What was different with S40 that made it float on the water compared to previous missions? Was it just luck? Was it something that SpaceX was attempting to do before, but only managed to succeed now? Or was there something specifically different about this Ship itself or its landing procedures?
SpaceX plans to launch a completely standard V3 Starship with the only addition of the docking system. It will not be an HLS prototype at all. The only thing this mission will test is Orion's capability to dock with a passive Starship. It feels like SpaceX just wants to put the least effort possible in the mission just to say they were a part in it. It's like they don't want to admit that a true HLS is extremely behind schedule.
Isaacman said that by standardizing SLS, this will allow the rocket to fly with a much higher cadence. But now the new standardized SLS is only planned to launch once. It seems like this "standardizing" thing is just an excuse towards canceling the program.
Rockets usually need two upper stage burns to enter orbit. A long one immediately following first stage cutoff to achieve a high apogee, and then a short circularization burn one hour later to increase the perigee and thus achieve a stable orbit. This is done for example on Falcon 9 Starlink launches, and also on the recent Ariane 6 Leo launch.
But during the recent Atlas V Leo launch, the upper stage was only fired once and it achieved its final circular deployment orbit. How is this possible and what are the advantages of doing it like this?