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-

    2:46am- New deluge manifold lifted into place

    7:00am- One lift was up at the OLM overnight. It changed places a couple of times but mainly at the top.

    7:39am- S26’s SPMT’s leave the launch site

    7:50am- Lift goes up to the back side of the tower

    9:06am- Lift up disconnecting S26 from the lifting squid

    9:33am- Squid disconnected and swung away

    11:44am- A couple of mini excavators are working in between the OLM and OLT. At least one has a Jack hammer attachment. Breaking up more fondag?

    2:35pm- LR11000 moves back over near the deluge tank farm

    3:36pm-Spreader picked up by the LR11000. Prepping to move the 3rd tank in position

    4:05pm- Spreader swung over to the deluge tanks

    4:20pm- Spreader lowered down closer to the 3rd tank

    5:03pm- Lowered down the rest of the way and lift goes up to attach the straps

    5:15pm- Straps hooked up

    5:25pm- Tension on the straps

    7:00pm- Tank is still hooked up to the crane. Hard to tell through the heat haze if they’ve moved the tank or not. Definitely didn’t lift it very much if they have.

    7:22pm- Crane lifts something about 1/3rd of the way up the backside of the tower and a lift then goes up to the same area.

    9:00pm- Straps around the 3rd tank remain under tension. The OLM is quiet.

    10:00pm- Sheriffs ready for road block. Looks like a stand is coming to the production site from Massey’s

    10:50pm- Deluge tank is finally airborne

    10:56pm- Deluge tank lowered, final adjustments still being made

    11:06pm- Finally a good view of the booster stand heading down Hwy 4 to the production site

    11:17pm- Deluge tank is airborne again

    (This gets synced)