Wow! SpaceX Starship re-enters Earth's atmosphere during 4th flight, splashes down!

Watch the plasma build up around SpaceX Starship during its atmospheric re-entry, a flap begin to disentegrate and splash down in the Indian Ocean on June 6, 2024.
Credit: SpaceX

[@etype-dad]

I learned I could hold my breath for 3 minutes when that flap started disintegrating!

[@Excelcior58]

It was very fun!

[@gupikot5272]

Scary, and beautiful at the same time

[@kstaxman2]

You and a few million people... LOL

[@MikeNapoli1989]

Same. I was at work, and my colleagues were worried for a sec lol

[@thothheartmaat2833]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2amh6Z5o92sjsk

[@hundredfireify]

One of the most amazing footage of an atmospheric reentry ever

[@Excelcior58]

Very true! 🔥

[@alasdairblack393]

It’s the first time that has been seen.

[@gupikot5272]

Indeed

[@FerociousPancake888]

One of the only. We’ve seen parts of Orion and the shuttle but they blackout for a bit during the plasma. It’s incredible to see this, in HD, live. We’ve come a long way.

[@Screeno1993]

This is the first ever full video of the ENTIRE reentry . Holy shit.

[@HomesteadDNA]

Better comeback story than.. literally any other comeback story. That little flap, basically going from "oh, well, its about to fall apart" to "We are STILL HERE and ready to flap!" Was EPIC.

[@MrNomadic76]

Kim Kardashian?😁

[@camojoe83]

*Plasma:* DIFFUSES *Flap:* STOPS GLOWING AND MELTING, NOW HALF SIZE *Flap:* "Hey boss! Still here, boss! We're still flappin, here!"

[@runningray]

I thought it was done. then it MOVED! Wait did thing just move.... YEAH, its moving at full strength.

[@OgOssman]

Wow elon cucks will say anything. Yeah the reason you say it pulled threw, is a joke right. The amount of ship that landed was not complete, you could tell just from speed of decent that it wasn't falling fast enough to still be complete, what you got was pieces falling, the computer was still reading whatever sensors were attached to the debris that was falling, it didn't over come having its wings melted off. Oh yeah and that reusabilty of the booster, you know the one that tipped over in the ocean. Got wet and is now usless....

[@NotOurRemedy]

“Flappy 2 here sir stststttilllll ready for duty sir”

[@Jadefox32]

whoever designed the flap and attachments needs a big raise

[@gasser5001]

I wouldn't say a RAISE but they're def getting a shout out at the meeting. If I was one of them, I'd be crying with joy. I always do anyway, being able to witness history gives me goosebumps.

[@SeraphArmaros]

How those actuators still worked after all that is mind-boggling.

[@Jadefox32]

@@SeraphArmaros It's a feather in the cap for Space X to say not only will Starlink work all the way through but we can lose pieces and still touch down safely. Best of all no RUDs/mishaps meaning IFT5 comes faster (So V1 30 and 31 left then on to V2)

[@Eric0_0]

​@@Jadefox32Don't forget S32

[@Excelcior58]

A raise would imply success.... the flaps failed almost entirely, only stopped short of falling off. This looks like a massive problem to solve, they aren't even close compared to the success of the other systems. Yay starship!

[@zekeaffy9647]

The little Flap that could

[@GreatMewtwo]

While I was just watching this, two main names came up for this Starship. "Nemo" and "Tis but a Flesh Wound."

[@MrMtanz]

I didn’t hear no bell!

[@derek-press]

@@GreatMewtwo I've had worse!

[@cerrudmanuel]

It just won't surrender. What about the camera????

[@GreatMewtwo]

@@cerrudmanuel It never yielded. And as you can see, it is not dead.

[@jackdiaz5616]

That is insane. I cant believe that flap held up. I wonder how well those other flaps held up..!

[@WingTzu343]

probably better. They intentionally left some areas on this side of the shit exposed and without heat tiles.

[@Qúærtzy]

​@WingTzu343 They added something to get data on temperatures. Ig

[@QUEST1C]

.... maybe ship?😂 ​@@WingTzu343

[@Garagantua]

@@WingTzu343 And they also said it's at the back end, in the "not so critical" part of the ship. Not the flap, that was critical.

[@kal9001]

@@WingTzu343 The missing tiles were on the engine skirt in 'non-operationally significant areas', not on the flaps or near the flap joints. This is said several times so please don't spread useless information. The flap joints were a suspected weak spot but simulations were inconclusive, likely the failure was a 50/50% shot but once a small failure occurs the damage spreads. The fix is likely fairly trivial to adjust the surface geometry slightly to stop a shock wave impinging, or thicken the protection a little. This test was a major win for how stable and reliable the system COULD be once they get these bits ironed out. To take that kind of damage, the systems still able to function and compensate, and still have a 'survivable' landing. Lets not miss the fact that burning was seen on the rear hinge too, so most likely all four flaps took similar damage! That is majorly impressive.

[@JGS123WRPTP]

Give those engineers a pat on the back. Holy moly.

[@user-14504SB]

Pay more attention to this air leakage problem

[@cardboardboxification]

trial and error engineers lol

[@RandomPerson-V]

​@@cardboardboxificationTrial and Error engineering is great! It built one of the best rockets of our time(if not the very best) which is Falcon 9. Now Starship going through trial and error isn't surprising since it is planning to be the most capable/sophisticated (arguably) rocket up to date.

[@mr.martyr8573]

It's fucking amazing how many people just accredit Elon for all this shit and not the actual people that designed and created it.

[@MrDICKHEAD28]

THEN GET FIRED

[@heathermcgrath22]

My husband was giggling like a little girl watching this. I came home from work and he made me watch it with him. It was pretty but the thing that I found interesting was he explained how they keep the live signal from the ship. Very cool. Go SpaceX!

[@ChargersCity]

🙏🙏Blessings forever GOD loves y'all too forever tell everyone you know and don't know. Jesus loves y'all too forever. Teach everyone how to see and enjoy their blessings too forever

[@Jukelikesgames]

Give him suc

[@Jukelikesgames]

Give him suk

[@carlbee1000]

Why not say giggling like a little boy

[@Jesus_Christ_loves_you_alot]

@@ChargersCityamen

[@agasttyadixit09]

The indomitable spirit of the front flap

[@thepoynt]

When I saw that red hot glow on the fin and then it starting to melt through, I was like "well, made it farther than last time, success!". Then it just kept going and kept going and my mind was absolutely blown when it flipped and "landed" successfully! What a feat overall, and every engineer involved in making those forward flaps deserves a raise, holy cow.

[@jacobmartin1100]

I never thought I'd see the day where there'd be live footage of plasma from reentry almost entirely uninterrupted. It's constant glow is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life

[@kstaxman2]

We've seen some of the greatest engineers in the world at work.

[@tvanced8583]

It's looks surprisingly peaceful in a way for such a violent experience.

[@gs1100ed]

Footage?

[@fluffywarhampster]

the fact that the ship sustained as much damage as it did and still managed to make it through reentry with full attitude control and than successfully splash down is a testament to the fact that starship will work. SpaceX has once again performed the impossible and propelled humanity's future into the stars.

[@Spaceopticsguy2010]

It will get a little better with each flight. That's the true genius of this, each flight pushes the design closer to a reliable operational spaceship.

[@fluffywarhampster]

@@Spaceopticsguy2010 100% SpaceX has consistently outperformed all of their piers by simply being willing to go big and fail hard. everyone though they were crazy when they said they were going to land boosters on a boat in the ocean....they called them stupid after they kept crashing....than they pulled it off. now the entire industry is miles behind them and thank to those past risks spacex has been able to be more profitable than everyone else in the industry dispite dismal funding by comparison, but they've also been able to reinvest those proceeds into even more advanced projects like starship and have the massvie budget to fail a lot and fail big. I'm even more confident now that starship will carry people to mars in my lifetime. that it will land people on the moon. that the insane dream Elon sold all of us about humanity becoming a multi planetary species is actually something that could happen in my lifetime. It really is an incredible time to be alive. every time a new and insane challenge presents itself human inginutiy overcomes it in spectacular fashion.

[@fluffywarhampster]

@@Spaceopticsguy2010 absolutely, starship shows more and more promise ever time it takes flight.

[@rdbchase]

"successfully splash down" -- in terms of SpaceX' very limited goals for this mission it might be thought successful, but we don't know how hard either Starship or its booster hit the water and the ocean is not where a fully reusable rocket needs to end up. We still have no evidence that the booster can land intact and catching Starship midair promises to be problematic. Don't you suppose that if SpaceX had any confidence that it could land IFT-4's booster or catch its Starship that they would have attempted to? The emergence of a major new problem with the thermal protection system as directly revealed on video showing a winglet nearly being sheared off the spacecraft by plasma during reentry is the opposite of evidence of success, but fanboys have no point of contact with reality.

[@rdbchase]

@@Spaceopticsguy2010 There is the fanboys' catechism once again: "day by day, in every way, Starship is getting better and better" -- never mind that it almost lost control surfaces due to a failure of the thermal protection system that let plasma nearly shear them off during reentry.

[@lanesaarloos281]

Hearing that genuine enthusiasm from the SpaceX team...wish I was a bit younger and apply for a job there. Fantastic team indeed.

[@PeterJCalkins]

Saw this launch in person for the first time! It was insane!!!!!

[@MarijuanaCanada]

Worth flying out for the next one?

[@panaderofilms]

Meh...

[@rdbchase]

It's probably best to think of it as a large firework -- impressive!

[@invertedjoy9731]

The Heavy tank of spaceflight. These engineers are on another level.

[@GreatMewtwo]

Someone called it the A-10 during a livestream. Now I want a space warthog.

[@mattfromwiisports4910]

That flap is like every ww2 tank and plane that comes back with 300 bullet holes like “ no big deal “.

[@radiofreemongoliaofficial]

Built SpaceX tough lol

[@gupikot5272]

Like that b-17 that a bf-109 crashed into

[@ReiseLukas]

I should hope space ships get that durable in the future. We're never settling to other planets if we make them like NASA or Boeing

[@alexv3357]

Or that one Israeli F-15 that got its wing shot off and came back to land like it was no big deal

[@cardboardboxification]

but the tanks and planes didn't look like that from bad engineering

[@sheldonschultz4681]

As a science teacher, I found those camera views were mind-blowing. So many times, we have heard that there was no feed as a rocket came through the earth's atmosphere for all that time of silence. Yet here we saw it all. Congratulations to the camera team and those who worked on the feed. I have never seen what I saw today and never expected to see it. Just wow!

[@lvsluggo007]

I think the reason the video carried by starlink works is the fact that the signal to/from the camera is aimed ABOVE the ship, to one or more satellites in a higher orbit. Previously any video was being recieved by a ground station.

[@averiWonBTW]

@@lvsluggo007 not to mention that starship is so big that it leaves a hole in the plasma field that communications can go through

[@seantaggart7382]

​@@averiWonBTW indeed This could allow REAL TIME COMMUNICATIONS DURING REENTRY!

[@Cosmic_Solace]

Its because of all the starlink satellites as well.

[@FerociousPancake888]

This was the most insane live spaceflight footage I’ve ever seen by so far. Was so happy to watch it live.

[@adamlury6443]

This the most amazing reentry footage ever i thought the last test was amazing but the light show here with the flap coming apart was awsome

[@radioactivet-rex286]

The flap: Tis but a scratch

[@TheMarpalm]

Your arms off!

[@RecklessG1]

@@TheMarpalm It's only a flesh wound!

[@jason4663]

I wish I had thought of that. Lol

[@derek-press]

@@TheMarpalm Ive had worse

[@mitchellfolbe8729]

Have at you!

[@knytrydr73]

As it's coming down, I can hear Mr. Scott in my head saying, "She canna take much more of this!"

[@Hobbie375]

Give it all she’s got Scotty!

[@MrNomadic76]

At 9:45 you can see the lower trailing edge of the flap starting to bow out slightly and I think before this point there were a number of tiles on the lower inside edge had broken away. As time goes on you see flames coming from that bowed out section so there's obviously a ingress of heat into the interior structure that burns from the inside out close to the hinge. How that thing held on is a miracle but just before splash down it does appear that the flap as it extends fully out is oscillating as if the back part of the hinge detached and is only held on by the front. Crazy engineering.

[@moonasha]

i believe it is designed to be load bearing for the entire vehicle, it's how the launch tower picks it up, with the flaps, so it isn't too surprising that it was able to still operate with just the top part still attached. I love how after all it did to make the vehicle "go home", it finally breaks off at the very end when they tip over into the water, lol. Little guy held on to the very very end.

[@seantaggart7382]

​@@moonasha the dude said "IM DOING MY PART!" it gives me Like some sort of anime vibes

[@BrandonMeyer1641]

This mission was almost a 100% success. Both ship and booster made it to the ocean almost 100% intact.

[@Wizard_Boots]

Maybe 80%

[@ericliume]

This was great progress, but far from 100% success.

[@ericliume]

@@Wizard_Boots If we are talking about the real goal of landing on Mars with people, I would say this was

[@kousvetkousvet4158]

​@@ericliumeMan, the goal here wasn't to go to Mars, as I'm sure you'll know, so 100% success here means something pretty close to what actually has happened

[@Wizard_Boots]

@@ericliume yes that's true

[@2love437]

Well done Space X. You finally did it. Congratulations to each and every member as well as each and every one putting it all together.. Love your work. Major leap for man kind.

[@toddpeterson5904]

More thrilling than the biggest hollywood film this year

[@DebraJean196]

This is the third freaking time I’ve watched this and I’m still sitting here gobsmacked with tears in my eyes!!!!! I can’t believe that flap held on, let alone functioned, until the very end! Both Ship and Super Heavy performed their expected functions despite problems!!! 🎉🎉🎉 WELL DONE SPACEX 🎉🎉🎉

[@ChargersCity]

🙏🙏Blessings forever GOD loves y'all too forever tell everyone you know and don't know. Jesus loves y'all too forever. Teach everyone how to see and enjoy their blessings too forever

[@viperswhip]

I might actually pee myself if they catch the booster from launch 5 with the chopsticks.

[@RobertVeal-gb9lr]

Amazing. Watching the heat move through the structure of that flap, much of it disintegrating, and then what's left of the flap still working as the ship makes a successful splashdown. Fantastic stuff.

[@ohnen818]

Other flaps:"You ok over there Bro?!" I GOT THIS!

[@GregInTokyo]

The burn-through gave me flashbacks to what Columbia would have gone through during re-entry. The fact that Starship made it all the way back to landing burn even with that amount of damage is testament to how good this design is. Fix those gaps and you have a really safe ship.

[@Schemen123]

exactly.. looks like the assumption that stainless steel is better suited for burn through than aluminium was kind of right.

[@dishmanw]

That's the one thing that I've always wondered about. Those flaps have to move a lot to maintain control, and they leave gaps in the armor for heat to get through. How do they close those gaps without making the craft too heavy.

[@Garagantua]

Iirc on columbia, the burn through started way earlier, because the insulation was missing from the (orbital) start. Still great to the the flap that FLAPS. Till the very end.

[@artiek1177]

I was thinking about Columbia is that burnthrough started.

[@exodus3252]

Columbia started re-entry with a compromised wing, so burn through would have started immediately. The comparison to Starship here isn't totally apples to apples.

[@andyevangel7138]

Amazing! Congrats to everone at SpaceX

[@R3TR0JVN]

You had no idea how my heart stop everytime that flap show sign of movement on little crannies of the cracked lens, i had my hands on disbelief when it performed the flip maneuver.

[@wizamaulana6362]

A huge jumps over the last flight test-3. Good job spacex team🎉

[@rdbchase]

Still has no fuel at apogee -- while carrying none of Starship's supposed payload of 100-150 tons. Where do you suppose all the extra delta v is going to come from?

[@johnnyh537]

That was absolutely amazing. Talk about hanging on for dear life and surviving. Brilliant for space x and starship

[@jennifersetser9091]

Wonderful work,Spacex,and thank you all for never giving up!

[@weatherx25]

Absolutely STUNNING footage! Amazing that Flight 4 did survive, and made even better footage than the already incredible re-entry footage that Flight 3 sent before exploding. Not the ideal landing with the flap nearly breaking off, but they did it! I'm sure that they'll work on improving it at SpaceX, we've come very far.

[@camojoe83]

Damn.. maybe they should just build a really big camera to use as a ship. That thing was tough as hell.

[@derek-press]

@camo jou lets not forget the camera man has to hold it ,too big and he might get a bad back

[@camojoe83]

@@derek-press he can ride inside the big one and operate it manually, he should be fine.

[@ExtraDave.]

yeah what ever was protecting that camera held up better than the flap!

[@filonin2]

@@ExtraDave. It wasn't in the plasma stream.

[@witherking97]

@@ExtraDave. I think the camera facing the aft flap is melted.

[@santu7066]

It remainded me to the F15 landing with 1 wing hahahah It was a freaking show!!! It shows how robust and aerodynamically well designed the ship is! Congrats 🔥🔥🔥

[@pihi42]

This was 150% of what most engineers expected. But still only 90% of what the media expected.

[@Meyer-gp7nq]

“SpaceX starship crashes in ocean, Elon claims mission success” -MSNPC (probably)

[@camojoe83]

Since only one of those groups matter, who cares?

[@varietyegg]

​@@camojoe83true😂

[@Szaboo92]

@@camojoe83 media matters, most people are still forming their thoughts based on MSM.

[@camojoe83]

@@Szaboo92 that's their problem not mine.

[@planetofgamespog8242]

When I saw this live I legit was like "COME ON BOI, DON'T BLOW UP, STICK TOGETHER JUST A LITTLE WHILE LONGER" like I was that dude in mission control in the final scene of some action movie or something. Lol

[@ReiseLukas]

I was thinking about Apollo 13

[@chrislassiter1894]

Same. I was on up on the edge of my seat and when I saw that flap come back into view I leapt out of the chair....arms up!

[@viperswhip]

It is crazy how much of this live feed looked like a static picture, the stability as it came down was epic.

[@benrussell-gough1201]

Let's remember that a smaller TPS failure killed the *Columbia*. SN29 had a burn-through and maintained aerodynamic control. So the stainless steel/vertical descent mode has been proven workable.

[@imconsequetau5275]

Total success is definitely within reach.

[@markoconnell804]

Incredible that it was that robust. Landing with just a part of the flap.

[@jeffswope1511]

Keep it coming I want to see a manned mars landing in my lifetime. I’m sixty so chop,chop,balli,balli.

[@NotThatBob]

SpaceX vs Boeing. You can tell who's in it for the dream and who's in it for the government money.

[@mpetersen6]

Boeing lost its way when they moved the HQ to Chicago and were taken over completely by the MBAs and lawyers.

[@peertopeertherapy3720]

Elon wants a 50 billion dollar raise, obviously he's not in it for the money.

[@1STGeneral]

So Elon has never needed government funding as in ....In it for the money. No money no dreams coming to fruition

[@jwilson2793]

And Blue Origin is the spoiled, bratty short fat kid that is tattling on the teacher because he is so far behind

[@seantaggart7382]

Yeah Seriously glad ELON DID NOT SCRAP SPACEX'S PASSION!

[@giselagaray1818]

Epic in every way possible, wow

[@jzzr345]

Great Going SpaceX ! Keep at it , you'll get there .

[@willemdewilde1735]

FLAPS CAN FLY! Just awesome to watch..

[@Zaehlwerk]

They should try to recover Starship. Everyone wants to see what the flap will actually look like in the end. Congratulations SpaceX, that was a milestone. I sat in amazement watching the stream and was and still am speechless that it worked anyway.

[@fteoOpty64]

They should contact Diesel Safe to salvage the ship from the ocean.....

[@Jesus_Christ_loves_you_alot]

Of course they will. They don’t want essentially junk floating around in the ocean

[@Excelcior58]

The best real space tests of the modern age! Incredible shots!

[@seantaggart7382]

WE ARE GOING BACK TO THE MOON BOYS!

[@mikecorleone6797]

Bro…. The fact that starship had a couple of malfunctions like a failed engine at lift off, a camera lens that failed and a flap that basically fell apart but refused to quit functioning during re entry and both the booster and the ship made a 100% successful flight and landing is definitely a sight to behold.. amazing job spacex! I can’t wait for flight 5!!!

[@ADevilintheDetails]

The lense didnt fail, it was covered in molten stainless steel....

[@CaptainDarkFighter]

IT MADE IT!! OH MY GOD LETS GOOOO!!!

[@imperialtiger8639]

@@xt5181 Dude... chill. The concept worked for a test. This would be unacceptable for standard flights, but as a test, this is a success.

[@Nuke-MarsX]

@@xt5181 what are you on about, the booster and ship itself landed in one piece

[@1nTime]

​​@@xt5181 In 2? pieces???.. what are you waffling about lol, both the booster and ship had a soft splashdown and 100% completed their relative goals, that flap burning up did nothing in the end except giving the viewers a heart attack

[@varietyegg]

​@@xt5181a test bro,a prototype bro are you dumb do yo think with your ass maybe the thing is that this was a test and it landed which more what it was expected I see as success because no one died it's just testing

[@1nTime]

@@xt5181 Dragon did it 4 Years ago.

[@JUDYSKEENS-k2f]

Congratulations Mr. LEON, WOW WHAT AN AWESOME LANDING

[@ecto_kerbal9181]

The flap say: I' M STILL STANDING

[@DolbyDogAdventures]

So glad I tuned in live to see history in the making yet again. Amazing work to all at spacex.

[@gvozdenrovina3813]

Congratulaions and respect to Space X. Historic day

[@theletsplayer9503]

Despite being covered in debris, cracked, and in almost pitch darkness, that camera looking at the flap was still able to produce better quality video than any UFO/Alien video

[@ShishirKathi]

The most dramatic spacex livestream ever

[@lvsluggo007]

Imagine what Test #5 will be like... Can't wait!!!!!!!!

[@tonyf9076]

Everyone flapping....but the little flap, i got this 👍🏻🇬🇧

[@jonathanpanlaqui1855]

Great job Starship 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍!

[@alexv3357]

That flap be like "I don't hear no bell!"

[@petersterling5334]

Definitely Incredible Accomplishments on this Flight for Space X and Starship!! Absolutely Incredible!! Congratulations!!

[@trs4u]

This is the "cameraman never dies" story cameramen tell to other cameramen

[@jhunt5578]

Wow! 2 incredible re-entries. Didn't think Starship would make it. Congratulations SpaceX.

[@dream.machine]

21:31 Probably one of the most historical statements of space flight by an announcer. "From South Texas 🤠 to the other side of the Earth 🌎🌍 🌏 Starship 🚀 is in the water 🌊 " . Pure history.

[@johnrday2023]

Booster soft landing (sort of) is great achievement. And reentry of Starship is even bigger and better ! Wow !!!

[@lighty805]

Giga Chad flap. That was incredible. Some people in the chat wanting it to break apart but flappy had other plans 😎

[@williamnajar5521]

Congratulations team. I am glad all your primary objectives were acquired. 🇨🇴

[@kogguk]

It landed SUCCESSFULLY u can see belly flop maneuver and speed dropping prior touchdown to 0 km/h than it falls in water to horizontal position with speed slightly raised and dropped its 110% SUCCESS CONGRATS SPACEX congrats Humanity stop wars

[@imconsequetau5275]

I could see the speed increasing sharply at the end, then back down again. Probably -a flip- tipping?

[@1nTime]

​@@imconsequetau5275thats the ship tipping over from its vertical position

[@kogguk]

@@1nTime true all evidence of success

[@weather4lifeyar509]

Wow that footage was insane and even more insane is the abuse starship took coming down with a burnt through flap great job space x keep up the awesome work

[@AionX-zi9wo]

Very Beautiful!

[@ReiseLukas]

The fact the fins were burning and it still made is a Testament to how tough this rocket will become. Most rockets to me feel fragile and could die moments after the littlest problem arises.

[@strategicthinker8899]

in IFT1 when the entire stack was tumbling wildly for minutes on end and did not break apart was when it was obvious this ship and booster are tough.

[@dream.machine]

That flap will literally always be remembered! This is the most historic space flight ever recorded to date. 🚀

[@jeanladoire4141]

No it's not as good as the moon landings, but it's pretty nice. Starship is slowly becoming usable. First it needs to be able to go up and come down safely, then being able to carry extra fuel to orbit, and then refuel in orbit, and then go maybe to the moon, or wherever. Still a LOT of years of development, we're only at the beginning

[@Garagantua]

A certain Saturn V might disagree with that assesment ;). (It's an awesome achievement to have come this far; no need to pretend it's even more.)

[@Baconatorz]

Why is this the most historic?

[@imconsequetau5275]

​​@@jeanladoire4141 I expect the flaps will get some active cooling next time. Maybe also pressurize the interior. Right now the design changes will be somewhat coarse because of incomplete evidence. Once some of the ships start returning to OLIT, -we- they will have eyeballs on the evidence, with rapid and subtle design improvement. Then they can confidently start reducing dry-mass.

[@jeanladoire4141]

@@imconsequetau5275 nahhh it's too heavy and complex to inject coolant in the flaps. Also, imagine putting a pipe into a MOVING PART that's exposed to plasma... Way too complicated. They just need to deflect the plasma away from the hinge area with some shielding

[@thestudentofficial5483]

I really expected as soon as 1 tile gone during reentry it's just seconds away from exploding but immediately made evident that the shift to stainless steel was genius

[@knightsnight5929]

Well done, Gwynne Shotwell! What an amazing woman, you made this happen!

[@diogocasal6680]

Thank you so much Space X for such an inspiring experience!

[@tonyduncan9852]

I hope they find a floating starship, for some forensic analysis.

[@WingTzu343]

I'm sure they blew it up.

[@scupking]

I think the plan was to blow it up once it soft landed.

[@Marcomagnuss]

As others have said, they probably destroyed it, why is because there are others that would want to study the craft that are not US allied.

[@bersig]

That and you could be sued for as much as an IFT cost if the remains float into a shipping lane and manages to cause damage to commerce. It might take a bit of work to get your next FAA flight test license if that happened as well.

[@CrashTestPilot]

Watching that flap burn through, I couldn't help but think of Columbia.

[@seantaggart7382]

Yeah but its a good burning Like gravity!

[@jadams3427]

What an extremely successful test flight. Congratulations to the SpaceX people. This is especially successful in that the ship sustained control surface damage, and sill made the controlled landing on the sea.

[@Real28]

Starship has earned itself the honorary B17 badge for essentially taking what should have been mortal damage and finishing the mission regardless.

[@drzmaniac]

Hard to tell what was more exciting…the re-entry itself, or hearing all the SpaceX people watching their hard work pay off!!! Congrats SpaceX people!

[@mickg7299]

The flap junction is clearly an issue but it’s all part of the learning curve.

[@Kennerad0]

When watching this live, I thought the video had frozen but it was just that the plasma burning was so clean, amazing

[@ac_junior72]

11:47 - Wow, in awe how this did not completely break up! Amazing.

[@agustinvelazques3748]

Love it! Huge success for all on this planet, Awesome SpaceX, Mr Musk! Thank U!

[@ald1144]

20:26 The rocket's red glare giving proof that the flap is still there.

[@alanlight7740]

... giving proof through the flight that the flap was still there....

[@ald1144]

@@alanlight7740 You did it better 😂👍

[@alanlight7740]

@@ald1144 - but you were the inspiration!

[@seantaggart7382]

USA!!! USA!!!

[@ChuckPackwood]

I have been looking for good reentry video for a while. Epic

[@otiebrown9999]

An INJURED FLIPPER, but it still made it! Congrats MUSK. YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!!!

[@SuLokify]

Credit where credit's due: this beast is the brainchild of Mueller and Shotwell. Musk's just providing the branding.

[@lvsluggo007]

DEFINATELY a VERY succesful flight!!! Congrats, SpaceX!!!!!

[@galaxy3991]

the flap: ``I STILL HERE``

[@Shanesworkshop]

That’s was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever watched!!! I can’t believe the ship went through all that and still was able to flip and land

[@larrymansfield9393]

That was freaking awesome. I’m guessing one of the heat tiles on the edge of the wing flap disintegrated, causing a chain effect of other tiles.

[@SWATCHIEF22]

The one flap is being held on by hopes and dreams

[@TheAndrew3777]

Super super super Space X & NASA ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@thatshinyumbreon2842]

Seeing that flap moving after all that abuse was AWESOME!

[@beeepizzle]

Monumental! Absolutely historic!!! #Epic #SpaceX #ToBoldlyGo

[@slak96u]

Incredible

[@1fastal1]

I watch ed this 5 times and got chills EVERY TIME!!

[@safetyalways7788]

They should position drone ship camera close to the landing spot to capture the landing of the booster and ship

[@rizizum]

Drone ships don't go that far, this is literally in the Indian Ocean. Also they barely have enough drone ships for the Falcon 9 flights

[@imconsequetau5275]

Maybe next time, we can see it from the ocean surface. SpaceX just needs to pinpoint land Starship in front of video cameras.

[@DeepCZero3]

I have no words to describe how unbelievably awesome this is.

[@Sae1962]

Excellent summary video of the fourth flight!