FAQ
- 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."
- Where can I find streams of the launch? SpaceX Full Livestream. NASASpaceFlight Channel. Lab Padre Channel. Everyday Astronaut Channel.
- 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.
- 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."
- 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.
Quick Links
RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE
Starship Dev 46 | Starship Dev 45 | Starship Dev 44 | Starship Dev 43
Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread
Status
Road Closures
| Type | Start (UTC) | End (UTC) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 2023-08-04 13:00:00 | 2023-08-05 01:00:00 | Possible |
| Alternative | 2023-08-06 13:00:00 | 2023-08-07 01:00:00 | Possible |
| Alternative | 2023-08-07 13:00:00 | 2023-08-08 01:00:00 | Possible |
Up to date as of 2023-08-04
Vehicle Status
As of July 28th 2023
Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.
| Ship | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| S15 | Rocket Garden | Scrapped | |
| S20 | Rocket Garden | Retired | |
| S24 | Gulf of Mexico | Destroyed | Destroyed on during Flight Test 1 |
| S25 | Launch Site | Testing | Spin Prime and Static Fire |
| S26 | Rocket Garden | Resting | No fins or heat shield, plus other changes. |
| S27 | Rocket Garden | Scrapped | Common dome imploded |
| S28 | Rocket Garden | Pending Raptor install | Previously tested at Masseys |
| S29 | High Bay 1 | Under construction | |
| S30 | Build Site | Under construction | |
| S31 | Build Site | Parts under construction | Assorted parts spotted through S34. |
| 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 | Mega bay | Pending raptor swap and hot-stage ring install | Static fire (August 5th) |
| B10 | Masseys | Testing | Cryo testing |
| B11 | Rocket Garden | Resting | |
| B12 | Megabay | Raceways installed | |
| B13 | Build Site | Parts under construction | |
| B14 | Build Site | Parts under construction | |
| B15 | Build Site | Parts under construction |
Resources
- LabPadre Channel | NASASpaceFlight.com Channel
- NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent
- NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
- NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation | Most Recent
- SpaceX: Website Starship page | Starship Users Guide (2020, PDF)
- FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
- FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
- FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
- NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
- Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
- Production Progress Infographics by @RingWatchers
- Raptor 2 Tracker by @SpaceRhin0
- Acronym definitions by Decronym
- Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
- Everyday Astronaut: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates | Launch Tower | Merlin Engine | Raptor Engine
New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:
Starbase live-
12:57am- Short piece of pipe lifted into the pit
7:27am- Rebar lifted over by the deluge area. No idea where this is going. Maybe just staging it for the OLM pit?
7:33am- More rebar lifted
7:40am- Possible metal imbed lifted
7:43am- Another imbed. Square piece of metal
7:49am- Another imbed. 90 degree angle piece
7:52am- Crane moving the rebar lowers
9:15am- Large straight rebar lifted over to the pit
9:22am- More rebar
10:26am- Crane on left side disconnects from whatever it was supporting. (Most likely the small section of pipe that was lifted in last night)
11:00am- Left crane lifts something into the pit. Can’t tell what it is
11:09am- Deluge pipe lifted over. Has to be one of the feed pipes coming in from the bunker.
11:47am- LR11000 lifts large metal frame to the ship QD. Looks like it went to the little side wing
1:09pm- More rebar lifted over
1:15pm- More rebar
1:26pm- More rebar
2:03pm- LR11000 goes for a walk
2:15pm- More rebar
2:24pm- Long reach excavator tamps down bottom of pit
2:54pm- More rebar
3:08pm- LR 11000 arrives next to S25
3:14pm- Load of scaffolding pieces lowered to the top of the OLM
3:31pm- More rebar moved
3:34pm- LR11000 picks up the squid
3:39pm- More rebar swung over
3:48pm- Squid swung over to S25
3:55pm- Lift goes up at S25
4:01pm- Workers start connecting the squid
4:22pm- Squid connected
4:23pm- Crane lowers something between OLM and OLT. Can’t see what though
4:43pm- Grover goes up in the background and moves 3 loads. Looks like the counterweight tray and 2 more counterweights
5:05pm- More rebar
5:45pm- Crane on the left side lifts deluge feed pipe and repositions it
6:20- Lift goes up at S25
6:29pm- Deluge pipe lifted out and sat by side of pit. Workers gather around the end
6:36pm- Lift at S25 goes down
6:37pm- Lift goes up to Chopsticks, near pivot point by the tower
6:43pm- Deluge pipe lifted back into the pit
6:49pm- Forklift drives under OLM
7:06pm- Appears to have another one of the plate extensions. Goes between cryo pipe leg and new stairs leg
7:39pm- Disconnected from the forklift
8:45pm- Scaffolding and tarps being set up under the OLM. The great weldathon continues.
9:15pm- Grover moves back closer to the deluge tank farm and starts lifting counterweights back on
10:02pm- Grover finishes stacking counterweights and turns towards the water deluge tank farm
(This gets synced)