SpaceX Recovers Starship Flight 4 Booster From Ocean Shows Horrifying Image From Musk

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After its recovery ships were spotted near the splashdown zone of the Super Heavy booster for the fourth Starship test flight last week, SpaceX has recovered pieces of the rocket from the ocean, according to a fresh image shared by Elon Musk. Musk and SpaceX are waiting for the FAA's approval for the fifth Starship test flight, which can take place in November at the earliest.

Starship Flight 5 will be the first test in SpaceX's campaign to catch the booster with the launch tower's catch arms. The Flight 4 booster's recovery is also the first time that SpaceX has recovered the booster post launch as part of its current tests.

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Starship Flight 4 Super Heavy Booster Recovered With Center Ring Of Engines Missing Shows Image

Throughout last week, observers on X had noted that SpaceX's recovery ships had left port and were in the region where the Flight 4 booster had splashed down. During its Starship test campaign, SpaceX has progressively improved its booster recovery. The first Starship integrated flight led to the booster being destroyed in mid air, the second saw it explode during the boost back burn. This is the portion of the rocket's return profile when it fires its engines to cut its speed to enable a landing.

The third flight was progressively successful, as while the boost back burn did start, it didn't complete successfully. This led to the rocket being destroyed less than 500 meters above the ocean's surface. Consequently, Flight 4 was the first mission where the Super Heavy booster successfully splashed down in the ocean, and by the looks of it, SpaceX had not initially planned to recover the 232 feet tall rocket from the ocean floor.

Starship Flight 4 had lifted off in June, and since then, SpaceX has focused its attention on rockets for the