

SpaceX
SpaceX’s steel Starship glows during Earth reentry in first high-quality render
SpaceX has silently published the first known detailed render of its new stainless steel Starship’s design on the cover of Popular Mechanic’s April 2019 issue, showing the next-generation orbital spacecraft reentering Earth’s atmosphere in a blaze of glowing metal and plasma.
Despite the fact that the render seems to only be available in print and then only through one particular news outlet, Teslarati has acquired a partial-resolution copy of the image to share the latest official glimpse of SpaceX’s Starship with those who lack the means, access, or interest to purchase a magazine. Matters of accessibility aside, SpaceX’s updated render offers a spectacular view of Starship’s exotic metallic heat shield in action, superheating the atmosphere around it to form a veil of plasma around the spacecraft’s hull. According to CEO Elon Musk, the hottest parts of Starship’s skin will be reinforced with hexagonal tiles of steel and transpiration cooling, a largely unproven technology that SpaceX is already in the process of testing.
Aside from one additional view – again only distributed to Popular Mechanic – showing a far wider angle of a SpaceX Starship entering the Martian atmosphere and video shown by CEO Elon Musk to students in Flint, MI a few days ago, this appears to be the first official render of an unequivocally metallic Starship. Aside from its shiny steel exterior, this latest render also offers an exceptionally-illustrated artist’s interpretation of what a Starship with metallic thermal protection might look like during reentry, appearing to take into account a number of things that set such a system apart from traditional heat shielding.
Aside from NASA’s Space Shuttle, which used fragile tiles of insulating material in its reusable heat shield, no other spacecraft have been flown with a primary heat shields that experiences little to no ablation, meaning that the material itself is not eroded during peak heating. Ablative heat shields like the PICA-X system used on SpaceX’s Crew and Cargo Dragons produce distinctly different ‘tails’ during reentry, mainly as a result of the addition of ablated material, much like injecting different elements into a fire or using different materials in rocket nozzles can drastically change the color (and sometimes behavior) of the flame.
While the extreme compressive heating of spacecraft reentering Earth’s atmosphere at many miles/kilometers per second produces plasma instead of what humans recognize as fire, the general idea remains the same. Comparing the reentry tails of spacecraft like the Apollo Command Module, the Space Shuttle, and Orion makes it clear that each vehicle and heat shield produces a subtle but distinctly unique plasma tail over the course of several minutes of peak reentry heating, when the vehicle’s velocity is fast enough to compress atmospheric gases into plasma. Different ablators end up injecting different gases into the superheated plasma tail, hence the different appearance of each tail.
Transpiration cooling will be added wherever we see erosion of the shield. Starship needs to be ready to fly again immediately after landing. Zero refurbishment.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2019
Aside from a unique lack of ablation for Starship’s stainless steel hull and curious hexagonal steel heat shield tiles, SpaceX may end up having to implement a wholly unproven technology known as transpiration cooling, in which some of
It’s unclear what the resulting methane-rich plasma plume might look like but it’s not out of the question that SpaceX’s graphic design team have either done the math themselves, so to speak, or asked engineers to verify what color Starship’s plasma tail might end up looking like. As shown in the latest render, a plume of hues ranging from light blue and indigo to red through white seems entirely plausible. Regardless, Starship is bound to look spectacular during orbital reentries thanks to its metallic skin and shield and planned hot structure, meaning that the entire windward half of the vehicle could end up glowing red, orange, yellow, and even white-hot, precisely like the thermal testing video Musk recently shared.
SpaceX’s first orbital Starship prototype is already under construction at the company’s ad-hoc South Texas ‘shipyard’, for lack of a better term. According to Musk, that vehicle could be ready to be done “around June” of this year, while its complimentary Super Heavy booster could begin assembly as early as April thru June, as well.
Check out Teslarati’s Marketplace! We offer Tesla accessories, including for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla Model 3.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship launches face pushback in Florida over noise, flights—and nudists
SpaceX is seeking permission to fly its fully reusable Starship system from Launch Complex 39A.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has wrapped up a series of public hearings on SpaceX’s proposal to launch its Super Heavy Starship rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
The sessions, held both in-person and online, form part of the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) review that will determine whether SpaceX would be cleared to conduct Starship launches and landings from Florida’s Space Coast.
FAA review and Starship launch plans
According to the FAA’s draft EIS, SpaceX seeks permission to fly its fully reusable Starship system from Launch Complex 39A, where construction of a dedicated tower and infrastructure has already begun. Proposed operations could involve landings at KSC or droneships positioned across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The FAA emphasized that final approval is not guaranteed with the completion of the EIS, as safety and financial requirements must still be met, as noted in a Space.com report.
Starship’s larger scale compared to Falcon 9 means expanded exclusion zones for air, sea, and beach access. The analysis also projected more than 60 annual closures of Playalinda Beach, alongside potential flight delays across Florida airports lasting 40 minutes to two hours. Port Canaveral would also be affected by maritime restrictions.
Local concerns
Public comments reflected a mix of optimism and unease. Aviation officials, such as Tampa International Airport COO John Tiliacos, warned of significant disruption to commercial flights. “There is the potential that there’s going to be significant impact to commercial aviation and the traveling public. That’s something that certainly the FAA needs to give consideration to and, frankly, come up with a plan to mitigate,” he stated.
Others raised health concerns, noting that chronic sleep disruption from launch noise could impact veterans and trauma survivors. Robyn Memphis, a neuroscience and psychology graduate student, stated that sleep disruptions from launch noise and sonic booms could carry lasting effects. “Chronic sleep disruption is not just inconvenient. This is directly linked to depression, anxiety… cardiovascular disease, even suicide risk. And being in Florida, we have many veterans and trauma survivors in the community,” she said.
Nudist protests and responses
Erich Schuttauf, the executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation, also argued that places like Playalinda Beach, a nudist beach, are crucial for people who travel to places where public nudity is legal. His sentiments were echoed by fellow nudist Sue Stevens, who noted that “It’s probably a quarter million people that travel and think like I do, who look for destinations that are beautiful and surrounded by like-minded people.”
Photographer Max West, who plans to move to Florida to photograph Starship, noted that the spacecraft presents a notable step forward for humanity. And while its impact to communities is not marginal, the progress it offers is well worth it. “I’m not going to say that there is zero environmental impact there,” he said, though he also stated that there has to be some “little sacrifices along the way. “The turtles and the nudists will have to migrate. That’s the cost that you have to pay for this incredible stuff that’s happening.”
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares unbelievable Starship Flight 10 landing feat
Flight 10’s Starship upper stage demonstrated impressive accuracy when it came to its target landing zone.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently shared an insane feat accomplished by Starship’s upper stage during its tenth test flight.
Despite the challenges it faced during its return trip to Earth, Flight 10’s Starship upper stage demonstrated impressive accuracy when it came to its target landing zone.
Against the odds
Musk’s update was shared on social media platform X. In a conversation about Starship upper stage’s return to Earth, Musk revealed that the upper stage splashed down just 3 meters (under 10 feet) from its intended target. Considering the size of the Starship upper stage and the ocean itself, achieving this accuracy was nothing short of insane.
Starship Flight 10 was a success as both the Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage completed all their mission objectives. However, videos and images released by SpaceX showed the upper stage’s heat shield scorched golden-brown and parts of its aft skirt visibly missing. The flaps and other surfaces also bore signs of heavy stress from reentry.
SpaceX highlighted this in a post on X: “Starship made it through reentry with intentionally missing tiles, completed maneuvers to intentionally stress its flaps, had visible damage to its aft skirt and flaps, and still executed a flip and landing burn that placed it approximately 3 meters from its targeted splashdown point,” SpaceX noted.
A key milestone
The result stands in stark contrast to Starship’s earlier test flights this year, when all three prior upper-stage flights in 2025 ended in premature breakup before splashdown. Flight 10 not only marked the first successful splashdown of the year for the Starship upper stage, but it also delivered near-perfect precision despite its battered state, according to a Space.com report.
For SpaceX, this success is a critical proof point in developing a fully reusable launch system. A spacecraft capable of surviving severe reentry conditions and still landing within meters of its target underscores the robustness needed for future missions, including orbital payload deliveries and, eventually, landings on the Moon and Mars.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals when SpaceX will perform first-ever Starship catch
“Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go,” Musk said.

Elon Musk revealed when SpaceX would perform the first-ever catch attempt of Starship, its massive rocket that will one day take life to other planets.
On Tuesday, Starship aced its tenth test flight as SpaceX was able to complete each of its mission objectives, including a splashdown of the Super Heavy Booster in the Gulf, the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, and another splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean.
It was the first launch that featured a payload deployment:
SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative
SpaceX was transparent that it would not attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster, something it has done on three previous occasions: Flight 5 on October 13, 2024, Flight 7 on January 16, and Flight 8 on March 6.
This time, it was not attempting to do so. However, there are bigger plans for the future, and Musk detailed them in a recent post on X, where he discussed SpaceX’s plans to catch Starship, which would be a monumental accomplishment.
Musk said the most likely opportunities for SpaceX to catch Starship itself would be Flight 13, Flight 14, and Flight 15, but it depends on “how well the V3 flights go.”
The Starship launched with Flight 10 was a V2, which is the same size as the subsequent V3 rocket but has a smaller payload-to-orbit rating and is less powerful in terms of initial thrust and booster thrust. Musk said there is only one more V2 rocket left to launch.
Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2025
V3 will be the version flown through 2026, as V4, which will be the most capable Starship build SpaceX manufactures, is likely to be the first company ship to carry humans to space.
Musk said that SpaceX planned to “hopefully” attempt a catch of Starship in 2025. However, it appears that this will likely be pushed back to 2026 due to timing.
SpaceX will take Starship catch one step further very soon, Elon Musk confirms
SpaceX would need to launch the 11th and 12th test flights by the end of the year in order to get to Musk’s expected first catch attempt of Flight 13. It’s not unheard of, but the company will need to accelerate its launch rate as it has only had three test flights this year.
-
News1 week ago
Tesla is overhauling its Full Self-Driving subscription for easier access
-
Elon Musk1 week ago
Elon Musk shares unbelievable Starship Flight 10 landing feat
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Elon Musk reveals when SpaceX will perform first-ever Starship catch
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative
-
Elon Musk5 days ago
Tesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed
-
News6 days ago
Tesla appears to be mulling a Cyber SUV design
-
Elon Musk2 days ago
Tesla Board takes firm stance on Elon Musk’s political involvement in pay package proxy
-
News2 days ago
Tesla launches new Supercharger program that business owners will love