Is that right... at orbital velocity I think Mars entry is a problem.
Are they planning on landing starships on earth? with Orbital refuelling couldn't they just land it like a Falcon 9
(I mean I guess that'd be super inefficient)
Yes, they plan to land "tanker" starships directly back on earth after they have transferred their fuel to another vessel.
They plan to land passenger ballistic re-entry starships which fly without a booster directly to another city on earth in <30 minutes. These are going relatively slowly.
They plan to land orbital starships, which is like landing the dragon capsule. These are going far faster than the falcon booster ever goes. The second stage (on top of the falcon) never lands, it's disposed of every mission. The StarShip (top half) is essentially a reusable second stage.
The Starship mars or moon editions will remain in orbit and never land on Earth again after initial launch. These do not need hardware for an Earth descent and will rely on refuelling. The Moon edition will have no heat-shield tiles (no need for atmospheric entry) and special thrusters half-way up.
You are correct that interplanetry velocities are very high, so yes... a Mars entry at Earth-Mars transfer velocities is likely to be quite ... exciting. I can't remember how exciting though.
The Falcon 9 booster is going relatively slowly, so retro propulsion into the atmosphere (re-entry burn), the grid fins, and the landing burn are sufficient to land it.
Starship is intended to re-enter from orbit, which is a lot faster. Using aero braking requires much less fuel, and avoids the need for a re-entry burn which may not even be feasible.
Are they planning on landing starships on earth? with Orbital refuelling couldn't they just land it like a Falcon 9 (I mean I guess that'd be super inefficient)