Flown:
• TUE Falcon9, Starlink FL
• WED AtlasV, Starliner, Crewed FL. Docked with ISS (thruster anomalies)
• FRI Falcon9, Starlink FL (Landing #300)
• SAT Falcon9, Starlink CA
• SpaceX Starship Test Flight: Full Mission
The nail-biting for the heroic forward flap starts at ~T+96min
If you ever wondered why SpaceX went with a stainless-steel structure, this is why
We saw the flap fall apart in front of our eyes, but the flight still completed.
That was awesome.
A big step forward for Starship.
One engine fails to ignite. Starship lifts off anyway. Space X seems determined to build a people carrier rocket rugged enough to give people a better chance of survival should the worst happen.
Amazing.
Meanwhile, Starliner successfully docked. But, due to some issues, we may see a crewed Dragon capsule headed to fetch the Starliner crew from ISS.
Let’s hope that the duct tape they brought to patch those leaks is not the same flammable kind of tape they had to remove from everywhere last time. But, that needs to be said, their CEO can be proud that they saved $ 1.99 on their budget by buying cheap tape.
I’m old enough to remember Apollo 13 and how close we came to losing some more Apollo astronauts. We’ve gone from, “You’re screwed” to “You’re in no immediate danger and we’ve got options to fetch you, so, you’re not on your own” in my lifetime.
Excellent progress over the decades.