@elonmusk: The Starship V3 heat shield held well
Summary
Elon Musk reports that the Starship V3 heat shield held well during a suborbital test flight, with peak temperatures reaching 1450°C, lower than Earth reentry or lunar return temperatures.
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Cached at: 05/23/26, 06:11 PM
The Starship V3 heat shield held well
Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield): We need heat shields to protect us, since we use the air to slow us down as we return to Earth. From orbital speed, it gets to 1650°C / 3000°F. From the Moon: 2750°C / 5000°F. For yesterday’s Starship suborbital test flight, peak was 1450°C / 2600°F. Great to see the @SpaceX
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