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How SpaceX Solved the 33-Engine Rocket Problem #spacex #starship #flight13

Rocketry · July 31, 2026 · 2:48 · English · Documentary

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Video from the channel Rocketry about Starship, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 2:48. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

The video explains the engine-out capability of Super Heavy, Starship's first stage, which lifts off with 33 Raptor engines. Unlike rockets such as the Saturn V, with only five engines, the flight computer monitors every Raptor hundreds of times per second and, if one fails, recalculates the trajectory and readjusts the thrust and orientation of the others.

As an example, it turns to flight 13: on the first attempt, several Raptors had problems in their oxidizer turbopumps and the software aborted at T-0. After replacing them, the July 24 flight ignited all 33 engines, completed hot-staging, deployed Starlink satellites, relit a Raptor in space, and the ship splashed down intact.

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