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Originally Posted by glend
What puzzled me about today's test was why they left it so late to try to flip, it was basically horizonal when it hit the ground, and traveling much faster than SN8 as it neared the ground.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanJones
I also feel they don’t seem to leave enough head room before flipping back to vertical. I’m no rocket scientist though so there could be a very good reason to leave it late.
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My best guess on this is that they're trying to find the 'sweet spot' with regards to performing the flip as late as possible. Since the surface area of Starship is greatest when horizontal they can actually use the aerodynamic pressure to slow Starship down as it hits the denser atmosphere the lower in altitude it gets. By waiting until the last seconds to perform the flip it minimises the amount of fuel required for the landing burn and thus reduces the overall payload of Starship.
I could be completely wrong on this - but it seems to be the case. I do agree however that the approach (particularly through the rapid development cycle) of waiting to the last seconds is perhaps biting off more than they can chew at this time. It would make sense to master the flip first at a higher altitude and then fine tune this as the development cycle continues.
Elon has stated that they will attempt to light all three Raptors for SN10 then turn one off if all three light successfully, thus adding a bit of redundancy. Looking forward to seeing the next flight!