SpaceX's New Buoy & Onboard Footage revealed How Exactly Ship 40 Landing Softest Shocked Us Again…

Would you look at this Titan coming home. With footage from ocean buoys, drones, onboard cameras, and recovery crews, Flight 13 has become the director's cut every Starship fan wanted. All that new footage helps explain how Ship 40 pulled off such an incredible landing. Even better, the recovery operation we discussed in the previous episode has now been officially confirmed We'll also cover Rocket Lab's expansion into Alaska and Japan's ambitious plans to dramatically increase its launch cadence. Stick around because there's plenty to unpack in today's episode of Great SpaceX. Every Starship launch already feels like a Hollywood blockbuster. The launch itself is only the opening act. In the days that follow, SpaceX typically releases even more incredible footage from cameras placed throughout the mission. It's like watching the extended edition after you've already seen the movie in theaters. And honestly, I'm not complaining. Speaking of growing productions, our own team has a big goal. The crew and I are working toward reaching 500k subscribers before Starship's next major milestone. And that goal depends not only on everyone behind the scenes, but also on all of you watching. So if you enjoy the following latest developments in spaceflight, be sure to subscribe. Your support helps us continue bringing the biggest SpaceX stories as soon as they happen. Now, let's get into today's biggest story. As expected, a few days after Flight 13, SpaceX released another batch of official images and videos showcasing Starship's landing. But this release felt even more special than usual. The post carried a simple title, Landing Burn and Splashdown of Starship on Flight 13. Simple title, extraordinary footage. The update included a stunning high-resolution image along with two onboard videos. The first image captures the exact moment of the landing burn. A brilliant Raptor engine plume extends beneath the vehicle before striking the ocean's surface, sending mist and spray exploding in every direction. It's one of those photographs that almost looks computer generated. Then came perhaps the most spectacular angle of all. The camera mounted on a nearby buoy recorded Starship's descent from below, giving us one of the clearest views ever captured of the vehicle's final moments before splashdown. As the landing burn begins, the Raptor engines ignite with tremendous force while the massive flaps continuously adjust their position. Working together with the engine's thrust vectoring system, they guide Starship from its dramatic belly flop attitude back into a perfectly controlled vertical descent. You can actually see the engines constantly gimbling, small corrections, tiny adjustments, every movement, working together to keep the spacecraft balanced. It's a remarkable demonstration of flight control. As S-40 nears the ocean, those corrections become even more subtle. The vehicle settles toward the surface with surprising precision. Then the engines shut down. The ship touches the water and nothing explodes. That sentence still feels strange to say. Instead of ending in the familiar fireball we've seen after previous splashdowns, S-40 simply settles into the ocean. It may be one of the most significant moments in Starship's testing history. The second video offers an entirely different perspective. This camera was mounted directly on S-40's nose cone, allowing us to experience the landing from Starship's own point of view. The footage begins as the landing engines ignite. Large vents along both sides of the spacecraft rapidly expel gas, while the horizon swings dramatically as Starship rotates from horizontal flight into an upright landing attitude. From this angle, the maneuver looks unbelievably smooth. Then comes an unexpected moment. Because the camera is mounted on the nose, it enters the water during splashdown, temporarily submerging the entire view. Earlier in the livestream, viewers noticed a small fire developing near the rear of the vehicle after landing. This onboard footage helps explain what happened. At first, the flames appear fairly intense, but with much of the camera submerged, we mostly see a bright orange glow shimmering beneath the surface. As the view clears again, the fire appears to have spread toward the main propellant tank area. Fortunately, it never developed into the catastrophic explosion everyone expected. Instead, S-40 remained afloat, taking These new images provide the clearest look yet at Starship's landing sequence. They show exactly how the engines and aerodynamic flaps worked together to slow, steer, and stabilize the vehicle during its final descent. More importantly, they help explain why this splashdown succeeded where previous attempts ended in explosions. The landing loads were simply far more controlled. That smoother touchdown likely played a major role in preserving the spacecraft. And because S-40 survived, SpaceX is bringing it home. The company officially confirmed the recovery effort in a post on X, writing, The Starship recovery team has continued gathering imagery of the vehicle, which is still afloat, in the Indian Ocean. Those words alone are historic. The accompanying photo make the story even better. One image shows S-40 calmly floating on the ocean's surface. Although SpaceX didn't specify exactly when it was taken, the spacecraft appears remarkably intact. The heat shield is still clearly visible, and the vehicle's overall structure looks surprisingly healthy considering everything it has endured. But one photograph quickly became everyone's favorite. It shows eight members of the recovery team aboard a nearby vessel. Behind them sits S-40, still floating, still intact, still waiting to come home. It's hard not to smile at this image. This isn't debris. It's a whole spacecraft, and SpaceX intends to keep it that way. Shortly afterward, Musk officially confirmed the operation with a single statement, We're sending a ship out to recover Starship. Sometimes the shortest announcements make the biggest headlines. If you watched our previous episode, you might remember we predicted this exact possibility. We looked at S-40's condition, explained why a recovery made sense, and explored several possible strategies. At the time, neither SpaceX nor Musk had confirmed anything. Now they have. So maybe, I don't know, just uh, maybe the comment section owes me a few applause emojis? Please? I'm just saying. Anyways, as for how S-40 will make the journey home, several options remain. The simplest is towing it to shore, though that would leave the spacecraft exposed to corrosive seawater throughout the trip. Another option is lifting it completely out of the water, reducing the corrosion, but requiring a massive heavy lift recovery ship. Personally, I think SpaceX will combine both approaches. Tow S-40 to the Australian coastline for initial inspections, then transfer it onto a larger vessel for the voyage back to Starbase. To me, that seems like the most practical solution. What do you think? However the recovery unfolds, one thing is certain. This will be the largest rocket recovery operation in SpaceX history. SpaceX has recovered pieces of super heavy boosters before, but those components had already exploded, broken apart, sunk to the seafloor, and spent months underwater. S-40 is different. It remains largely intact. For the first time, SpaceX may be able to examine an entire Starship after orbital flight and splashdown. Instead of relying mainly on telemetry and flight data, engineers will have the spacecraft itself. Every heat shield tile, every flap, every engine, every structural component. Together, they could provide the most viable engineering data SpaceX has ever collected from a Starship. So, are you excited? If you are, let everyone know in the comments by saying, do it now! Now, let's move on to our second story. Rocket Lab is heading north. Very far north. If you know Rocket Lab, you probably associate it with its launch complex on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula, home to the world's second highest launch cadence behind SpaceX. Now, the company is expanding again. Rocket Lab has secured a $266 million US Space Force contract, covering up to 18 missions, supporting missile defense programs. Most of those launches will take place from Alaska. Yeah, Alaska. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck summed it up best. The size and scale of this contract reflects the Space Force's confidence in our ability to meet their urgent national security demands with speed, responsiveness and scale, and we're proud to provide the high-frequency launch capacity required to keep the US ahead of global threats. The agreement includes 12 suborbital missions, with options for six more. Most will launch from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, and Rocket Lab is expected to use Haste, a suborbital version of Electron built for hypersonic testing and defense missions. Some analysts believe these flights could support the proposed Golden Dome Missile Defense Initiative, although nothing has been officially confirmed. Rocket Lab will continue operating from New Zealand and its two launch pads at Wallops Island, Virginia. Since debuting in 2023, Haste has completed nine successful missions, while Electron has flown more than 80 missions since entering service in 2017. Rocket Lab's growth shows no signs of slowing, and it will be fascinating to see where the company is just a few years from now. Finally, let's head across the Pacific to Japan. Japan has announced one of the most ambitious space goals yet. The government wants to reach 30 launches per year by the early 2030s, combining government and commercial missions. The plan was unveiled during last week's Space Tide Conference in Tokyo. Officials also want 60 to 70 percent of launches to carry satellites, up from about 50 percent today. It's an ambitious target, and there's still a long way to go. So far this year, Japan has launched only two satellites into orbit. The country is also transitioning from the H-2A rocket to the newer H-3, which has now completed successful missions after its inaugural flight failed to reach orbit. Commercial providers are still facing challenges as well. Space One's Kairos rocket has flown three times without reaching orbit, but the company is continuing development and considering expanding its launch facilities. Japan also hopes to attract international launch providers. As Space Kotan CEO Yoshinori Odagiri explained, we want many of the launch companies to use our facilities, but we will not reach 30 just by Japan alone, so we want to also secure international players as well. The strategy makes sense. As major spaceports like NASA's Kennedy Space Center becomes busier, additional launch sites around the world will become increasingly attractive. Officials are also pursuing regulatory reforms to speed up launch licensing. As Wataru Takahama of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry put it, last year we only did three launches, and we need to make this into 30 launches. We want to see as many launches as possible, so we always want to deregulate. Alongside new infrastructure and streamlined regulations, Japan is laying the groundwork for a much more active launch industry. One thing is becoming clear. The global space race is accelerating. SpaceX, Rocket Lab Japan, and many others are helping build a future where access to space becomes more frequent than ever before. As for S40, its story is only the beginning. Instead of ending with a splashdown, it has become one of the most valuable engineering test articles SpaceX has ever had, and we will be following every step of its journey home. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to leave a like, subscribe to GreatSpaceX, and ring that notification bell so you never miss the latest updates on Starship, SpaceX, and humanity's exciting journey into the future of space exploration. Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one.