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 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
- 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-
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)