Starship Next Gen Upper Stage Rocket Pops Up

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SpaceX’s next-generation upper-stage Starship spacecraft, which should soon fly on future flights, has been fully unveiled at the firm’s facilities in Texas. The Starship upper stage is the world’s first and only upper stage spacecraft capable of being reused, and the key to this capability is ensuring that the ship returns to Earth intact.

On this front, several Starship tests have seen the upper stage’s forward grid fins catch fire, and the new ship will rectify this by ensuring that vulnerable regions point away from the fast and hot air that flows around them during atmospheric reentry.

SpaceX’s Next Generation Starship Upper Stage Spacecraft Pictured With Fins Pointing Away From Heatshield

Starship’s landing profile requires the rocket to maneuver itself through the atmosphere to first withstand extremely hot air and plasma and then orient itself for a vertical landing. Key to this operation is its fins, particularly those located at the top, or the forward portion of the spacecraft. Among other maneuvers, the fins are also responsible for the iconic ‘flip’ maneuver that shifts Starship upper stage’s orientation from horizontal to vertical during its landing.

Since Starship Flight 4 was the first in which the upper stage survived atmospheric reentry, it was also the first that tested the fins to their limit. During the test, the fins surpassed expectations as they managed to land the ship…