SpaceX removed about 72 tiles in 18 key locations for Starship Flight 11 and there was no catastrophic failure. This could allow SpaceX to optimize the heat shield and remove 10-20% of tiles over lower heating areas. SpaceX will choose to remain extra cautious but they can eventually reduce heat shield tiles. SpaceX is scaling ...

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Link :
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2025/10/spacex-heat-shield-and-starship-mass-production.html