Exclusive Footage: Elon Musk Reveals SpaceX Starship’s Epic Water Landing!

Elon Musk recently shared a fascinating video on X (previously known as Twitter). The clip shows a Starship upper stage performing a vertical water landing. Musk emphasized the importance of perfecting reentry at high temperatures before attempting to catch the spacecraft with the launch tower’s arms, similar to the booster recovery.

SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy is set for a critical test flight on March 4. This follows a key approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is vital for refining reentry techniques and testing the booster’s return maneuver. These steps are essential for SpaceX’s ambitious plans for lunar travel and eventually reaching Mars.

Previously, on January 16, SpaceX lost the earlier Starship prototype during a flight. After thorough investigations, the FAA has approved the upcoming Flight 8, allowing SpaceX to proceed with improved safety measures and hardware upgrades. These enhancements aim to boost performance and reliability for future missions.

One of the main challenges during this test will be the booster’s controlled landing. SpaceX plans to capture the booster using the launch tower’s “chopstick” arms, a crucial component for making the rocket fully reusable. Meanwhile, the upper stage of the Starship will attempt a careful splashdown in the Indian Ocean, off Australia’s coast.

SpaceX has also made adjustments to the vehicle’s forward flaps to better withstand heat during reentry. These modifications are critical for ensuring that the spacecraft can manage the stresses of future missions, including NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon.