SpaceX's Starship Literally Melted! But It Kept Flying To A Miraculous Landing!

[@douginorlando6260]

Lost an engine on the way up and compensated for it. Lost a different Booster engine on the way down and compensated for it Lost half a flap and compensated for it. AWESOME ENGINEERING

[@anone3842]

more likely lost parts of all 4 flaps....

[@angellestat2730]

yeah, if the design and flaw was symetrical, I bet the two rear flaps or even the 4 flaps had the same issue and still all survive.

[@danilooliveira6580]

a daily reminder of how much technology advanced. this level of automatic compensation would have been just a dream a few decades ago.

[@Jaker788]

Maybe the forward flaps, given the camera angles we had at least and one of the forward cameras presumably dying since it wasn't shown after sparks​@@anone3842

[@Transit_Biker]

The fact that they keep having hardware failures literally every single launch should be a point of concern, not of admiration.

[@grproteus]

That final 10 minutes were the best movie I've seen the past 5 years. The tension, the excitement, the realism, the effects! Rest in peace, little fin/flap/thingy, you made us all cheer in tears!

[@athelwulfgalland]

Wouldn't it be cool if we could nominate the little flap thingy for an Oscar? lol Truthfully the last thing I've watched from Hollyweird was either The Hobbit or Star Wars Ep 7, whichever was more recent. I literally wanted to get myself a drink when I saw an ad showing an image of Will Smith posing as "Popeye" for that upcoming movie. /groan

[@ItsabitToppey]

It really was. I would say "oh that's so unrealistic that would never land with at least on flap half burnt up"

[@ariochiv]

@@athelwulfgalland Lifetime achievement special Oscar

[@joemustion5783]

Leading "Star" role

[@Meauxgreen]

Amazing what a competent team with inspiring leadership can accomplish

[@donenzonen]

Seeing half that flap still work was absolutely insane.

[@kegyen]

I would love to see what compensation the other control surfaces/ thrusters were doing. It was incredible

[@mmicoski]

Reminds me of the end of the second Terminator movie "I need a vacation"

[@kurtanderson9309]

Insane, and what a success!! Look at the problems Boeing had today. I'll take Starship any day. If they would let me, I'd go up tomorrow.

[@squirrelsinjacket1804]

It bodes well for the safety of the vehicle. It can tank unexpected damage and still manage to correct itself and make a landing.

[@Ezekiel903]

yes, agree, the only thing I can't stand are always this staged cheering "workers"! But Elon likes this shows. Otherwise a amazing performance!

[@simontautorat1014]

"We lost half a control surface!" "No. We have half a control surface remaining."

[@fabianmckenna8197]

Hold my beer.........

[@MatthewDavis-hw4cq]

The control surface was twice as big as it needed to be...

[@lkrnpk]

Software: ''We need to make the belly flop maneuver'' Half burned flap: ''it's not possible'' Software: ''No, it's necessary''

[@UNSCPILOT]

@@lkrnpk Seriously though, that Software Adapted impressively even with the state it's control surfaces were in. Not to mention the engineering of the flap itself to keep working even while half od it is red hot and melting away. Meanwhile Boeing seems to have thrusters failing and helium leaking left-right-and-Center on a much smaller Capsule that is frankly sounding more and more like a Deathtrap

[@o9arceneaux]

What a raw fucking line

[@caldodge]

I suspect flight 5's main goal will be "flaps that don't start melting".

[@Edino_Chattino]

They will change the hinge mechanism for sure

[@ericpaul4575]

@@Edino_Chattino Going to need some rework. I wonder since 32 is not fully fitted if they start modifying it.

[@supersleepygrumpybear]

The Melting Flaps sounds like Elon Musk's secret underground South African punk rock band

[@worawatli8952]

I think it was the gap between the flap and the body that was the problem, the plasma and heat somehow turned around and get under the gap and out the other side, they need to redesign that part to better redirect the flow.

[@jtjames79]

During the Everyday Astronaut interview, they plan to move the actuators higher up, so they only get exposed to air flow when they extend out. Remember they already got two more prototypes on the way. In this case, the data really is the payload. It's a good thing to find out how they fail, even if it's not your final design. NASA never got this experience, and that led directly to Colombia. Always remember that SpaceX is two prototypes ahead of what they show you.

[@Forest_Fifer]

"it is time" "Was i a good flap?" "Yes, you were the best flap"

[@richardhanck972]

"Not yet though, I still have a job to do." _Landing burn and splashdown..._ "Ok... _Now_ I can go..."

[@mincwell42]

I've never had such an emotional response to a flap

[@andrewgoodall2183]

It was the bestest flap I've ever seen. I can tell people that I welled up over a flap. It was flapping glorious.

[@Noneofyourbusiness.-iw6zb]

I would put that half charred thing in the middle of my yard to watch it everyday lol.

[@QED_]

@@mincwell42 Good old flap . . .

[@bzqp2]

Please someone recover this flap and put it in the Air and Space museum. It definitely earned it.

[@ImNotPotus]

NO Put it in the Boardroom of BOEING. They need a constant reminder.

[@i-love-space390]

James Cameron is probably getting investors together as we speak.

[@volvo09]

All I could think of during that melting was the shuttle Columbia, and what the crew could not see going on outside... I thought it was done for, but the tougher material made it survive. Having video is also crazy... It all seems "fake" by how far technology has come to be able to see this in such detail.

[@Valery0p5]

​@@volvo09same, if the Shuttle was a butterfly, Starship is a Vulture

[@josephastier7421]

@@volvo09 We really got to see the advantage of stainless steel over aluminum, which would have had no chance whatsoever.

[@kaylagardiner5906]

This is where the material properties of stainless steel really shine. If Starship was made of carbon fiber or aluminum it would have been game over as soon as the plasma got through the hinge.

[@Bradley_UA]

I guess thats why its a good idea to POINT YOUR HEATSHIELD AT THE PLASMA

[@claudevieaul1465]

*Aluminium* - however... 😜

[@gregorybolin4672]

And what properties are that?

[@blikje_in_de_water]

​@gregorybolin4672 higher melting temp and stainless steel stays really strong at very very high temps. Aluminum gets weak very fast

[@buggerysauce]

@@Bradley_UA If this was done, then we would not have been able to witness the birth of SuperFlap.

[@ng1n369]

The flap really just said "It's not possible, it's necessary"

[@Peroriperora]

Haha best comment! 😂

[@boazparson3899]

What a determination all we admire!

[@TheMapman01]

Nice

[@SkandiaAUS]

"The flap has no heat shield"

[@domoredujordan]

"If something is important enough, you do it. Even if the odds are not in your favor."

[@DeadCat-42]

That was the most real life Kerbal thing I have ever seen .

[@bartolomeothesatyr]

Any landing Jeb can walk (or swim) away from is a good landing!

[@DeadCat-42]

@@bartolomeothesatyr Most of the spacecraft landed safely!

[@Kelnx]

SpaceX basically is a real life Kerbel Space Program. And it is glorious.

[@withlessAsbestos]

@@KelnxIndeed

[@odysseusrex5908]

You mean the most Kerbal real life thing you have ever seen.

[@demacherius1]

Who ever designed the flap hinge deserves a raise. Flying trough hell and still working as designed.

[@wyattnoise]

Guarantee it wasn't "chief-engineer" Elon Musk.

[@Knight766]

@@wyattnoise He must be busy running at least 5 different companies or something

[@nixie2462]

"as deshinged" XDDDDDDDDDDD

[@TotallyNoAim]

@@nixie2462 ha ha ha ha ha lol

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

I have to say that at 13:22 the glowing gas near the flap is not plasma going through the hinge, it's a convergence of shock waves heating up even more.

[@FectacularSpail]

"Gave proof through the night, that our flap was still there" *huge cheer*

[@martinborm2871]

The rocket was indeed glaring red, parts of it were bursting, and I believe I could even see some stars spangling during reentry. It was not over the 'land of the free', however, but over the middle of the Pacific. But otherwise pretty accurate and poetic 😄👍

[@thebrowns5337]

Nobody wants to lose a flap in the night.

[@fatitankeris6327]

​@@martinborm2871 Wasn't it the middle of the Indian ocean?

[@martinborm2871]

@@fatitankeris6327 You are right. Between Australia and Madagascar. That would be the Indian Ocean. 👍

[@lucemiserlohn]

"tis nothing but a flesh wound" - Starship Serial Number 29

[@MonkeyJedi99]

"I can do this all day" - Captain Starship

[@michaelmeier3445]

"t'is but a scratch!"

[@anoninunen]

"Your bloody fin's off!" *looks down at the framework of burnt slag too hot to finish welding itself into place "No it isn't."

[@Hellboy-ce9tm]

"That'll buff right out"

[@MultiPetercool]

@@michaelmeier3445Flesh wound? Your arm’s off!😂

[@laa2009]

Presenter: "It seems that we may not make it all the way down to the landing today" The flap: "I didn't hear no f*ckin bell"

[@JohnWilliams-gy5yc]

Dana White: C'mon, Flapper. You know you can do it.

[@HAGViper]

It seems that we may not make it All the way to landing today… The flap: Hold my beer.

[@claudemontezin911]

Yeah, even inorganic parts pledged unconditional support "until death do us part"

[@alb.7389]

"The Flap" by unanimous decision !!!!! 😂

[@Secretlyanothername]

And I took that personally

[@Braunix]

A Starship flight is not finished until Scott has analyzed it.

[@henkvandenbergh1301]

Scotty? 🤣🤣😂😂

[@Seafariireland]

The Supreme handle for the smooth sounding Scottie!

[@RCHomemadeHobbies]

Frrr

[@rrajcan]

I do love Scott as well.

[@mrmurdock6994]

I'm giving all she has got captain.

[@vedranb87]

18:40 nice! This is how you do software. Take notes, Boeing!

[@andresabourin2423]

I definitely do not want Boeing to take notes from SpaceX.

[@thebrowns5337]

The only note they're taking is your name.

[@vedranb87]

@@thebrowns5337 What for? A surprise job interview!?

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

​@@andresabourin2423SpaceX has yet to install software in their systems that deliberately plows their rockets into the ground...

[@jonothandoeser]

@@andresabourin2423 BOEING can't even make decent airplanes anymore. Your butthurt is showing!

[@johnforster5312]

Can we all just mention the booster landing for a minute? I absolutely thought it had lost control on descent again then, at the last minute, the clouds parted and it hovered over the water for a good few seconds before finally pitching over and splashing down. Man, I wish they had a drone out there in the Gulf to capture that shot externally!

[@PlanXV]

The drone can fly out the side box 😊

[@goldenhate6649]

To be fair, boosters aren't limited by human mortality in G-forces, those boys can eat some G's.

[@addison1024]

​@@goldenhate6649and, in this case, eating as many Gs as possible limits gravity losses

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

It's highly likely there was an observation platform of some description out there for both vehicles.

[@OldBillOverHill]

My first programmable HP25 calculator came with a moon lander program. I got so good at suicide burns that I could launch it back up. I still have that calculator but a diode in the battery charging circuit is dead. I should fix it and sell it on ebay.

[@JamVar]

I gave that thing about 10 seconds after I saw the flap begin to melt before total destruction. Never have I been so happy to be proven so utterly wrong in my life.

[@Wayoutthere]

I was sweating like crazy...

[@jeffk1482]

Same here. That thing’s an absolute UNIT.

[@Astra2]

Nobody watching the live-streams thought it would survive. One of the craziest things I've ever witnessed.

[@vicroc4]

I thought we were going to see a Columbia-style loss of control and breakup. Holy crap was I wrong.

[@jeffk1482]

@@vicroc4 That’s probably the happiest I’ve ever been to be so utterly wrong! I’ve no doubts now that in a couple more flights they’ll have this completely figured out and solved.

[@Rapiddrive1]

I have to give you kudos; having worked on the STS program and functioned as an PIO for payloads on STS 2&5, Launch, your explanations of flight dynamics are near perfect. I never had to do it in real-time. Your articulation and precise language coupled with enthusiasm offer genuine insights, better bringing the audience along to appreciate what they are seeing. I couldn’t let this moment pass without sharing my appreciation of a job well done- awesome! Bravo to all!🎉❤

[@vernepavreal7296]

I couldn’t agree more as a blind quote viewer quoteI find useful audio description very lacking on social media and Scott certainly has the gift Cheers

[@rconger24]

No one can explain starship engineering like a Scot can!

[@tonyduncan9852]

Can't argue with that.

[@cenariusbg]

I stopped watching official streams and I just wait for scot ;)

[@evanmorris1178]

I have to agree. But you put it better than I ever could. Scott-You have the best, most erudite commentary of all, and your delivery is very professional.

[@yubijutsu8821]

Left flap:"what do we say to the lord of death?" Right flap:"not today"

[@sus6788]

There is only one god, and His name is Death

[@kiaweetan500]

​@@sus6788 And even Death had the faintest smile as the flaps fought on just long enough to touch Terra once again.

[@bobbys332]

Man that footage has to be the most useful piece of video from this whole event, they can literally see the failure happening live rather than relying on telemetry or external observation to guess at what happened. Now they know exactly when and how things started coming apart and where the design needs improving.

[@GigAnonymous]

"Well, here's your problem!"

[@etbadaboum]

And there were potentially other cameras! Hopefully SpaceX will release their content later...

[@queeg6473]

and not having to guess what's happening from an animation........

[@linecraftman3907]

@@etbadaboum i think those show too much propritary information and could potentially fall under ITAR

[@etbadaboum]

@@linecraftman3907 Yeah they didn't after the previous launch. There's a limit to what they can show but still we need to appreciate what we got.

[@Dervraka]

That Starship landing was like something out of a Sci-Fi action movie, "Cap'n she's breaking apart, she canna take no more!"

[@mohdafnanazmi1674]

Nah, it more like when Obi wan Kenobi say "not to worry, we are still flying half a ship" And "another happy landing".

[@FerdinandFake]

Space captain sparrow pulling into port

[@firehawkdelta]

Star Wars: "Don't worry, she'll hold together. (You hear me ship, HOLD TOGETHER!)" Firefly: "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar." (and the buffer panel didn't come off this time!) Star Trek: "She'll fly apart, Captain!" "FLY HER APART THEN!"

[@ThomasCarstein]

The flap: "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how i soar." Edit: Firehawk beat me to it while i wrote this 😅

[@peterdrury5627]

"Push the button, Scotty!"

[@t_c5266]

I couldn't believe what I was watching. It was like a literal movie. Even the camera cleared up just in time to see the wing, half melted, still actuate for a successful flip maneuver

[@angellestat2730]

just put some people inside and this would become one of those epic scenes that we only see on fast & furious type of movies.

[@sysbofh]

Funny thing is, in a movie we would dismiss it as "completely unreal, they could do better". Life is stranger than fiction sometimes...

[@paulis7319]

@@angellestat2730 And put several cameras inside to record the chaos and panic as they're falling over after landing, and the airbags deploying to save everyone.

[@t_c5266]

@@sysbofh I've come to the rationalization for movies like that. They wouldn't make a movie if it wasn't extraordinary

[@sysbofh]

@@t_c5266 Then it wouldn't be a movie, but a documentary.

[@mirochlebovec6586]

Man this was a better emotional rollercoaster than most modern movies. This needs to get an oscar for the best documentary. I also wonder what will SpaceX do about the flaps on the prototypes that are already built. Like will they add an ablative rubber layer or sweatcooling or will they just wait for block 2 to fix them? Also you can actually see the hotstage ring at 6:05 roughly above the gridfin actuator. Anyway may the flap be with you and keep up the flype for flight 5🤣.

[@33rorynoah]

Emotional rollercoaster is righ!. I laughed, I cried, I yawned, I scratched my nuts, I lost interest, I left the room, I forgot all about it. Oh and re ablative rubbers. I think I have a box of those in my bedside table.draw.

[@gregorybolin4672]

Were u there ? Have u seen any special effects lately at the cinema?

[@enermaxstephens1051]

The award for best flap

[@sirjohniv]

I like big rockets, I cannot lie.

[@Enzoa123]

So you told us you like *BIG* rockets sir? Kinda, SUS.

[@GLUBSCHI]

Did you find this early in a playlist or something

[@Soacwiththaface]

What about B. F .R .?

[@railworksamerica]

How did you comment 15 minutes before the video is out

[@notfunny3397]

Autobutts

[@BTAxis]

Dang, already? Scott, you must have scrambled to get this out.

[@t65bx25]

Workin as hard as S29’s camera

[@iitzfizz]

@@t65bx25 and the flap...

[@ElMoonLite]

Nah, he's just not that much of a production perfectionist as the other space YTubers 🪱 😅 Good enough. Let's gooo!

[@Jackissimus]

@@ElMoonLite He makes up for it by sheer brilliance and knowledgeability.

[@awilliams1701]

Scott always covers unusual important flights same day. This qualifies.

[@Restilia_ch]

Control fin: "She'll fly apart!" Flight software: "Fly her apart then!"

[@twiff3rino28]

Star Trek VI (1991).

[@matty2timez708]

Capt Sulu. --- USS Excelsior---- Undiscovered Country...

[@WhiteOwlOnFire_XXX]

Love this comment

[@Pondimus_Maximus]

Ah, a man of culture! 🖖😀

[@meditationsoundscapes5203]

Sulu at his best

[@BCosby423]

I think the fact that it worked so well even after one of the flaps was ripped to shreds is a very good sign. It's durable.

[@cmac3530]

I wouldn't say durable, that would imply it didn't break at all. It's resilient, adaptable

[@MatthewDavis-hw4cq]

To shreds you say? How are the wife and kids?

[@skoto8219]

@@cmac3530Robust might be the word we want. Nearly the same meaning as resilient but with a stronger connotation of “being able to function even when some constituent parts fail”

[@pyotrberia9741]

I think our expectations are lowering with each flight. I am glad we have higher standards for things like nuclear reactors.

[@bosyber]

​@@pyotrberia9741there is a reason they are testing this

[@minibeefcake]

whoever wrote that landing software needs a bonus. All 4 flaps were probably failing like that and the software compensated in real time and made the soft landing possible.

[@ArchaicSeeker]

Starship's adaptive software: I'm the AI now

[@R3TR0J4N]

totally! man i wanted to see the other flaps after that

[@dsdy1205]

That would be Lars Blackmore, check him out

[@busterdafydd3096]

I wonder if its its machine learnt AI. like they created a simulated starship ran the software through lots of simulations, to adapt to different controlled environments. so the engineer would of just built very good teaching software, not the software itself.

[@zararianrock]

@@busterdafydd3096 No. AI is not needed for that and would introduce unnecessary non-determinism into their algorithm. Basically what I'm saying is that AI's tend to do very weird unexpected things sometimes and you do no want that for a time/safety critical operation.

[@capt.fuzzball8956]

As soon as I saw the flap melting I started yelling at the tv, saying “Hold on, you can do it!” And when it got to 30m, me and my roommate were cheering and rooting for a successful flip maneuver. That was the most intense moment and will forever be remembered as the Little Flap that Could.

[@wally7856]

Glad you cheered it on. Probably wouldn't have made it if you hadn't.

[@SterlingArchimedes]

You should be first to crew it then.

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

I think we all got something, like, WTF? History is written for sure.

[@TexasCat99]

@@Bluelagoonstudios how is this a historical event?

[@mrcookies409]

Watching this live online with thousands of people and everyone losing their mind on chat was an incredible experience.

[@giovannifoulmouth7205]

That flap is now a symbol of resilience.

[@Madalf71]

It would of been great to recover the flap and display it, museum etc.

[@icedanilzation]

It belongs in a museum!

[@simonleonard5431]

Resilient Flap is my new favourite band name. Not claiming the name, open to all, just if you use it, make the band resilient in an AI world.

[@mofik26]

Honestly this was the most kerbal thing ever. Some parts barely survived or maybe even fallen off but the ship still landed somehow.

[@carljohan9265]

Reminder that all 4 flaps were most likely in a similar state.

[@troybockhop1351]

Makes me think back to Columbia when it broke up. Now we see the dynamics they were dealing with. 😢 RIP

[@Mike.The.Jeweler]

that flap still operated whole way to landing, INSANE.

[@chrisberger2884]

Molten flap: I DIDN'T HEAR NO BELL!

[@DOSFS]

Literally too angry too die. LET'S GOOO!

[@svenp6504]

Amazing. There are three hinge joints on the forward flap, looks like one was completely melted away. Pretty amazing...

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

As Scott pointed out, at least one of the rear flaps was probably disintegrating too.

[@msytdc1577]

It overheard Elon saying 'No part is the best part' and said 'Bet.' @@svenp6504

[@Hebesphenomegacorona]

I think we should refer to S29 as the Black Knight Starship. That thing had at least half a forward flap burnt off and really just said: Tis but a scratch!

[@rwboa22]

All right. We'll call it a draw.

[@snakevenom4954]

That we know of. The other flaps also could've been wrecked

[@Greippi10]

That would make the conspiracy theorists go wild lol. Hidden payload, you say?

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

​@snakevenom4954 Fairly certain the ship was burning all the way down. Literally the ship was missing tons of tiles, had melted and was on fire and decided to not care about it

[@ericpaul4575]

@@snakevenom4954 I have no doubt that all 4 were the same; burnt and mangled to almost unusable.

[@Hungary_0987]

The little flap that could.

[@jeffmartin-g8r]

"Nemo fin"

[@jakequinn2968]

I suspect the other flaps could and did as well!

[@Hungary_0987]

@@jakequinn2968suspect?

[@richwaight]

😂😂😂

[@kennethdarron4852]

Ha. First and only thing I’ve ever said on twitter, and I’m already seeing it pop up in the wild elsewhere.

[@napoleondraper2744]

I've been a space nerd since the early 1980s, and I've never known someone quite as entertaining and knowledgeable as Mr. Scott Manley. Well done, mate!

[@dream.machine]

That re-entry footage is legendary. Remembered for generations.

[@LackofFaithify]

As something the US has been able to accomplish since the late 1960s (that is bringing back people, ahem, alive) but has now become a point of pride of some when they do not even accomplish that? Remember, this thing is supposed to be a people mover, and no one hypothetically on board survived that reentry. And isn't it supposed to be reusable? Why are we now going to have to pay for a 5th one for them to destroy?

[@airforcerymer15]

​@@LackofFaithifywho is we? Spacex isn't taxpayer funded bra

[@CockatooDude]

@@LackofFaithify Ye who have no faith in the engineering process. Time will hopefully prove you wrong. Just like it did with everyone who said the Falcon 9 would never work.

[@carlosguevara5154]

@@LackofFaithify its a private company dude... this is not NASA, you can go to the Starliner 4 years behind and still manages to have issues... for that we do pay!

[@mondomando3393]

​@LackofFaithify every single space program has had "failed" tests, either crewed or uncrewed. I'd rather they do their due diligence and stress test these platforms in all possible regimes before unnecessarily crewing it. I think the space shuttle program had really hammered this point home. Two crewed launches that resulted in loss of life is unacceptable, let alone one. Why rush it? NASA's budget has been cut year after year, to the point of working with and supporting various third party providers. If you have a better suggestion that doesn't involve the refunding of a government space program, I'd be happy to hear it. Do you suggest we roll the Saturn V back out of the museums? Trying to launch the payload to orbit promised by Starship with any non reusable spacecraft is prohibitively expensive, and we damn well aren't bringing the Space Shuttle back. Besides, spacex has already proven they can recover their crafts with astounding reliability. I really don't see a better option.

[@jonnyreverb]

That re-entry footage is incredible 😮

[@mkevilempire]

Seeing it live is one of the most incredible experiences in my life. Yes, plenty of spacecraft have reentered the atmosphere. Yes, I have seen videos out of the space shuttle windows of reentry. But watching live footage from a prototype, takeoff to splash down is mind blowing. I don't mind if starship doesn't succeed in its main mission, going to Mars or the moon, but it certainly gets lots of people fired up. Space Exploration Go!!!

[@imtired1696]

​@mkevilempire No no. We're paying Elon billions to land on the moon. I DO mind and it DOES matter.

[@DavidKD2050]

@@imtired1696the moon 🌙, sure, that seems reasonable. The Mars thing? Completely insane in my opinion. In no universe do people establish a viable colony there, it’s just not feasible at all, ever. Loved this amazing footage however.

[@imtired1696]

@hair2050 Crazy footage. 😅

[@squirrelsinjacket1804]

That flap deserves a medal

[@w3vjp568]

Elon: “The best part is no part.” Flap: “Ok boss, understood!” Elon: “No, wait!”

[@ImieNazwiskoOK]

And the flap patiently waited and kept operating

[@AlexTT666]

turns out, the best part was indeed no part

[@fortniteharambe]

Plasma: No part can defeat me! Flap: I am no part!

[@itsatomtech]

Yeah.. flap said: I am a Spirit

[@ontheruntonowhere]

Elon: Holy crap! It's a talking flap!

[@steveweidig5373]

That re-entry was flapping awesome

[@clevergirl4457]

I lost it when the flip and burn happened. A starship loosing tiles left and right, with a burnt off flap, returning from "orbit" pulled off something we haven't seen since SN15. Well done SpaceX teams: excitement guaranteed, excitement delivered.

[@justacomment1657]

I wouldn't exactly call that well done.... They had luck, lots of it...the thing already started losing stuff during the ascent..... Nothing what I have seen looks remotely rapid reusable and or confidence inspiring.....

[@draskuul]

Didn't just burn up a good chunk of the flap, but the flap kept moving in what seemed to be expected motions. I figured at best it would have been stuck (at worst just completely disintegrated, taking SS with it).

[@LMN3_Works]

@@justacomment1657 If it lands, it works. That's confidence.

[@michaellorentzen1672]

Agreed, I haven’t been that excited in a while, jumping up and down. What a surprise finish!

[@JD-env1]

Losing*

[@gonpomeray6845]

Ift-4 probably provided as much data as previous three flights together. This data is pure gold. Congrats @spacex

[@MetalMakesMeSMile19]

The fact they landed both booster and starship is incredible. Didn't feel very confident with the one engine out at launch usually not a good sign but was like it didn't even matter. Watching that flap melt live like that was nothing short of Incredible. Hats off to the whole SpaceX team so cool seeing them all loose their minds as stuff happens lol they deserve it!

[@kenfryer2090]

The spacex team have been ordered to cheer at anything but their handlers or it's instant sacking by their dictator in chief

[@hairtoss7975]

Watered.

[@Veriflon88]

You need to remember that one out of 33 engines is just 3%. ([this is wrong and only left here for context]: For 100% throttle you only need to overdrive every single of the other 32 engines by 0.09%)

[@illuminape7632]

its incredible, and should be a call to go back to the drawing board.

[@bazzie85]

​@@Veriflon88pretty sure you would need to add about 3 percent to every single one of the other engines to account for the loss of 1 whole engine. Not 0.09.

[@melsuarez]

Hell of a job, Scott! So much insight, including how the Control software adapted to the deteriorating conditions.

[@TheAefril]

I agree, thank you Scott for all you do for the rest of us with simpler minds.

[@QuantumHistorian]

Watching it live (via NSF) it was absolutely amazing watching the blowtorch of re-entry cutting through the fin hinge like that. I was sure it was game over at that point, that it somehow survived through that and still had (just about) enough control for a soft vertical splash down completely shocked me.

[@Mak10z]

that lil control fin is the hero of this whole launch :)

[@ericpaul4575]

@@Mak10z I think all 4 fins were in the same shape. They were all getting blasted through the crack and I think it probably burnt every one similarly. I am just amazed that the rest of the hinge and the actuator arm was enough to move it later as needed. I would love to see data on the actuator power usage as as a function of time. I have no doubt those actuators were maxed out towards the end of the flight.

[@CarlosAM1]

Fr tho I was absolutely certain we were gonna get a full starship disintegration POV when it started to burn through

[@pascalabessolo5350]

​@@ericpaul4575 Less wind resistance means less power for moving the flap. The software is the hero. It has to compensate for the lift surfaces difference between all four damaged flaps... And them there is the Starlink dishes ... What a feat...

[@ericpaul4575]

@@pascalabessolo5350 but with broken hinges the actuator needed to force the flap into position. In some of the last shots of the bunt flap you can see it mostly just going full deflection, one side to the other, as the actuator had to apply full force to get any deflection.

[@astaroth7188]

onboard camera: " You're bleeding!" Starship: "I ain't got time to bleed!"

[@anthonyjaccard3694]

SpaceX engineers: "Looks like we're starting to burn a little" Me: "A little ? You're being way too optimistic there buddy, that thing is toast. Goodbye starship, you were impressive but it looks like this is the end for you" Me (a few minutes later): "I stand corrected, you magnificent beast"

[@etbadaboum]

'Predictable!' They knew it all.

[@stevestarcke]

Nah, it'll be fine.

[@MrrVlad]

Well, being big helps - takes a while to burn up if something is not optimal.

[@CrazedSpace]

All of us to S29: I owe you an apology. I wasn't really familiar with your game.

[@LeonAust]

Seriously though it was a major failure in structural integrity.

[@laststand6420]

Note, this only took them 4 tries... That may not sound impressive, but if you have ever built anything complex, it's impressive.

[@alquinn8576]

it takes me 4 tries to plug in a usb cable

[@laststand6420]

@@alquinn8576 Especially if it is one of those stinking micro USBs lol.

[@Chuckiele]

Especially considering this is a history first, right? I don't think any upper stage landed and survived from orbital velocity, even at a much smaller size.

[@iamtherealzombie]

Unless you're on the Starship team, I don't think anyone has ever built something this complex, have they?

[@laststand6420]

@@iamtherealzombie It's probably up there in the top 10 hardest things to build in history.

[@josephn944]

At the end of the SpaceX livestream the hosts lit marshmallows with the Starship torch lighter. As it burned they continued talking then blew it out and ended the stream. It was pure class, what an incredible video and incredible technological achievement!

[@foxyplays6546]

Ngl i kinda want that Starship lighter

[@RocketrywithAnay_2013]

Same ​@@foxyplays6546

[@lukephillips5618]

​@@foxyplays6546it is sold on SpaceX's website for $175

[@kael13]

@@foxyplays6546 I've got one, it's awesome

[@leonidaspereirafilho499]

Where can I see the video

[@Pepesilvia267]

Whoever designed the software needs a raise. As a software engineer I can’t imagine how you’d program it to still maintain attitude even with compromised flaps. I’m curious how many flaps were still operational during the flop.

[@shikyokira3065]

Designing a software for spacecraft involves a lot of adaptive design... actually its similar to designing a software for many clients. Standardization is easy, adaptivity is the real deal. I have incorporated both in many programs that I have made just to minimize future expansion or last minute minor tweaks

[@MarvelousLXVII]

It reminds me of the World War II B-17 bombers coming back from missions missing huge chunks of wings and tails.

[@theondono]

If we had seen the flap do crazy maneuvering, I’d agree. It looks like a good, old PID doing it’s work

[@schrodingerscat1863]

I think they were all operational just not all in one piece. Adaptive algorithms is a challenging subject for sure, based on what happened today there is no doubt SpaceX has the best in the industry working for them.

[@BrokenLifeCycle]

One hell of a PID and one hell of a factor of safety for the surviving hinge and actuator mechanism. I guess the thing treated the loss of force from the flap as a constant perturbation and acted accordingly to realign to its setpoint. Of course, that's assuming it has enough available control range on the rest to compensate.

[@AdrianBoyko]

And the rocket’s red glare Heat tiles bursting in air Gave proof through the night That the flap was still there!

[@TuffKaya]

Note: Read the comment above with the voice of Richard Brautigan.

[@ccvcharger]

Oh say that the Starship lands Safely in the sea

[@33rorynoah]

She sat on the bed, And scratched her head. Her name was Nelly And her flaps were quite smelly (Your turn)

[@АнатолийАлеев-р7э]

Wow!! BRAVO!! Congratulations to the Starship team on their fifth successful test!🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂

[@mcbeenb]

The durability of steel over aluminum. If you watch closely at the end at the relight, you can see the edge of the flap, and almost all of its tiles are stripped off. Its astounding that flap was still intact, let alone attached, let alone functional. Just incredible.

[@CoreyKearney]

Afik it's all 304 form core to skin.

[@stevenpugsley2542]

And to think Peter Beck took a dig at SpaceX for building a stainless steel rocket instead of using carbon fiber (like their in-development Neutron)

[@kenfryer2090]

​@@stevenpugsley2542steel is heavy and changes it's characteristics drastically under heat. It's a very bad design choice. The trick here is not to let the metal heat up at all. That's the job of the heat shield which was being tested and failed spectacularly

[@demoniack81]

@@kenfryer2090 And yet it landed.

[@saumyacow4435]

@@stevenpugsley2542 Rightly so. Starship is over weight and will never deliver the payload originally claimed. And as a consequence of being too heavy, its engines are being pushed till their "busting their bolts" (lovely phrase from Beck). The other thing is going for a reusable second stage just adds complexity, risk and cost. It balloons the overall mass of the entire vehicle. Something else Peter Beck pointed out is that only a third of your launch costs are the vehicle itself. So designing a vehicle that be turned around quickly is vital to your economics. Starship may require a rethink regarding its thermal protection before it can fly reliably. SpaceX will have spent $10 billion by the end of this year on Starship development. We can clearly see it has a couple more years of development. And all that money has to be amortised.

[@jgedutis]

This was the most exciting launch I have ever witnessed. I was at the edge of my seat the entire reentry. Starship is so well built that the flap could half burn away and still work. Just incredible. The moon and Mars are one step closer.

[@d.jensen5153]

Al vs SS - it's a thing.

[@d.jensen5153]

@@shop970 I have no idea what you are talking about. I was comparing aluminum vs stainless steel. @jgedutis pointed out the flap could burn half way thru and still work.

[@janderson1036]

Pereceu um roteiro de cinema. Emocionante até o ultimo instante

[@adriang1]

While it landed successfully it’s fair to say that a disintegrating flap was not by design so it’s hard to say “so well built”. It can have flaws in its design and construction and still be resilient.

[@vintageexcellence]

Imagine if you saw a Apollo launch that had a 100% success rate 55 year ago 😮

[@RoboticTable]

SpaceX: "We've lost something..." SN29: "Not to worry, we're still flying with half a flap."

[@VaebnKenh]

"So, you're _not_ declaring an emergency? 😒"

[@DoggARithm]

People who like the prequels are 70% more likely to be in the musk cult

[@JamEngulfer]

@@DoggARithmHave you considered that people can still be invested in the advancement of spaceflight while not being a fervent admirer of Elon Musk? You don’t have to be in some kind of cult to be excited about the Starship tests.

[@ventzp2133]

​@@DoggARithm Has any other company done anything like SpaceX? Post links so I can check them out

[@mtrivelin]

It was fantastic! No movie scene was as harrowing and realistic as what we saw, ladies and gentlemen! The glass that protects the camera became blocked by ash, and was then cleaned in small sections with the collision of small debris, only to leave us in anguish, peering at what was possible to see through the little holes. And at the end of the video, the dirty, cracked and shaking glass allows us to see the flap almost falling off its hinges, but still doing its job. It culminates with pieces of dirty glass falling loose, revealing in the light of the flames, for just a few frames, the charred and deformed body, before the darkness of the night covers everything. This camera deserves an Oscar!

[@CaptApril123]

If this was a movie scene there would be a thousand aviation experts pointing out how utterly ridiculous it is. The same thousands of 'experts' that poo poo'd those two Ohio bicycle mechanics.

[@lockheedx33]

They need to recover this thing and put it in a museum as is. Don't try to restore it, I want to see that destroyed flap on it someday. And speaking of the destroyed flap, it is both amazing and horrifying to see a massive chunk literally being burned away, and it seems that the flap seems to slightly wiggle on one middle hinge. All that structural support absolutely gone and yet the flap stayed on the ship. What a legend.

[@georgehenan853]

It’s at the bottom of the ocean now. You might be able to see it in a submersible though.

@@georgehenan853 If the fuel tanks are intact it will float easily.

[@jm56585]

they said they were going to open the valves to let seawater in to intentionally sink it

[@MrMcbear]

@@jm56585Who want's to go diving!

[@fanfirdeboin9281]

Can't let outsiders get their hands on it and steal our techs again, better gone for good.

[@iTube2772]

At this point, I treat launch updates like spoilers because I want them only from you. Thanks for what you do and how you do it.

[@Muscleman8562OnCameo.]

I just ate toilet paper in a vid 💪🔥🥃💯💥🆘🔥🔥

[@Xinjiekou_新街口_Station]

"We all hoped" Nope 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Space X = X twitter = Tesla pump and dump = ENRON MUSK 😆😆😆😆

[@andrewsarchus6036]

Scott is head & shoulders the best flight analyst out there.

[@magnamic5614]

His commentary was spot on perfect. It was like watching the Superbowl of Space.

[@krabman3624]

"head & sholders"..😅..was that a Rickyism?😅😅

[@Yezpahr]

It was indeed mind blowing. Even Thunderf00t clapped when he saw the flap was responding after that ordeal, and that says a lot.

[@Espeon1134]

Indeed, but let's be fair to Thunder. His problem is not with starship. It is with Elon Musk. And right now, he is right as is the CSS, starship is still a tin can with a rocket. A big one granted. But it is still a long way off from completion, and more importantly, SpaceX needs to keep bringing in enough money to keep building these.

[@Tk3997]

@@Espeon1134 I'm gonna have to kind of say bullshit on tht though. Every launch vehicle is a 'tin can with a rocket' getting the thing into orbit is frankly VERY far along into making it a viable vehicle. The payload stuff is to be honest a smaller issue and a largely solved problem in many ways. The reusable launch vehicle itself is a much bigger and more important engineering challange for the system and the progress being made on that is obvious. So IMO he's very much underselling the degree to which the system is approaching operational status.

[@Espeon1134]

@@Tk3997 Up till test 3, there was no testing the payload, or how it would do anything. Nor has anything even been added to the rocket to prove its supposed lifting abilities. Added to this problem, there is nothing on the inside, or even designed as to what the inside will look like if you want to use crew. Where as all other rockets, what was part of the design and testing phase. So saying it is a tin can with a rocket is far more correct, than saying that about artemis, or the shuttle. Because those already have the design and set ups to carry what they were intended to carry first launch.

[@logitech4873]

Who would watch thunderfoot anyway. The guy is jaded and far too prone to injecting emotional biases into this arguments, not to mention his cringy crusade against feminism.

[@Yezpahr]

@@logitech4873 That's exactly why I said "**even** Thunderf00t clapped" and also why I said "that says a lot". Cuz he's the biggest naysayer on the planet and even he was impressed.

[@Yosser70]

The control software and hardware on this are another level! The fact the flap didn’t disintegrate is astonishing but the software readjusting to compensate, for a constantly changing control surface is beyond impressive.

[@LaggerSVK]

I wouldnt speculate so much about the adaptability of software for compensation. They have far too many things to focus on than trying to work on some edge cases and adding complexity. Missing fin is probably not a failure mode that you want to fix by software. It just could have been a very good and robust control design. Also we dont know how the damaged flap behaved. Maybe there wasnt significant change in control authority. Edit: Thinking about it more maybe they added some live vehicle parameters estimation to help them battle the uncertainities they have in the system. That way it could also battle with disintegrating vehicle - readjusting.

[@Yosser70]

@@LaggerSVK The speed it was travelling, anything missing off the control surface, or misaligned would have a big effect on stability. No way that stayed on course unless it was compensating for the loss of material off the wing. It’s not unlike the was a stability system reacts to unknown like wind, it’ll compensate for whatever is keeping it off it’s track. It obviously wouldn’t know it’s losing a fin but it would know the fin would need moving more to compensate for it’s lack of command. In fact, that’s all it’s go to work on to get down.

[@LaggerSVK]

@@Yosser70 offcourse but that is just a classic closed feedback loop control you are desribing now which is minimizing deviations in time. The hypersonic flow over flaps is very different from how an aerodynamic lift works on wings. The flaps rely more on drag and due to hypersonic nature of flight I wouldnt be so sure about the effect of hole in that flap. It looks like it was still inside their flight envelope.

[@abarratt8869]

I agree with LaggerSVK. It's just a closed loop control system doing what close loop control systems do. When designing such a thing one always has to do an analysis of the stability margin of the control loop; cut that margin too fine, your system is prone to oscillating or going badly wrong in some other way. Build enough stability margin into it and it'll inevitably, unavoidably adapt to the conditions. It is possible to "over do" stability. In this case, SpaceX thought they needed flaps size XXX to achieve adequate control stability, but that's going to have resulted in more weight, more hydraulics, more re-entry heat, harder heat shield engineering difficulties etc. They clearly had an excess of stability margin, because with half of the flaps burned off they still had control and (amazingly!) brought it to a controlled landing. Possibly with XX sized flaps, and less articulation of those flaps, they could still have had adequate stability margin and easier engineering problems to solve in the heat shielding of those flaps. I emphasise the "possibly" - it most likely wouldn't have made any significant difference to the engineering challenges. However, if their system logs show that in this flight the flaps were never driven to their articulation end stops despite the loss of surface area, then there may be opportunities to shrink these things. That might then mean they can have them more recessed into the structure (easier if they're smaller), have them only slightly sticking out into the airstream during the hottest phase of re-entry, have them protected by the main body of the vehicle for longer.

[@LaggerSVK]

@@abarratt8869 stabiliyy margin is a good term to mention regarding this control discussion but I would also mention control authority which means how much you can influence with your control surfaces and this is I think what you meant in your last part of comment. I heard that they will probably move front flaps more to back of the vehicle. I was thinking that having one set of flaps fixed (without hinge) would be most helpful to decrease complexity and fight these issue. Not sure however if this would be possible

[@SpaceflightExplained]

"I Literally Never Die" - Forward Flap, Ship 29, IFT-4

[@Vtarngpb]

“I promise I will never die.” -Gary Johnston, Team America

[@imconsequetau5275]

Just a flesh wound, I'll walk it off.

[@supersleepygrumpybear]

"Never Say Never" -James Bond's lawyer

[@BobWithHat]

Hold my beer can - Ship 29

[@____________6857]

The flap is dancing, dancing.

[@booketoiles1600]

THE SEA BROKE BEFORE THE FLAP

[@EddyKorgo]

these must be Made by Chuck

[@960456]

STARSHIP 29 STANDS!!

[@ebanfa]

Machine spirit

[@whattha_huh]

Wow SpaceX always innovating, came up with ablative flaps.

[@marc9080]

I'll will SURVIVE!!!!

[@paulr4353]

It was very emotional seeing the video feed come back online just after telemetry was lost and we thought Starship had succumbed to the intense heat. And then, when the video feed did not show the engines igniting, but Starship rotated, slowed down and "landed". Amazing! I always thought the flaps were the weak point in the design, but I am amazed that they still worked well enough to bring Starship home. Even with the rear hinge melting away, it still worked.

[@trengilly01]

And the camera clearing at the last minute to give us a clear view of poor ravaged flappy still doing his job!

[@johncherish7610]

I think that was the front hinge, and maybe that is why the had a camera focused on it as a known weak point

[@DagoChannel0]

This is the most Kerbal-landing in Spaceflight history.

[@Zer0ji]

On earth, maybe - I'd still place the upside-down JAXA moon lander first!

[@sentinel76]

@@Zer0ji Or the Genesis solar wind collection reentry where the accelerometer to deploy the chutes was installed upside-down.

[@NarwahlGaming]

_"Oh my God! F5!"_ [You cannot quicksave when you are about to crash.] 😂

[@Astrolavey]

​@@sentinel76no. If it was kerbal, there wouldn't be any parachutes.

[@fredbloggs5902]

Tim for the live feed. Scott for the post launch analysis.

[@timbit2121]

This is the way

[@realadammason]

Literally every time 👌👌👌😂

[@agitatorjr]

Tim's histrionics is are annoying. I'd rather watch the official feed than listen to his fanboying.

[@fredbloggs5902]

@@agitatorjr The official feed was only on X.

[@t65bx25]

I watch some Tim in the runup, but come launch morning I’m an NSF guy.

[@nevermindmeijustinjectedaw9988]

great breakdown speaking of breakdown: this felt like one of those robot wars episodes where more and more seems to be broken and all they're left with is improvising, figuring out how to use the wheels they are left with, maybe going backwards is faster at that point, using secondary weapons and so on. man, what a relief that it all worked out. losing an engine, a booster engine and eventually half a flap and still managing to pull this off just shows how much room they are working with, so many failsafes, so much additional safety features most of us wouldnt even understand. congratz to the to date greatest private spacefaring company!

[@thomasboomer9809]

As always, Scott is the first to provide expert analysis narrating the great video selections from this launch as he has been for others. He also provided this right away after IFT3. Bravo to Scott Manley. Your work is very much appreciated.

[@caerdwyn7467]

Credit where credit is due, that control software response to the melted control surface is some Apollo 13 shit.

[@nathanobrien2262]

I hadn't noticed this in the live event but at 6:04 in your video, I think you can see the hot staging ring being overtaken by the booster on the way back down. Awesome!

[@Mark_Bridges]

After re-watching I think you are right. Well spotted.

[@andycorneil4657]

Very cool observation. I think you're right.

[@joansparky4439]

LOL, yes. And soo stable. Just chillin' and enjoying the ride like a whale at that altitude would be doin'. LOL

[@dougtinva]

I remember noticing that during the live feed and wonder what it could possibly be... the obvious answer didn't occur to me. Good catch!

[@liquidbraino]

Thought I was seeing a UFO for a second. I had to stop and watch it again.

[@artieeffham355]

The fact that the thumbnail looks like Nakatomi Plaza exploding just makes it all cooler.

[@ShawFujikawa]

When I saw the ship maintaining its orientation perfectly in the coast phase and the plasma during initial reentry looked fairly static I was afraid we'd not see anything nearly as awesome as the last flight when it was tumbling and showing all kinds of aerodynamic forces on the craft. But then we start to see brilliant flashes and sparks further in showing the reentry in full glory, and THEN we get to see the classic spectacular SpaceX fails in action with the fin melting and getting ripped apart, AND THEN the ship makes an unbelievable landing anyway despite having at least one control surface gutted? It's something out of a space thriller movie. Man I'm so happy I caught this live.

[@PioRaschHalvorsen]

I'm pretty sure the other front flap got toasted as well; we stopped seeing footage from the left flap camera after things started getting hot, and it would have been mounted roughly where we got the big hole in the right flap

[@TheAefril]

It is a great time to be alive. Imagine the music of 'Interstellar' playing in the background.

[@michaelblacktree]

That reentry footage literally had me on the edge of my seat. Watching the starship keep flying, despite its flaps melting away, was absolutely epic!

[@TheAefril]

It is a memory that will define a stage of my life where I found an appreciation of Aeronautic Engineering and the SpaceX team. Thank you Scott Manly for crystalising this for me.

[@Rotnoc473]

When the one engine went out shortly after launch, I was worried that it would be a bad omen for the rest of the flight lmao. It turns out I wasn't entirely wrong. A good handful of things went wrong on this flight (its a test after all, and that is the point) but that's why its all the more impressive that it was such a huge success, it really shows the resilience and pure strength of the design. They lost an engine at the start, and in the landing burn, the ship was on fire and disintegrating on re-entry, yet it still pulled off one of the most complicated and difficult maneuvers in all of space flight. This has been 20 years in the making, I am so proud of the Space X team!

[@ImNotPotus]

Looks like we had our one glitch for this mission boys.

[@yurijmikhassiak7342]

@@ImNotPotus you should try writing software for drones. Self leveling was solved years ago.

[@ImNotPotus]

@@yurijmikhassiak7342 I will stick to posting poorly framed quotes from Apollo 13 more in my wheelhouse

[@D64nz]

Proud of what? Yet another failed launch. 😂 Musk promised us he would be landing gius on the moon this year. Clearly they are miles away from their goals. 😊

[@RegimentalVideos]

@@D64nz neck beard

[@MusictagJazz]

Wow, can't believe how resilient this Starship is! SpaceX continues to amaze me with each test. 🚀🌟

[@misty.gt243]

Falcon 1 succeeded on its fourth flight. Starship belly flop hops took 4 flights to succeed. And now starship has took four flights to succeed. I guess 4 is their lucky number…

[@roguekoala71]

🚀🚀

[@raifikarj6698]

so test flight number 8 for full catch and reusability figured out ?

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

"The Rule of Fours",.....

[@Legen_Terry]

What does number 4 mean in Chinese? Conversely, the number 4 is considered highly unlucky in Chinese culture, and it is often associated with death and misfortune. Here's why: Pronunciation: In Mandarin, the number 4 is pronounced as “si,” which sounds similar to the word for death, “死” (si).Sep 21, 2023 Musk has conquered death!

[@BCR81]

SN11 DEFINITELY didn’t succeed and it was the fourth flight lol

[@oldblinddarby2498]

By far the most exciting launch ever recorded. Seeing a ship break up and still stick the landing was something out of a movie. Truly great!

[@PrograError]

*interstellar music plays in background *

[@noneofyourbeeswax01]

Apollo XI would like a word...

[@festuschinedu4511]

That flap actuators are beast. They are the real OG!

[@AcidGlow]

What a view from space.

[@SoloRanger68]

14:44 “Looks like we’ve got the flaps coming apart a little” // Ground Crew😂😂

[@RenigadeWarrior1]

"What you watching?" Oh just a skyscraper filled with explosives ascending into space at supersonic speeds.

[@davisdf3064]

And then nearly half of it coming back from orbit at mach 24 with parts of it melting down through the descent while it survives like the most metal thing i've ever seen

[@augustwest9727]

Why Ill feel confident riding on starship. "Dad the wings are burning off!". "Is half the wing still there?" "Yes Dad.". "Oh, We're good.".

[@alanblyde8502]

That’s gold you win🥇

[@SilverMere20]

"Dad why aren't we slowing down Dad:💀

[@kenfryer2090]

I'm sure you'll feel the same on a jet with half wing burned off.. You'd feel confident getting on it again. You wouldnt be in Absolute terror and vow never to get on it again

[@augustwest9727]

@@kenfryer2090 maybe. But if half the wing burns off a jet, and it still lands successfully.... Maybe not...

[@SomeoneExchangeable]

​​@@kenfryer2090I'd never be on an experimental jet which was made explicitly just to test exactly the systems that they have tested. And if their test prototype survived /this/, I'd be pretty confident getting onto a production model a few tests down the line, where the wings have stopped melting. Because I know, that *if* something goes wrong and it _does_ melt, the thing will still be able to survive. Better than to test with "failure is not an option" like the space shuttle, and then have two crews croak later due to failure modes that have been normalized. Normalizing failures can still happen with SpaceX, mind you. But given their track record with Falcons I'm pretty confident - they have a better success rate on *landing* than pretty much everyone else has on *launch*.

[@livethefuture2492]

WOW, this is the most insane launch i ever witnessed! Congrats to SpaceX and the team, this was an unforgettable spectacle! Also Congratulations on getting on Trending Scott! (on Trending #6 as of writing this)

[@SilverMere20]

People watching:Oh no,the heat tiles are detaching,its gonna explode Starship:Hold my flaps

[@hycron1234]

... more like ... "Hold my molten metal flaps".. lol

[@Verrisin]

more like "hold my tiles, I don't need them right now"

[@chief1223]

I think you mean "Hold my hot staging disc", since it actually let the booster hold it for it :P

[@alexanderdrechsel6858]

S29 well deserved a place in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. And on each loss of video feed I was like: damn, but you did well, until i realized, telemetry was still sending and video was back again shortly after. It was mind blowing that this spaceship was able to soft land with all the damage taken

[@Cara.314]

Titled: 'The starship that never was. Here is a failed prototype from the start of the biggest waist of all time and money in American history'

[@sebastienroy8164]

@@Cara.314 tayeule criss de laidron, go crawl back under your rock little troll

[@markb2773]

@@Cara.314 We will put you down as a hater

[@catprog]

@@Cara.314 SLS is even more. the Las Vegas tunnel.

[@krisshnapeswanipeswani3190]

@@Cara.314 It is a test prototype. unlinke nasa spacex intentionally lets its harwate blow up. that's a different design philosophy, it is cheaper and takes less time as you don't spend so much time in a drawing board. if a NASA engine failed they would scrub the launch the tarship can launch with three engines gone

[@jblob5764]

Without question the most exciting launch i have watched from SpaceX so far

[@paulwilson8367]

This video reminds me why I continue to be a regular follower of Scott Manley. He delivers, just like SpaceX delivered yesterday. So gut wrenching of a flight! The Agony but then, The Extasy!

[@SNTZ88]

Legend says the Flap still maintains Ship's attitude to this day.

[@markb2773]

It's still working on the ocean floor.

[@davidl.howser9707]

Who knew that Space X' Starship would be as robust a design as a A-10 "Wart Hog" air plane to stay under control when much of the fuselage is missing.. Impressive !

[@Muninn_Crow]

I guess they DO still build them like they used to. ;P

[@warhamsterful]

I remember all the lost warthogs that crashed during all the 'testing'.

[@mikestirewalt5193]

That F-15 that completely lost a wing yet made it back to base was a pretty remarkable piece of failsafe design as well.

[@odysseusrex5908]

@@mikestirewalt5193 Must have had one hell of a pilot into the bargain.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

@@odysseusrex5908 Definitely! Though part of it was not knowing he had lost a wing. He said that, had he known he had lost a wing, he would have ejected. lol It was an Israeli F-15 during a training exercise where they accidentally clipped another aircraft.

[@JessCat606]

I was yelling at my screen as it KEPT ON NOT BLOWING UP all the way down!!!! Amazing!

[@Litt-g3p]

Not a fan of these companies but it will work. Maybe not mars by next week. More worried about global warming than getting half of what it takes to get to the moon.

[@DrWhom]

Imagine being on board

[@hamzahkhan8952]

lol me too. i was suprised it landed. i expected it to break up or crash into the ocean. but it was definetly on fire at the end. that prob where the light was coming from before landing burn startup.

[@Litt-g3p]

->----------_------------>

[@Datokah]

Whoever engineered those flaps did a seriously good job.

[@andersjjensen]

Whoever engineered the control mechanism did a seriously good job. Whoever engineered the heat management solution still needs to stare angrily at the screen. SpaceX's ultimate goal is for these to have a turnaround time of "precisely as long as it takes to refuel it", and I doubt replacing all the flaps fits in that time envelope.

[@Datokah]

@@andersjjensen Agreed. Have they said whether any of this had anything to do with the tiles they deliberately left off? It might be down to the slight gaps created when the flaps adjust, which would be a whole other headache for them to contend with (hard to make go away).

[@33rorynoah]

If MY flaps ever caught on fire, I'd sit in a bucket of water

[@TheJimtanker]

Truly a testament to the hard work of EVERYONE at SpaceX.

[@veganbutcherhackepeter]

Are you a bit thick? Lol. Sad fanboy.

[@kenfryer2090]

It failed the heat shield test I think.

[@TheJimtanker]

@@kenfryer2090 Iterative design process. It didn’t fail, it was a test. They learned a lot from that mission.

[@zwerko]

@@TheJimtanker Ah, right, the Silicon Valley BS talk... It wasn't a failure, it was an exercise rich in learning opportunities. Gotta love the newspeak...

[@TheJimtanker]

@@zwerko Spoken like a true Luddite.

[@AbuctingTacos]

The flap engineers need a raise

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

Musk, probably: "Why do you need safety gear? Why can't you just be more like the flap?"

Scott Manley the GOAT of rapid videos with actually insightful points

[@4RILDIGITAL]

I agree that even if Starship had failed on this attempt, the sites and data would still have been valuable. But a successful landing is impressive and gets me excited for the future.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

That flap was the real hero. It REFUSED to give up. It had a whole 3 act structure going there.

[@firehawkdelta]

The character arc was brief, but riveting. My attention was thoroughly welded to it for the entire descent. My heart melted in time with the flap's outer skin.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

@@firehawkdelta oh my

[@kenfryer2090]

In another perspective.. The flap is the villian.. It melted and almost destroyed the entire mission.

[@kazioo2]

There are not many script writers and directors who could make it more cinematic even if they wanted. Sometimes reality exceeds fiction.

[@rmerrida]

Man, I stayed up all night to see this and got to bed around 7am... And it was SO WORTH IT! 😀

[@Ghost_D4A]

Coulda just got up early no?

[@yepsure4202]

That was silly.

[@NAccHands]

These narrated videos are gold tier. Perfect explanation for everything and a soothing voice where you can hear and feel the excitement from the narrator. Thank you

[@4IN14094]

The re-entry is way too impressive, every streamer I was watching had the same reaction😮😨😱🤣