SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

  1. When (first) orbital flight? First integrated flight test occurred April 20, 2023. “The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship.”
  2. Where can I find streams of the launch? SpaceX Full Livestream. NASASpaceFlight Channel. Lab Padre Channel. Everyday Astronaut Channel.
  3. What’s happening next? SpaceX has assessed damage to Stage 0 and is implementing fixes and changes including a water deluge/pad protection/“shower head” system. No major repairs to key structures appear to be necessary.
  4. When is the next flight test? Just after flight, Elon stated they “Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months.” On April 29, he reiterated this estimate in a Twitter Spaces Q&A (summarized here), saying “I’m glad to report that the pad damage is actually quite small,” should “be repaired quickly,” and “From a pad standpoint, we are probably ready to launch in 6 to 8 weeks.” Requalifying the flight termination system (FTS) and the FAA post-incident review will likely require the longest time to complete. Musk reiterated the timeline on May 26, stating “Major launchpad upgrades should be complete in about a month, then another month of rocket testing on pad, then flight 2 of Starship.”
  5. Why no flame diverter/flame trench below the OLM? Musk tweeted on April 21: “3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount. Wasn’t ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch.” Regarding a trench, note that the Starship on the OLM sits 2.5x higher off the ground than the Saturn V sat above the base of its flame trench, and the OLM has 6 exits vs. 2 on the Saturn V trench.

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Quick Links

RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE

Starship Dev 47 | Starship Dev 46 | Starship Dev 45 | Starship Dev 44

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

Type Start (UTC) End (UTC) Status
Primary 2023-08-24 13:00:00 2023-08-25 01:00:00 Cancelled
Alternative 2023-08-25 14:00:00 2023-08-26 02:00:00 Concluded
Alternative 2023-08-28 13:00:00 2023-08-27 01:00:00 Cancelled

Up to date as of 2023-09-05

Vehicle Status

As of 2023-09-05

Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Ship Location Status Comment
S20 Rocket Garden Retired
S24 Gulf of Mexico Destroyed Destroyed on during Flight Test 1
S25 Stacked on B9 Spin Prime and Static Fire
S26 Rocket Garden Cryo tested
S27 Rocket Garden Scrapped Common dome imploded
S28 Engine Install Stand Raptors installed Previously tested at Masseys
S29 High Bay Under construction Flap installation in progress
S30 High Bay Under construction
S31 High Bay Under construction
S32 Build Site Parts spotted
S33 Build Site Parts spotted
S34 Build Site Parts spotted

 

Booster Location Status Comment
Pre-B7 & B8 Scrapped or Retired B4 is in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
B7 Gulf of Mexico Destroyed Destroyed April 20th in Flight Test 1
B9 Launch mount Hot-stage ring installed Static fire (August 5th)
B10 Megabay 1 Cryo tested
B11 Rocket Garden Resting
B12 Megabay 1 Grid fins installed
B13 Build Site Parts under construction
B14 Build Site Parts under construction
B15 Build Site Parts under construction

Resources

  • LettuceTurnipTheBeetEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase Live-

    11:00pm- Ventilation hose removed

    1:23am- RIP tent 2

    6:20am- The wooden concrete forms are being removed from the area around the edge of the pad

    8:30am- Lifts were up at the staircase, top of the OLM, and chopsticks overnight. The air handling units were also removed from around the base.

    9:40am- Area around the pad is being cleaned out of lifts and equipment. Are we in for more testing?

    10:50am- Party on top of the OLM and 1 lift up. (I count at least 10 people) They did a quick run through with the sweeper

    10:52am- Lift at S25. Finishing the tile work?

    10:57am- Pressure washing. That’s a sure sign that we are getting ready to see the deluge

    11:02am- Workers climbing into the BQD

    12:00pm- Workers working on both sides of the BQD as well as on the BQD itself. (Even with RGV’s pictures I still can’t figure out what they are doing off to the sides). Pressure washing continues underneath

    1:25pm- Looks like 2 pressure washing trucks are all that is left at the pad

    1:28pm- Trucks leave. Still people on top of the control bunker for the tank farm

    1:46pm- 3 people on the very top of the tower at the pulley for the chopsticks and a drone watching them. (NSF on the raptorside thinks they were working on the cameras)

    2:28pm- Pressure washing truck back under the OLM

    3:00pm- Water truck and a sweeper vehicle back at the launch site.

    3:12pm- 3 people on top of the OLM. Another pressure washing truck returns

    4:19pm- Pressure washing trucks leave again

    5:10pm- Lift up at the deluge tanks

    5:34pm- Workers taking down tarp that was set up on top of the new deluge tank

    6:06:51pm- PA announcement- Clear the pad deflector testing

    6:43pm- Chopsticks rising

    7:28pm- Elevator just went up to the chopsticks level.

    7:35pm- Last tanker truck leaving deluge tank farm

    8:18pm- Another water tanker arrives at the deluge tank farm. Pad still clear

    8:34pm- Tanker leaving

    8:44pm- PA announcement/Klaxon

    9:07pm- System is being primed

    9:09pm- Whoosh

    9:10:05pm- End of test (Looking at the replays, it looks like full pressure for around 25 seconds)

    (This gets synced)