Post #4182633

2026-07-29 03:57 UTC

Flight 13 Starship had notable white streaks across the heat shield, cracked tiles and broken edges, suggesting hot gas may have penetrated these boundaries. Laborious inspections and refurbishments are obstacles to rapid reuse. SpaceX company has made substantial investments in the tile technology which originates from the Space Shuttle era, but experts say that fundamental new research is needed. Perhaps, non rapid reuse is a good thing for Earth? 🤔 https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/07/despite-recent-successes-rapid-reuse-of-starship-remains-a-tough-nut-to-crack/ 1/n

Replies (4)

@BenjaminKlein@mastodon.nu 2026-07-29 06:40

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org there are all sorts of problems with heat tiles reuse. They absorb water like crazy, so if they get wet by say falling into the ocean, you would need to put them in an oven, probably under vacuum for hours. You can coat the tiles with water proofing but that burns off on re-entry so you then would need to reapply the coating, ever single time.

Open ##4185798
@mastodonmigration@mastodon.online 2026-07-29 04:45

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org This is a very significant finding. If it turns out the heat shield technology can not be reused it undermines the entire economic premise of the Starship program.

Open ##4194699
@hittitezombie@mastodon.me.uk 2026-07-29 05:40

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org Am I the only one remembering this 'genius' advocating for steel bodies so that they wouldn't need a heat shield to start with? They are getting more and more desperate now.

Open ##4194703
@connynasch@mastodon.social 2026-07-29 09:45

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org Ah, I see this as good news. 😊

Open ##4194704