th in Ottawa. National Defence Defence Research and Development Canada Canadian Space Agency NSERC / CRSNG

NordSpace 🇨🇦

48,970 views • 7 months ago

🚨🇺🇸 SpaceX just rolled out a complete overhaul with Starship V3, the version Elon believes will actually work. Almost every major system on the vehicle has been redesigned from the ground up. Key changes debuting with V3: -Engines: Full design overhaul of the Raptor engines powering both Super Heavy and the Starship spacecraft -Fins: Alterations to the "gridfins" that guide the booster during landing -Hot-staging: Reworked hardware at the booster-ship separation point for better mid-flight protection -Fuel line: Redesigned "fuel transfer tube" enabling all 33 engines to ignite simultaneously and faster -Thermal protection: Large shrouds covering Raptor engines removed and replaced with targeted shielding -Propulsion system: Completely reimagined Starship spacecraft propulsion with larger propellant tanks -Satellite dispenser: New actuators and inverters increasing deployment speed for each satellite -Docking mechanism: New cone-shaped "docking drogues" for in-orbit Starship-to-Starship docking and propellant transfer That last piece is the most important. On-orbit refueling is the holy grail that makes deep space travel possible. Once Starships can dock and refuel each other in space, the moon becomes a weekend trip and Mars becomes a real destination. V3 is the architectural beginning of an interplanetary transit system. Source: NSF - NASASpaceflight.com SpaceX
0:36

🚨🇺🇸 SpaceX just rolled out a complete overhaul with Starship V3, the version Elon believes will actually work. Almost every major system on the vehicle has been redesigned from the ground up. Key changes debuting with V3: -Engines: Full design overhaul of the Raptor engines powering both Super Heavy and the Starship spacecraft -Fins: Alterations to the "gridfins" that guide the booster during landing -Hot-staging: Reworked hardware at the booster-ship separation point for better mid-flight protection -Fuel line: Redesigned "fuel transfer tube" enabling all 33 engines to ignite simultaneously and faster -Thermal protection: Large shrouds covering Raptor engines removed and replaced with targeted shielding -Propulsion system: Completely reimagined Starship spacecraft propulsion with larger propellant tanks -Satellite dispenser: New actuators and inverters increasing deployment speed for each satellite -Docking mechanism: New cone-shaped "docking drogues" for in-orbit Starship-to-Starship docking and propellant transfer That last piece is the most important. On-orbit refueling is the holy grail that makes deep space travel possible. Once Starships can dock and refuel each other in space, the moon becomes a weekend trip and Mars becomes a real destination. V3 is the architectural beginning of an interplanetary transit system. Source: NSF - NASASpaceflight.com SpaceX

Mario Nawfal

152,934 views • 4 months ago

Watching Starship Flight 13 yesterday made me incredibly proud to be an American. 🇺🇸 Love him or hate him, there has only been one Steve Jobs. There has only been one Henry Ford. There has only been one Thomas Edison. And there is only one Elon Musk. America has always been the place where people with impossible ideas come to build them. That’s what has made this country so special and the leader of entrepreneurship for generations. Yesterday was another reminder of that for me. SpaceX launched Starship Flight 13, successfully deployed 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, restarted a Raptor engine in space, and brought Starship back through one of its BEST reentries yet before making its softest, most controlled splashdown ever in the Indian Ocean. The ship remained intact after landing, giving SpaceX another huge amount of real-world data to improve reusability. However, the Super Heavy booster didn’t complete its planned landing bc not enough engines relit for the final burn, but that’s exactly why these are called TEST flights… every flight teaches the team something new. Starship’s landing was so controlled that it makes me confident we’re getting closer to seeing the first catch of the ship by the launch tower. Whether that’s the very next flight or one after that, the progress is what’s is impossible to ignore. This is why I love America. It’s still the country where people are willing to bet everything on ideas that most of the world says can’t be done. The rest of the world watches these launches because they know history is being written in real time right now. We don’t have to agree on everything to appreciate what we’re witnessing. Starship is humanity building the transportation system that could one day make life multiplanetary. Right now is the best time to be alive, especially an American.
0:57

Watching Starship Flight 13 yesterday made me incredibly proud to be an American. 🇺🇸 Love him or hate him, there has only been one Steve Jobs. There has only been one Henry Ford. There has only been one Thomas Edison. And there is only one Elon Musk. America has always been the place where people with impossible ideas come to build them. That’s what has made this country so special and the leader of entrepreneurship for generations. Yesterday was another reminder of that for me. SpaceX launched Starship Flight 13, successfully deployed 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, restarted a Raptor engine in space, and brought Starship back through one of its BEST reentries yet before making its softest, most controlled splashdown ever in the Indian Ocean. The ship remained intact after landing, giving SpaceX another huge amount of real-world data to improve reusability. However, the Super Heavy booster didn’t complete its planned landing bc not enough engines relit for the final burn, but that’s exactly why these are called TEST flights… every flight teaches the team something new. Starship’s landing was so controlled that it makes me confident we’re getting closer to seeing the first catch of the ship by the launch tower. Whether that’s the very next flight or one after that, the progress is what’s is impossible to ignore. This is why I love America. It’s still the country where people are willing to bet everything on ideas that most of the world says can’t be done. The rest of the world watches these launches because they know history is being written in real time right now. We don’t have to agree on everything to appreciate what we’re witnessing. Starship is humanity building the transportation system that could one day make life multiplanetary. Right now is the best time to be alive, especially an American.

Teslaconomics

88,115 views • 2 months ago

🚨🇨🇳 PENTAGON IN PANIC: CHINA FLIES HEAVY DRONE WITH 1,900-KM RANGE AND VERTICAL TAKEOFF China’s 1.5-tonne Qizhi-5 heavy tiltrotor UAV completed an autonomous flight test at the Chuzhou test base on August 1, performing vertical takeoff, hover, transition into forward flight, manoeuvring and landing without requiring a runway. 🔸 The aircraft is designed to combine helicopter-style access with fixed-wing performance. Its stated specifications include a top speed of 450 km/h, a 300 kg payload and a maximum range of 1,900 km. 🔸 Power comes from the domestically developed CS35 modular turboshaft engine, rated at 350 kW. Its modular architecture is intended to simplify maintenance and allow the engine to support multiple aircraft types. 🔸 The most important part of the test was the autonomous transition between vertical and forward flight. During this phase, lift shifts from the rotors to the wings while the aircraft’s aerodynamics, controls and power demands change rapidly. 🔸 Completing the full sequence demonstrated that the airframe, propulsion system and flight-control software can operate together through the aircraft’s most technically demanding flight mode. 🔸 The developers say the programme has mastered six major areas: overall configuration, transmission, rotor design, flight control, structural engineering and aeroacoustic noise reduction. 🔸 Qizhi-5 is being promoted for cargo transport, surveillance, emergency response and other low-altitude operations. The same runway-independent design also offers clear value for military logistics, reconnaissance and operations from dispersed sites. The Qizhi-5 can lift vertically from a confined area and then travel at aircraft speeds across distances normally associated with fixed-wing drones. That combination gives China access to locations where conventional UAVs still need a runway. Which Qizhi-5 advantage matters most: vertical takeoff, 300 kg payload, 450 km/h speed or 1,900 km range?
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🚨🇨🇳 PENTAGON IN PANIC: CHINA FLIES HEAVY DRONE WITH 1,900-KM RANGE AND VERTICAL TAKEOFF China’s 1.5-tonne Qizhi-5 heavy tiltrotor UAV completed an autonomous flight test at the Chuzhou test base on August 1, performing vertical takeoff, hover, transition into forward flight, manoeuvring and landing without requiring a runway. 🔸 The aircraft is designed to combine helicopter-style access with fixed-wing performance. Its stated specifications include a top speed of 450 km/h, a 300 kg payload and a maximum range of 1,900 km. 🔸 Power comes from the domestically developed CS35 modular turboshaft engine, rated at 350 kW. Its modular architecture is intended to simplify maintenance and allow the engine to support multiple aircraft types. 🔸 The most important part of the test was the autonomous transition between vertical and forward flight. During this phase, lift shifts from the rotors to the wings while the aircraft’s aerodynamics, controls and power demands change rapidly. 🔸 Completing the full sequence demonstrated that the airframe, propulsion system and flight-control software can operate together through the aircraft’s most technically demanding flight mode. 🔸 The developers say the programme has mastered six major areas: overall configuration, transmission, rotor design, flight control, structural engineering and aeroacoustic noise reduction. 🔸 Qizhi-5 is being promoted for cargo transport, surveillance, emergency response and other low-altitude operations. The same runway-independent design also offers clear value for military logistics, reconnaissance and operations from dispersed sites. The Qizhi-5 can lift vertically from a confined area and then travel at aircraft speeds across distances normally associated with fixed-wing drones. That combination gives China access to locations where conventional UAVs still need a runway. Which Qizhi-5 advantage matters most: vertical takeoff, 300 kg payload, 450 km/h speed or 1,900 km range?

NewRulesGeopolitics

16,903 views • 1 month ago

SpaceX Starship Flight 14 will be the first Starship into orbit, and the first to deploy operational Starlink V3 satellites. Flight 14 is going to include a lot of firsts: • First Starship flight intended to reach orbit. Flights 1–13 were deliberately suborbital. • First orbital insertion burn after stage separation. • First deployment of operational Starlink V3 satellites into the constellation • First in-space deorbit burn with a single Raptor, then a controlled reentry from orbital velocity. • First reuse of Starship heat-shield tiles (two tiles were removed from Ship 40 that was floating in the Indian ocean). These satellites that will deployed will actually be in service for SpaceX. Elon mentioned they would need approximately 1,000 V3 sats (sometime by Q2 2027), before it actually moves subscriber growth. 26/1,000! Elon also said this will be the final flight before SpaceX attempts to actually catch the ship with the tower on land, bearing in mind that everything goes well. September 22nd (hopefully) will be fun day.
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SpaceX Starship Flight 14 will be the first Starship into orbit, and the first to deploy operational Starlink V3 satellites. Flight 14 is going to include a lot of firsts: • First Starship flight intended to reach orbit. Flights 1–13 were deliberately suborbital. • First orbital insertion burn after stage separation. • First deployment of operational Starlink V3 satellites into the constellation • First in-space deorbit burn with a single Raptor, then a controlled reentry from orbital velocity. • First reuse of Starship heat-shield tiles (two tiles were removed from Ship 40 that was floating in the Indian ocean). These satellites that will deployed will actually be in service for SpaceX. Elon mentioned they would need approximately 1,000 V3 sats (sometime by Q2 2027), before it actually moves subscriber growth. 26/1,000! Elon also said this will be the final flight before SpaceX attempts to actually catch the ship with the tower on land, bearing in mind that everything goes well. September 22nd (hopefully) will be fun day.

Nic Cruz Patane

37,696 views • 11 days ago

Spoiler warning on why regulations are written in blood - the checklist debacle that caused one of Canada´s worst aircrashes was OTD, 56 years ago July 6 1970: Air Canada 621, a DC-8, crashes in Toronto (Canada), and all 109 aboard die. After a hard landing, the #4 engine and part of the wing fell. The crew was attempting a go-around when the jet exploded. The investigation pointed out issues with SOP related to the deployment of ground spoilers. More details on this accident below, which is a textbook example on “why” not to invent regarding SOP, in this case regarding lift spoilers, a device which is activated on landing to reduce lift and slow the aircraft. The crew of Air Canada 621 (Captain Hamilton and First Officer Rowland) had an informal arrangement to handle spoilers differently depending on who was flying, deviating from standard procedure. The landing flare reduces descent just before touchdown, and if spoilers are armed, they deploy automatically upon landing. Instead of arming them during the pre-landing checklist as required, the captain favored deploying them only after touchdown, while the co-pilot preferred doing so during the landing flare. Both procedures were unauthorized. During this flight, the captain was landing and asked for spoilers during the flare, which was unusual. The first officer mistakenly deployed them, instead of arming them, causing a sudden loss of lift. The aircraft hit the runway hard, damaging an engine and the wing, but managed to take off again for a go-around. However, fuel leaks ignited, leading to multiple explosions that destroyed the right wing. The aircraft went into an irrecoverable dive and impacted a field, killing all aboard instantly. As expected, the enquiry focused on crew actions. Eight recommendations were made, including redesigning the spoiler activation lever so it cannot be used during flight, strengthening the DC-8’s wings and fuel tanks, and updating Air Canada’s training and operating manuals to clearly define proper spoiler arming and deployment procedures. Video is an extract from the Disaster Breakdown excellent video on the occurrence, titled “Did This Small Mistake Kill Everyone?” (don´t forget to go see it and drop them a like and subscribe)
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Spoiler warning on why regulations are written in blood - the checklist debacle that caused one of Canada´s worst aircrashes was OTD, 56 years ago July 6 1970: Air Canada 621, a DC-8, crashes in Toronto (Canada), and all 109 aboard die. After a hard landing, the #4 engine and part of the wing fell. The crew was attempting a go-around when the jet exploded. The investigation pointed out issues with SOP related to the deployment of ground spoilers. More details on this accident below, which is a textbook example on “why” not to invent regarding SOP, in this case regarding lift spoilers, a device which is activated on landing to reduce lift and slow the aircraft. The crew of Air Canada 621 (Captain Hamilton and First Officer Rowland) had an informal arrangement to handle spoilers differently depending on who was flying, deviating from standard procedure. The landing flare reduces descent just before touchdown, and if spoilers are armed, they deploy automatically upon landing. Instead of arming them during the pre-landing checklist as required, the captain favored deploying them only after touchdown, while the co-pilot preferred doing so during the landing flare. Both procedures were unauthorized. During this flight, the captain was landing and asked for spoilers during the flare, which was unusual. The first officer mistakenly deployed them, instead of arming them, causing a sudden loss of lift. The aircraft hit the runway hard, damaging an engine and the wing, but managed to take off again for a go-around. However, fuel leaks ignited, leading to multiple explosions that destroyed the right wing. The aircraft went into an irrecoverable dive and impacted a field, killing all aboard instantly. As expected, the enquiry focused on crew actions. Eight recommendations were made, including redesigning the spoiler activation lever so it cannot be used during flight, strengthening the DC-8’s wings and fuel tanks, and updating Air Canada’s training and operating manuals to clearly define proper spoiler arming and deployment procedures. Video is an extract from the Disaster Breakdown excellent video on the occurrence, titled “Did This Small Mistake Kill Everyone?” (don´t forget to go see it and drop them a like and subscribe)

Francisco Cunha

29,127 views • 2 months ago

I often wonder about how SpaceX plans to actually pull off multiple Starship flights per day. As Elon Musk has pointed out, computer simulations have steep limits you can't just simulate a vehicle traveling at 17,000 mph and experiencing 6 Gs on a screen. The answer is a massive, relentless physical testing pipeline that turns years of administrative certification into a rapid industrial manufacturing loop. To handle this cadence without bottlenecking the actual launch pads, SpaceX isolates its testing geographically: McGregor, Texas: The primary acceptance gate. Every single Raptor engine is shipped here for full-duration firings to qualify the combustion chambers and turbopumps. Massey's Outpost: Instead of risking the main orbital pads, ships and boosters go to this dedicated site for structural testing, static fires, and destructive evaluations. Before any Starship or Super Heavy booster is ever stacked for flight, it runs a strict 4-step gauntlet: → Cryo-Proofing: The vehicle’s tanks are pressurized and filled with extreme-cold liquid nitrogen or oxygen to verify the stainless-steel welds can handle thermal shock and flight-like stress. → Spin-Primes: Engine turbopumps are spun up to full operating speed with high-pressure gas—stopping just milliseconds before ignition—to test fluid dynamics without risking pad damage. → Static Fires: The vehicle is anchored down and the engines are hot-fired to test thrust vectoring, the aft dome's structural integrity, and the pad's water deluge system. → Wet Dress Rehearsal: A completely fueled, fully simulated launch countdown right down to the final seconds before ignition. Now, SpaceX is duplicating this entire operation on the East Coast. With a massive new facility at Florida's Roberts Road and dedicated on-site liquefaction plants at LC-39A, they are laying the groundwork to support up to 44 launches a year.
0:30

I often wonder about how SpaceX plans to actually pull off multiple Starship flights per day. As Elon Musk has pointed out, computer simulations have steep limits you can't just simulate a vehicle traveling at 17,000 mph and experiencing 6 Gs on a screen. The answer is a massive, relentless physical testing pipeline that turns years of administrative certification into a rapid industrial manufacturing loop. To handle this cadence without bottlenecking the actual launch pads, SpaceX isolates its testing geographically: McGregor, Texas: The primary acceptance gate. Every single Raptor engine is shipped here for full-duration firings to qualify the combustion chambers and turbopumps. Massey's Outpost: Instead of risking the main orbital pads, ships and boosters go to this dedicated site for structural testing, static fires, and destructive evaluations. Before any Starship or Super Heavy booster is ever stacked for flight, it runs a strict 4-step gauntlet: → Cryo-Proofing: The vehicle’s tanks are pressurized and filled with extreme-cold liquid nitrogen or oxygen to verify the stainless-steel welds can handle thermal shock and flight-like stress. → Spin-Primes: Engine turbopumps are spun up to full operating speed with high-pressure gas—stopping just milliseconds before ignition—to test fluid dynamics without risking pad damage. → Static Fires: The vehicle is anchored down and the engines are hot-fired to test thrust vectoring, the aft dome's structural integrity, and the pad's water deluge system. → Wet Dress Rehearsal: A completely fueled, fully simulated launch countdown right down to the final seconds before ignition. Now, SpaceX is duplicating this entire operation on the East Coast. With a massive new facility at Florida's Roberts Road and dedicated on-site liquefaction plants at LC-39A, they are laying the groundwork to support up to 44 launches a year.

Lacey

15,686 views • 24 days ago

🚨🇷🇺 “Russia will run out of tanks in 3 days” — the West’s lie exposed Western analysts who recently claimed Russia had “three days of tanks left” are now admitting something very different. By the end of 2025, Russia has MORE ARMORED VEHICLES than it had at the start of 2022. What makes this more revealing is that these conclusions directly contradict years of claims about “running out of tanks” and an allegedly forced shift to small infantry infiltration tactics. Several key factors stand out. 🔸 Losses are being offset faster than expected Vehicle losses are compensated not only through new production, but through a well-organized recovery and repair system. Russian repair and evacuation units operate almost as a separate service branch. Damaged vehicles are often pulled off the battlefield before an area is fully taken and returned to service within weeks — sometimes within DAYS. 🔸 Territorial control changes the math When you hold the battlefield, you recover your own damaged equipment and capture enemy hardware. The opponent, by contrast, abandons and writes off theirs. This is basic WAR MATHEMATICS that was widely ignored for years. 🔸 Repair and modernization beat stockpile myths The focus on repair and upgrades has proven more effective than endless claims about depleted Soviet-era reserves. Instead of “running out,” armored fleets are being recycled, modernized, and sustained. The picture that emerges is uncomfortable for many narratives. Russia’s armored force isn’t collapsing — it’s being SUSTAINED AND REBUILT. If the tank shortage was wrong, what else was misjudged?
0:59

🚨🇷🇺 “Russia will run out of tanks in 3 days” — the West’s lie exposed Western analysts who recently claimed Russia had “three days of tanks left” are now admitting something very different. By the end of 2025, Russia has MORE ARMORED VEHICLES than it had at the start of 2022. What makes this more revealing is that these conclusions directly contradict years of claims about “running out of tanks” and an allegedly forced shift to small infantry infiltration tactics. Several key factors stand out. 🔸 Losses are being offset faster than expected Vehicle losses are compensated not only through new production, but through a well-organized recovery and repair system. Russian repair and evacuation units operate almost as a separate service branch. Damaged vehicles are often pulled off the battlefield before an area is fully taken and returned to service within weeks — sometimes within DAYS. 🔸 Territorial control changes the math When you hold the battlefield, you recover your own damaged equipment and capture enemy hardware. The opponent, by contrast, abandons and writes off theirs. This is basic WAR MATHEMATICS that was widely ignored for years. 🔸 Repair and modernization beat stockpile myths The focus on repair and upgrades has proven more effective than endless claims about depleted Soviet-era reserves. Instead of “running out,” armored fleets are being recycled, modernized, and sustained. The picture that emerges is uncomfortable for many narratives. Russia’s armored force isn’t collapsing — it’s being SUSTAINED AND REBUILT. If the tank shortage was wrong, what else was misjudged?

NewRulesGeopolitics

35,068 views • 8 months ago

NordSpace is proud to announce another major orbital launch program milestone. Alongside our ongoing orbital hardware development, we have successfully completed the high-fidelity trajectory and flight dynamics model for our Tundra orbital rocket after 2 years of intense design effort, thousands of simulations, and hundreds of physical tests. This high-fidelity model is far more than a simulation milestone or simply selecting the vehicle's capabilities. It is the cornerstone of the entire vehicle design loop, the foundation required for regulatory commercial flight approval, and the only way to confidently predict and guarantee the performance required to achieve orbit. It integrates detailed aerodynamics, structural loads, propulsion constraints, flight mechanics, guidance, navigation, and control, and much more into a single unified framework that will guide every major design decision moving forward. Crossing this milestone gives us the ability to continue to rapidly advance the engineering efforts behind our orbital launch architecture from engines and tanks, to GNC and GSE. Uniquely, we're focused on a lot more than just a light-lift vehicle. Our entire architecture is based upon selecting key technologies and design pathways that result in the most efficient progression from Tundra (500 kg to LEO, 350 kg to SSO) to Titan, our reusable medium lift vehicle (5,000 kg to LEO, 3,500 kg to SSO). Our architecture even allows for the option to extend Tundra without major modifications to a Tundra+ variant, allowing for 1,100 kg to LEO and 850 kg to SSO. It is crucial to balance the thousands of variables and parameters that go into selecting a scalable and flexible architecture which benefits from the flight heritage of decades of rocket development before us, while also ensuring the capability is globally competitive and domestically relevant to Canada. Our Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in Newfoundland and Labrador will be experiencing significant growth, investment and construction over the coming year as it prepares to host Tundra's launches. Owning and operating our own infrastructure and manufacturing facilities, end-to-end, enables the maximum level of flexibility and efficiency we need to meet Canada's timelines to develop sovereign space launch. Let's launch the north! Transport Canada National Defence Defence Research and Development Canada Canadian Space Agency
3:00

NordSpace is proud to announce another major orbital launch program milestone. Alongside our ongoing orbital hardware development, we have successfully completed the high-fidelity trajectory and flight dynamics model for our Tundra orbital rocket after 2 years of intense design effort, thousands of simulations, and hundreds of physical tests. This high-fidelity model is far more than a simulation milestone or simply selecting the vehicle's capabilities. It is the cornerstone of the entire vehicle design loop, the foundation required for regulatory commercial flight approval, and the only way to confidently predict and guarantee the performance required to achieve orbit. It integrates detailed aerodynamics, structural loads, propulsion constraints, flight mechanics, guidance, navigation, and control, and much more into a single unified framework that will guide every major design decision moving forward. Crossing this milestone gives us the ability to continue to rapidly advance the engineering efforts behind our orbital launch architecture from engines and tanks, to GNC and GSE. Uniquely, we're focused on a lot more than just a light-lift vehicle. Our entire architecture is based upon selecting key technologies and design pathways that result in the most efficient progression from Tundra (500 kg to LEO, 350 kg to SSO) to Titan, our reusable medium lift vehicle (5,000 kg to LEO, 3,500 kg to SSO). Our architecture even allows for the option to extend Tundra without major modifications to a Tundra+ variant, allowing for 1,100 kg to LEO and 850 kg to SSO. It is crucial to balance the thousands of variables and parameters that go into selecting a scalable and flexible architecture which benefits from the flight heritage of decades of rocket development before us, while also ensuring the capability is globally competitive and domestically relevant to Canada. Our Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX) in Newfoundland and Labrador will be experiencing significant growth, investment and construction over the coming year as it prepares to host Tundra's launches. Owning and operating our own infrastructure and manufacturing facilities, end-to-end, enables the maximum level of flexibility and efficiency we need to meet Canada's timelines to develop sovereign space launch. Let's launch the north! Transport Canada National Defence Defence Research and Development Canada Canadian Space Agency

NordSpace 🇨🇦

27,412 views • 9 months ago