SpaceX retrieves a salt-soaked Starship from the Indian Ocean while China's LandSpace pulls off its first orbital booster landing — and a Mars eclipse steals the science spotlight. The global reusability race just got a lot more crowded.
Audio is available on Spreaker — see link below.
SpaceX has recovered Starship Ship forty after twenty-four days adrift in the Indian Ocean, and what they find inside that hardware could shape how the company designs every upper stage that follows. The vehicle splashed down on July twenty-fourth during flight test thirteen.
While SpaceX was towing a vehicle home from the ocean, China's LandSpace was making its own statement about where this industry is heading. On August nineteenth, the company landed its ZQ-three orbital-class booster on legs.
Step back and the pattern becomes clear. Three independent booster recovery approaches have now demonstrated success within weeks of each other.
Two other developments worth noting, both from the science side. On August thirteenth, the Perseverance rover photographed Mars's moon Phobos partially eclipsing the sun.
One more number to register. SpaceX reached its one-hundredth launch of twenty-twenty-six on August eighteenth.
Chapter summary auto-generated from the verified script. Listen to the full episode for the complete content.