SpaceX Nears Starship Recovery After Nearly 1 Month Adrift in the Indian Ocean
- On Tuesday, SpaceX successfully towed the Starship upper stage, Ship 40, to waters off Christmas Island, an Australian territory after its intact splashdown in the Indian Ocean on July 24.
- Previous Starship flights ended in fiery disintegration after splashdown, making Ship 40's intact survival an extraordinary milestone that allows engineers rare access to inspect the vehicle's heat-shielding tiles.
- A SpaceX recovery team spent 24 days navigating "challenging conditions and increasingly rough seas" to bring the 171-foot-tall spacecraft to port, towed by two large ships.
- Engineers are currently conducting additional analysis to evaluate aerodynamics, hydraulics, and heat tile efficiency before attempting to return the craft to Starbase, SpaceX's South Texas facility.
- SpaceX is already preparing Ship 41 and its Super Heavy booster for Flight 14 before month's end, though the company has yet to confirm how it will transport Ship 40 back to South Texas.
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Engineers from billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX are currently en route to Australia's remote Christmas Island. Their goal is, if possible, to recover a piece of the Spaceship spacecraft that crashed into the Indian Ocean south of the island.
'Incredible': SpaceX rocket spotted off Christmas Island coast
A SpaceX rocket that blasted off from Texas in July and crashed into the Indian Ocean hadn't been seen since - but now Christmas Island residents say they have spotted it being towed just off their coast.
The four-ton rocket aroused a lot of interest among locals.
SpaceX holds a starship at sea after 24 days. Analysis of the heat shield could show how realistic Musk's re-use plans are.
SpaceX's Starship towed to Christmas Island after floating 24 days in Indian Ocean
SpaceX has towed Starship to waters off Christmas Island after the spacecraft floated in the Indian Ocean for nearly 24 days. Engineers will inspect how the vehicle handled seawater exposure as the company weighs a return tow to Texas.
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