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 48 | Starship Dev 47 | Starship Dev 46 | Starship Dev 45
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 2023-09-22
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 | Test Stand B | Cryo tested | |
| S27 | Rocket Garden | Scrapped | Common dome imploded |
| S28 | Engine Install Stand | Raptors installed | Previously tested at Masseys |
| S29 | Masseys | Awaiting testing | |
| 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 | Megabay 1 | ||
| B12 | Megabay 1 | Grid fins installed | |
| B13 | Megabay 1 | Stacking | |
| 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-
7:24am- LR11000 picks up the ring lifting jig and swings over to hot staging ring. Looks like they are done with the work on top of B9
7:30am- Lowers the lifting jig down to the ring
8:10am- Workers are on the SQD and on top of B9
8:47am- Workers retract the work platform on the SQD
9:00am- Lifts went up to the staircase and dance floor overnight. More sparks could be seen coming from the OLM ring to the right of the staircase. AWP left the pad area
9:08am- Ring is lifted and 2 AWP’s are going up
9:20am- Swings over to B9
9:25am- Workers helping to line it up
9:31am- Down on top of B9
9:34am- Worker climbs into the HSR
9:39am- Workers disconnecting the lifting cables
9:47am- Lifting jig is lifted away from B9 and AWP's go down
10:04am- SQD work platform is swung back over to the end of the arm
10:38am- LR11000 disconnected from the lifting jig
12:20pm- Workers up on the SQD
1:00pm- LR11000 moves over to the sub orbital pad area
1:15pm- Lift has been up at the top of the staircase
3:44pm- AWP goes up to one of the latch points between B9 and the HSR.
4:09pm- Work platform at the end of the SQD is swung away
4:21pm- AWP goes back down. Sensor was showing the latch didn’t work?
4:30pm- AWP goes back up. Needed to grab something?
4:33pm- After some quick work, they go back down again
6:24pm- Venting at Massey’s. S29 cryo starting?
6:47pm- LR11000 is lowering the squid to the top of S26 and an AWP is going up to hook it up
7:04pm- Klaxon and announcement. I can make out personal and orbital pad.
7:17pm- Frost on S29
7:41pm- Lox tank is full frosty on S29
8:12pm- Full frosty
9:10pm- Lift has been up at the right chopstick
9:27pm- AWP goes back up to the top of B9. Other side of booster compared to earlier
9:55pm- AWP comes back down. No view of what they were doing on SBL or Rover 2
10:30pm- Frost is receding on S29. Lift up to the dance floor
(This gets synced)