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-
3:13am- Before leaving the pad, lifts were up to the top of the OLM and to the back right chine of B9
5:50am- Pad has been cleared of equipment overnight and It looks like they may be removing the tarp covering the deluge plate right now
7:30am- OLM area looks clear. No sign of pressure washers yet
7:51:22am- Cyber truck drives in front of the OLM. (Please tell me they didn’t clear this all out for a photo op)
7:56:40am- Drone and Cyber truck
8:04:55am-Now 2 people on bikes are riding around the OLM (Tesla bikes?)
8:10:49am- Cyber truck leaves the launch site
10:11am- Looks like a manifold for a set of the methane sub coolers being delivered
12:40pm- Lift was up at the bottom of S26. Still no sign of anyone pressure washing at the OLM. So between that and the tarp going back on, a test is looking doubtful. (It’s normally 5 to 7 hours from the start of pressure washing to a deluge test.)
1:33pm- New manifold delivered for the Lox side sub coolers .
2:33pm- Vent hoses are in both of S28’s tanks. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere tonight.
3:15pm- A crane is up over by the orbital tank farm but the tanks are blocking the view of what it’s doing. (Not by the sub coolers)
4:12:33pm- Cyber truck now pulling an Rvac is back at the OLM with a photo car in front
4:17:41pm- Round and round it goes. (The tarp was removed again for the video)
4:34:14pm- Here they come again
4:40:22pm- Taking the chains down that keep equipment off the deluge plate. They were apparently ruining the shot.
4:47:24- Left the OLM and now coming back in. Do one lap and leave the pad area again.
5:05pm- Back to do some still photos
5:37:45pm- S29 nosecone venting
5:56pm- I mean, who doesn’t want to drive circles around the OLM?
6:34pm- Venting from bottom of S29
6:39pm- And the road closure is for……taking video of Cyber truck pulling the Rvac up and down the road with no one else around
7:12pm- Drone following the truck down Hwy 4 this pass
7:45pm- B13’s transfer tube is lifted for install in the mega bay
8:35pm- Headlights can be seen to the side of the pad but no workers have returned yet
8:58pm- S25’s stand is moved to beside the OLM. Here comes another de stack
(This gets synced)