Flight 6: In-space Raptor relight and ship splashdown
November 19, 2024 expanded the envelope with a successful ship ascent, an in-space Raptor relight, and another Indian Ocean splashdown after the booster diverted from a catch to an ocean landing.
What happened
Flight 6 left Starbase on November 19, 2024 aiming to stretch both stages further toward full reuse — including a second tower-catch attempt.
Ascent and separation were nominal. The booster was diverted from a catch to a pre-planned ocean landing after catch-tower damage during liftoff tripped return criteria — still a controlled return, just not to the chopsticks.
Ship objectives
Ship 31 completed ascent onto the expected trajectory and successfully reignited a single Raptor in space — a core building block for future deorbit burns on orbital missions.
Starlink-relayed views followed the ship through a more aggressive entry angle of attack and another soft splashdown, with heat-shield experiments along the way.
Why it mattered
Catching every booster is the headline; knowing when not to catch one is part of the same system.
Flight 6’s ship relight and thermal data kept the upper-stage recovery path moving even while booster reuse stayed conditional on health checks.