On June 6, 2024, SpaceX launched the fourth integrated flight test of its Starship vehicle from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. For the first time in the program’s history, both stages survived long enough to attempt controlled landings. Neither landing was fully successful, but both got far closer than any previous attempt.
What actually happened
The Super Heavy booster, carrying 33 Raptor engines, performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, decelerating from hypersonic speeds to a hover before shutting down just above the water. The original plan called for a full catch attempt at the launch tower, but SpaceX shifted to a splashdown to reduce risk. The booster was destroyed on water impact, as designed for this test.
Starship’s upper stage made it through the most dangerous phase of the test: atmospheric reentry. On two previous flights, the spacecraft had broken apart during this phase. This time, using new heat shield tiles and a modified entry profile, the vehicle survived the 1,400-degree plasma envelope of reentry and executed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
What it means for the Mars mission
These incremental successes matter because Starship is the vehicle NASA has chosen to land astronauts on the Moon under the Artemis program, and SpaceX has designed it as the primary vehicle for eventual Mars missions. The program depends entirely on full reusability: the ability to catch and refurbish both stages for rapid re-flight. Flight four established that both stages can survive to the point where catching becomes plausible.
The next steps are achieving an actual tower catch, then in-orbit propellant transfer (required for deep-space missions), then human certification. Each step represents years of testing. But the fourth flight test showed that the foundational hardware works at the hardest moments.
For the broader launch market, the stakes are just as high. If Starship reaches full operational capacity, its payload economics would make every other launch vehicle on the market look expensive. That pressure is already reshaping how competitors like United Launch Alliance and Ariane Group are thinking about their next-generation vehicles.