Understand Starship's 11th Flight at a Glance: The Second-Generation Starship Takes Its Final Bow, and "Chopsticks Catching the Spaceship" Is Coming

On October 14th Beijing time, SpaceX, under the leadership of Elon Musk, conducted the 11th integrated flight test of the Starship (hereinafter referred to as the "11th flight"). Among them, the Super Heavy Booster has successfully completed all configurations and power tests during the landing burn phase and then shut down and crashed into the sea. As of the time of publication, the test mission of the spacecraft is still in progress.

The Starship combination for this flight consists of the S38 spacecraft and the B15.2 Super Heavy second - hand booster (the B15 booster that has flown eight times). It is also the last flight test of the second - generation Starship.

SpaceX has a clear positioning for the "11th flight": to conduct further tests based on the "10th flight" test, collect landing burn configuration and power data for the third - generation Starship Super Heavy Booster, conduct pressure tests on the spacecraft's heat shields, and carry out tests related to space ignition, return maneuvers, and navigation optimization for the spacecraft's return to the launch site.

The S38B15.2 Starship combination on the launch tower. Source: SpaceX

01 Core Mission: Paving the Way for the Third - Generation Starship and Preparing for the Spacecraft's Return

The B15.2 Super Heavy Booster used in the "11th flight" of the Starship is a reuse of the previously eight - flown booster. 24 out of the 33 Raptor V2 engines are reused, which is also the key point for cost reduction. The core goal of the booster is to verify the configuration of the next - generation Starship booster during the landing burn phase, especially the different power data of engine start - stop when switching between different flight phases, including:

● Ignite 13 engines at the initial stage of the landing burn.

● Switch to 5 engines during the turning phase. Simulate the engine configuration during the fine - tuning maneuver of the path to the launch tower (the second - generation Starship has a configuration of 3 engines).

● Switch to 3 central engines after the landing burn is completed and enter a complete hover state at sea level, simulating the engine configuration during the process of "catching the rocket with chopsticks". Then shut down and crash into the Gulf of Mexico (the American Bay), and no recovery is planned.

SpaceX explained that the baseline configuration of the third - generation Starship Super Heavy Booster design is 5 engines, which are used to fine - tune the booster's flight path and provide additional redundancy for engine shutdown.

Schematic diagram of the main stages of the Starship's sub - orbital flight. Source: SpaceX

The core of the verification related to the second - stage S38 spacecraft of the Starship is to prepare for its subsequent return (it has to return safely after being launched). However, it will not be recovered this time but will splash down in the Indian Ocean. The verification tasks include:

● Dynamic tilt maneuver test. That is, test the performance of the dynamic tilt maneuver and subsonic guidance algorithm before the landing burn and splashdown (at the end of re - entry) to achieve precise control of the spacecraft and avoid yaw.

● Stability and reliability test of engine ignition in space. Test the stability and reliability of reigniting a Raptor engine in the space vacuum environment (the 10th flight has been successful).

● Heat shield limit test. Remove some heat shields again, leaving some areas exposed without a spare ablative layer for heat absorption, and conduct an extreme test on the spacecraft's combustion during the re - entry phase (continuously reducing costs).

● Payload deployment test. Similar to the previous tests, test the deployment of the Starlink satellite simulator (the "10th flight" has been successful). The simulator will be in the same sub - orbital path as the spacecraft and is expected to fail after entering the atmosphere.

It is worth noting that Gerstenmaier, the vice - president of SpaceX (responsible for construction and flight reliability testing), previously said that the spacecraft for the "11th flight" is wrapped with a "crispy film" on the outer layer of the heat shields to fill the gaps between the heat shields, replacing the previous caulking materials. One purpose is to improve the heat insulation performance, and the other is to reduce the time for pasting heat shields and caulking, thereby improving the reuse efficiency.

Relevant information about the 11th flight combination of the Starship. Source: @vikranthjonna

02 The Last "Performance" of the Second - Generation Starship

So far, the Starship has been launched a total of 11 times. The first 6 launches were carried out by the first - generation Starship, and the 5 flights from the "7th flight" onwards were carried out by the second - generation Starship.

Before this flight test, SpaceX made a preview: literally, the current configuration of the Starbase Pad 1 (PAD A) launch pad - the second - generation Starship - the last launch.

According to previous statistics, the "7th flight" and the "10th flight" partially completed their tasks, the "8th flight" and the "9th flight" were completely successful, and the "11th flight" was also very smooth. The re - entry and recovery capabilities of the second - generation Starship have been significantly improved compared to the first - generation, including the verification of the heat insulation performance limit, payload deployment, and ignition of the Raptor engine in space. These are the keys to the full recovery, reuse, and commercialization of the future third - generation Starship.

With the changes in the relevant configurations of the third - generation Starship, including design, structure, and weight, it means that the Starbase Pad 1 launch pad needs to be renovated.

Meanwhile, Pad 2 (Pad B) and the L39A launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida will also be used for flight tests in the future (multiple launch sites are the key to high - frequency launches in the future).

Additionally, the increase in launch sites also requires an increase in local manufacturing plants (Starship Starfactory) and assembly workshops (Megabay). Currently, the assembly workshops in Florida and Texas are both being expanded. The lifting capacity of the assembly workshop in Florida has been significantly improved and is expected to be put into use by the end of 2026.

Before the manufacturing plant in Florida is completed, the Starship will continue to be manufactured at the plant in Boca Chica, Texas, and then transported by barge to Florida for assembly and launch.

03 The Third - Generation Starship Combination

Elon Musk revealed in March this year that the design of the third - generation Starship combination is being refined. He is confident that in 2026, it will be able to send 100 tons of payload into orbit and have full reusability, and then achieve a launch frequency of once a week within 12 months.

At the All - In Summit in September, Musk further disclosed that the third - generation Starship will undergo "huge upgrades" based on the second - generation in terms of engines, boosters, and spacecraft, including design and structure, engine performance, and mission adjustments. Its configuration is designed for a Mars landing, but the Mars mission will ultimately be carried out by the fourth - generation Starship.

The overall height of the third - generation Starship combination will exceed 124 meters. Based on new stainless - steel materials and welding techniques, while ensuring structural stability, the overall mass is expected to be reduced by 10% - 15%, reducing fuel consumption, increasing carrying capacity, and further improving the payload ratio. In addition, due to the improvement of the rocket body, the payload cabin volume will also increase by 20%.

Parameter configurations of different versions of the Starship. Source: @elonmusk

In terms of power, the engines will be upgraded from the second - generation Raptor to the third - generation, with a 10 - 15% increase in fuel efficiency. The thrust of a single engine will increase from 230 tons to 280 tons, with an effective payload of 100 tons.

In terms of design and structure, the most typical improvement of the third - generation Starship is the new grid fins on the booster for attitude control. Their size is increased by 50% and they are more robust, and the number is reduced from four to three.

In addition, the grid fins are distributed at an angle of 90° apart to reduce re - entry drag and enable flight at a larger angle of attack.

At the same time, the position of the grid fins on the booster is lower compared to this generation, to reduce the impact of the intense heat and impact force of the engine exhaust during thermal staging, alleviating the problem of grid fin melting that occurred in early flight tests, which also indirectly improves the reuse rate of the booster.

In the past, the most discussed topic about the first - and second - generation Starships was the "catching the rocket with chopsticks". In the future, there will also be a full - tower recovery method of "catching the rocket with chopsticks" and "catching the spacecraft with chopsticks" (the cost of the offshore recovery barge can be saved).

According to the progress and plans announced by SpaceX, the third - generation Starship is expected to conduct ground tests by the end of 2025. The first flight may be in the middle of 2026, depending on the completion progress of the Pad B launch tower and the mass - production progress of the third - generation Raptor engines. It will still be a sub - orbital flight. If the first flight is successful, subsequent missions will be switched to orbital missions.

According to the information published by SpaceX on its official website, it is expected to conduct a cargo test mission to the moon in 2028 and a cargo test mission to Mars in 2030, with an average price of the payload at "100 million US dollars per ton".

This article is from "Tencent Technology", author: Su Yang, editor: Zheng Kejun, published by 36Kr with authorization.