Several firsts today. I think this is the first time we’ve seen an entry without a plasma blackout. It’s amazing that it managed to do a soft landing with all of that damage to the fin. I’ll be curious to know if all of the fins suffered like that, or just the one in the video, but it’s a testament to how robust the design is.

[Update a while later]

June 6th now has another reason to go down in history. The first launch and entry of a fully reusable spaceship occurred on the 80th anniversary of the invasion to liberate Europe.

— Rand Simberg (@Simberg_Space) June 6, 2024

I suspect that this is going to upstage Starliner docking with ISS.

[Update a while later]

Commentary from David Strom.

[Friday-morning update]

Reflections from Glenn Reynolds.

Centuries from now, on other worlds, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be minor footnotes in history, but everyone will know the name Elon Musk.

[Update a while later]

Ellie Sheriff interviews Elon:

NEWS: Elon Musk gives a thorough update after the 4th launch of Starship.
Will we see a catch for Flight 5?
How will Starlink be even better on the next flight?
These are some of the questions Elon answers for us.
I hope this interview informs you about the incredible work SpaceX… pic.twitter.com/NUzVmUxHFp

— Ellie in Space 🚀💫 (@esherifftv) June 7, 2024

Starliner finally launches with crew. I doubt that it will fly many times.

Dear Moon has been canceled.

This is disappointing, but it’s only a temporary setback. There will be private missions to, around, and on the Moon.

SpaceX seems to be focusing on vehicle recovery for now.

This puts off early payload-delivery capability somewhat, but it could still happen this year.