FULL REENTRY! SpaceX Starship 11th Flight Test

Mission Objectives & Testing - The primary goal of the Starship flight is to gather data for rapid iteration of the design, particularly focusing on reusability [3][4] - The flight includes intentional "missing tile tests" on the leeward side of the flaps and over fuel tanks to assess the vehicle's resilience to heat during re-entry with bare steel exposed [4][12][13][14][15] - A banking maneuver is performed during supersonic and hypersonic speeds to simulate a return-to-launch-site approach and tower catch [20][28] Re-entry Dynamics & Challenges - Re-entry is a critical phase, demanding the ship scrub off energy used during launch, relying on aerodynamic braking [2][3] - Hypersonic speeds during re-entry (over five times the speed of sound, or approximately 8 km/s) create a plasma field that can cause communication blackouts [5] - The ship experiences maximum heating and aerodynamic loads (Max Q) during re-entry [8][27] Vehicle Performance & Observations - The skirt remained intact during this flight, addressing issues observed in flight 10 related to propellant buildup [17][18][19] - The ship successfully executed a banking maneuver to simulate return-to-launch-site conditions [26][27][28] - Starship achieved a controlled landing burn, transitioning from three engines to two for the final phase [36][37] Future Capabilities & Goals - The ultimate goal is rapid and reliable reusability of the spacecraft [1] - Future capabilities include point-to-point transport on Earth, potentially enabling travel from New York to Sydney in approximately one hour [25] - The company aims to return the ship to the launch site for a tower catch in future tests [16][28][31]