this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by JohnDClay to c/spacex
 

Another happy landing. I can't believe starship managed to land gently after burning half the flap off!

https://youtu.be/rXRVtt8M9oY

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I know they purposely left off some heat tiles to test that eventuality - was the flap where they did that? I guess so, given the number of cameras pointing at it.

[–] JohnDClay 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

No, those were at the unpressurized section by the engines. You can see from when the plasma originally came though it was the gap for the hinge. There needs to be a gap there for them to move, so I guess the plasma found it's way though the gap.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Wow, that's even more impressive then - they added a defect and a different problem occurred and it still landed. I caught some of the stream and heard the SpaceX audience's reaction to that fin burning away - I thought they sounded more excited than worried.