SUCCESS!

TODAY is a day that will live in fame; a day that will be remembered by many; it will be the day that humanity finally understood of their importance in the world, and became a spacefaring species. Remember this day. The 6th of June, 2024. The day of Starship Flight 4.

What a flight that was! Ship 29 and Booster 11 lifted off from Starbase at 8:50 ET. Unlike Flights 2 and 3, only 32 of the 33 Raptor engines ignited, lifting Starship off the pad in a fit of blazing glory. Ascent was nominal- unlike Booster 7, no other engines shut down, although the engine opposite to the faulty Raptor was throttled down. The 2 ships continued onto hotstaging, when Ship 29 lit all 6 of its engines, flying off Booster 11!

The 2 spacecraft continued on their merry way, until another crucial milestone came in the flight- the jettison of the HSR.

This move was to save weight for the booster landing, as on Flight 3, one reason for the hard splashdown of Booster 10 was the increased weight, thanks to the HSR.

The booster plummeted through the clouds, until 12 out of 13 Raptor engines relit when it was sub-1km, and the booster LANDED and tipped over! Congratulations on the entire SpaceX team for pulling off such an achievement!

Going back to the ship, the external video cut out for about 20 minutes, with the Blue Danube playing in the background. By the time we had visuals again, the ship was flying over Madagascar and was dropping- FAST.

Just like Flight 3, we had some absolutely incredible views of reentry, thanks to Starlink, but it made it further than Ship 28. Flight 4's Starship gave us some absolutely incredible views of reentry, with sparks flying around.

BUT, there was more to come! The forwards flap melted on Ship 29 and tore a massive chunk out, but it still kept going. Cheers rang out every time the video went back to the ship, and even though the camera lens cracked, we still could see views of the ship.

Everyone thought Ship 29 was a goner. As its altitude ticked down, everyone- me included- was expecting for all the Raptors to be melted and not relight. Guess what? THEY DID! 3 flashes were clearly seen in the night, as Ship 29 did the bellyflop maneuver, flipped, and plopped down in the Indian ocean, half-melted and with a chunk out of half a flap!

What a day for SpaceX, and for spaceflight in general- this is amazing, and a crucial step on the road to becoming a multiplanetary species!