New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

12:32am- Finally turn the light off. Workers checking the area

1:32am- Pressure washer truck leaves

2:10am- Pad appears clear

6:12am- Don’t see any people but there were headlights off to the right of the pad

9:00:32am- FireX test

9:04am- Sheriff at the road block

9:11am- Pope stack venting

9:36am- Tank farm activity picking up

10:34am- OLM vent (Maybe 2 to 2.5 hours away)

11:24am- OLM vent stops. Propellant load should be starting

11:26am- Methane sub coolers going

11:30am- Frost ring on the Lox tank

11:39am- Frost ring on the methane tank

11:51am- Methane load complete

12:26pm- OLM vent returns. Propellant load should be done

12:36:08- FireX

12:36:23- Deluge

12:36:27- Static fire

12:39:10- Deluge ends

12:39:29- Depress

12:59pm- SQD arm swings away

1:11pm- Chopsticks closing

1:17pm- Chopsticks lowering

1:23pm- SQD arm swings back over the booster

1:27pm- Lift up at S25 (Hurry up with those tiles)

1:31pm- Chopsticks all the way down on the stop

1:36pm- Big purge from under booster

2:21pm- Another depress vent

3:00pm- Just a tiny bit of frost left on the lox tank

3:48pm- Road open

6:27pm- Tent 1 is starting to get torn down

6:30pm- Workers return to the pad

6:36pm- Dance floor rolling back under the pad

8:43pm- Workers walking around inspecting the area

9:12pm- Red caution tape being wrapped around the base of the OLM

9:28pm- Lifts going up

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

10:49pm- Equipment being loaded on to the dance floor

2:31am- RIP tent 1

2:41am- Dance floor is being lifted. They didn’t raise it all the way up though.

3:33am- Dance floor stand rolls away

6:47am- Railing around the dance floor is up

7:02am- Welding tanks brought in

10:13am- Crane arrives in between the tower and back of the OLM

10:35am- Crane connected to something behind the doghouse.

10:40am- Lifts have been up inspecting all around the OLM. All of the welds on the staircase were checked. Workers have also been on top of the OLM. Vehicles have blocked the view of under the OLM all night.

11:07am- Crane lifts a flat metal rectangular frame to the backside of the OLM

11:16am- Lifts object up to the top back of the left chopstick (Maybe some kind of handrail?)

2:20pm- 3 lifts have been up at the pad and 1 at the chopsticks

3:02pm- Lift goes up to the back right chine

3:19pm- Stair section lifted into the new mega bay

6:20pm- 4 excavators are going to town clearing up the remains of tent 1

7:43pm- Crane lifts a similar piece of railing as earlier up to the right chopstick

9:40pm- Lifts still up at the OLM and chopsticks

11:32pm- Looks like 6 more beams still to be cut out before we may see an attempt at pulling the mid bay over.

Rover 1-

20:35- There is a sheriff at the entrance to the production site and sparks are flying at the front of the mid bay. Is it finally time?

22:20- Several beams have been removed on the side closest to Rover 1

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

7:39am- Staircase section lifted into the new mega bay

7:47am- Excavator with metal shears attachment starts tearing the siding off the mid bay

8:45am- 3 lifts were up and down from the OLM overnight

12:10pm- The 1st shift OLM crew seem to have taken the day off.

12:40pm- You can see orange dots spray painted on some of the beams of the midbay. Indicating where to cut?

2:15pm- One lift went up to the OLM and chopsticks for a bit.

2:31pm- Workers up at the BQD in a aerial work platform

2:50pm- Workers at the BQD working on the methane and oxygen fill lines and taping over the openings. Was weird, looked the lines had been completely disconnected from the plate and that they just reached thru the holes and pulled them back out and then taped them.

5:00pm- Worker up in a lift at the mid bay using a torch to cut some of the siding to expose the support beams more

6:09:48- Vent at the pad

6:13:25- BQD venting (So much for that tape job earlier)

7:06:25pm- RQD purge

7:53pm- Venting from the OTF

8:10pm- Venting dies off

8:39pm- Workers on top of the OLM

9:10pm- Lifts going up

(This gets synced)

Afternoon (US Central time) 20 August 2023: LabPadre covering the demolition of the Mid Bay here.

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

11:14pm- Shielding gets lifted again

3:57am- Crane detached from the shielding

6:56am- Second crane arrives by the OLM

7:42am- Original crane leaves

8:59am- Next piece of shielding for the right side of the staircase is lifted. This will bring the shielding on both sides even

9:20am- Work continued on the BQD area overnight. The aerial work platform continued inspecting the chopsticks rail on the left side as well.

9:46am- Crane disconnected from shielding

10:21am- Next piece of shielding goes up on right side. Slanted piece that should support the roof structure over the doorway

1:25pm- Crane detached from shielding

1:33pm- Aerial work platform goes up to the SQD arm. (Workers are inspecting the bottom of the arm)

1:38pm- Crane lifts final piece of shielding to the left side of staircase.

5:26pm- Crane detaches from shielding and lowers (That’s 3 pieces for 1st shift. They’re getting it done today).

9:00pm- Lifts up at the OLM, staircase, and chopsticks

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

8:06am- Cleaning up debris from IFT-1 around the pad

9am- Lifts were up under and on top of the OLM overnight. Lifts were used to bring equipment up to the top of the staircase. Work on the chopsticks continues as well.

And with that, I’m off to take advantage of the long weekend by taking a quick vacation with the family.

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

2:11am- Crane lifts another piece of bracing up to the top of the staircase

2:33am- Crane disconnects from brace.

3:11am- There is some welding happening around the pivot point of the chopsticks

3:19am- Another piece of bracing is lifted

3:56am- Crane disconnects

8:40am- Work continues on the top of the OLM near the BQD. Welders are working on the staircase. A mini excavator worked along the edge of the pad closest to the OTF most of the night.

9:45am- The reconfigured LR11000 at the build site is being raised

10:05am- Another piece of bracing is lifted up to the staircase

1:38pm- Yet another piece of bracing is lifted up

2:26pm- More bracing lifted. ( Instead of building a framework to weld the shielding on to at the top of the staircase. They welded the shielding to the OLM and are now building the structure to support it. )

3:09pm- The LR11000 at the build site finishes raising into its new configuration

3:25pm- Concrete truck arrives to pour into the new forms along the edge of the pad

3:50pm- Another piece of bracing lifted up (That’s 11 pieces)

4:15pm- Roof panel lifted up to the staircase. Concrete truck count at 3

5:23pm- Chopsticks raising

5:33pm-Chopsticks lowering (must be testing some of the work they’ve done)

7:54pm- End panel being removed from tent 2

8:05pm- End panel partially collapses

8:16pm- End panel ripped down. Definitely not trying to save it

8:30pm- Looks like another piece of bracing lifted to the stairs. (In a small box on SBL so I might be wrong but something was definitely lifted to the top of the stairs)

8:57pm- Awesome raptor test at McGregor

9:13pm- SPMT’s headed to Masseys

10:06pm- Hot stage ring being lifted up in the megabay

10:17pm- Swings over towards B9

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

10:29pm- Scaffolding coming down off the top of the OLM

10:53pm- Workers working inside of the BQD

1:29am- Pickup brought in 2 enclosed trailers and left them at the edge of the pad

1:52am- Pick up brings in a flat trailer with equipment on it (to dark to see what kind of equipment)

2:00am- Welding continues on the staircase

2:29am- B9 rolls to the middle of the megabay

4:30am- OLM seems clear of workers

7:00am- Lift going back up

7:10am- B9 rolls back into the corner of the megabay

9:14am- Lift back up at S25 lift points

12:15pm- Things are quiet at the OLM. Just a couple lifts up. At the production site an excavator is still working on clearing up debris from tent 2.

12:31pm- Shipping container is moved from behind the midbay

1:00pm- 1 lift at the chopsticks and 1 lift at the OLM

3:20pm- A couple of lifts still going up and down to the OLM

4:53pm- BQD hood closes

5:55pm- 3 lifts up at the top of the OLM.

8:45pm- Pad looks to be clear in anticipation of the storm.

9:00pm- Future radar predicts outer bands hitting around 10:30pm and main storm starts around 3am.

9:35pm- Spoke to soon. Workers are back.

9:45pm- Lifts back up. Welding on the staircase resumes

(This gets synced)

Nice pictures of Booster 9 on the Orbital Launch Mount.

SpaceX @SpaceX 7:36 PM · Aug 22, 2023

Super Heavy Booster 9 transported back to the orbital launch pad at Starbase for additional preflight testing

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

1:31am- Vent hose installed on the OLM

7:30am- Lots of welding on the staircase overnight. One lift was up at the dance floor and some welding flashes could be seen coming from there as well.

8:25am- Kettle boiler is lifted off a truck and sat on the ground on the lox side of the OTF

8:28am- 2nd kettle boiler arrives

8:38am- 3rd kettle boiler arrives

8:48am- Starlink box is on the move. Looks like it’s going to a storage area

9:08am- Second kettle boiler lifted off it’s truck

9:18am- Staircase section lifted into the new mega bay

9:28am- Kettle boiler lifted up on to it’s concrete base

9:48am- Second kettle boiler lifted up on to it’s concrete base

10:04am- Paint crew painting the new door on the OLM

10:25am- Staircase is getting a paint job as well

10:32am- Third kettle boiler is lifted up behind the first kettle boiler in the line starting a second row

1:03pm- Lift up at the tower (Looks like it’s inspecting the back right rail)

2:25pm- 2 more lifts up painting the OLM legs

4:28pm- The kettle boilers have been removed from their concrete stands

4:33pm- Worker on the SQD arm

4:42pm- Removing fence wreckage

5:51pm- Lift up to the chopsticks

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

8:30am- Lifts were up to the top of the OLM and chopsticks overnight. A crane was also extended to the chopsticks but never lifted or lowered anything. So probably just support for whatever was being worked on. Paint crews are at work currently on the cryo leg. No lifts have gone up to the staircase in over 24 hours.

10:50am- Crane goes back up to the chopsticks

1:25pm- Literally watching paint dry. Lift has been up at the BQD as well.

2:00pm- Lift goes back up to the right rear chine. Hopefully someone will get a ground shot of what they’ve been doing because you really can’t tell on the video

3:00pm- Aerial work platform goes up near top of B9 and then starts coming down. Stopped at chopsticks

3:08pm- Stair section lifted into the new mega bay

3:48pm- Crane lifts part of the moveable rails (tank treads) on the left chopstick. Shifts it backwards

4:12pm- The LR11000 at the pad is on the move

4:36pm- LR11000 stops by deluge tank farm. Crane lowers from the chopsticks

10:05pm- Lots of workers have been walking around the top of the OLM. A scissor lift has been up under the piping to the left side of the staircase. Work also continues on the chopsticks with lifts going up and down. An aerial work platform is up by the back right rail on the tower that was inspected a few days ago. Finally a lift is up at the staircase and all is right in the world again. (Even though it looks like they just used it to lift equipment up to the doorway and they aren’t actually working on the staircase)

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

1:19am- Crane lifts large sheet of metal behind dog house. Moves out of sight behind the OLM. Cover for the deluge pipe vault?

2:02am- Crane leaves

3:21am- AWP goes back up to the back right rail of the tower

7:50am- Work continued on the top of the OLM and on the chopsticks overnight. Crews are also currently working on the BQD.

8:20am- Another roof piece lifted up to the new mega bay

10:28am- AWP goes up to just above the common dome area of B9. FTS work or testing?

11:07am- Another piece was lifted up to the new mega bay

1:02pm- 3rd piece lifted up to the new mega bay

1:54pm- AWP back up around the FTS location on B9

3:49pm- 4th piece lifted up to the new mega bay

4:28pm- Cross tie lifted up to the new mega bay for the 2 corner pieces that were lifted earlier

6:28pm- Chopsticks start rising

6:37pm- Chopsticks stop about equal with the top of the chines

6:57pm- Chopsticks rise another couple of feet

7:13pm- Rise another few feet

7:31pm- Chopsticks go back down

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

Friday-

2 stair sections installed on the OLT

1 stair section installed in the new mega bay

AWP up at B9’s FTS

Lifts up at chopsticks and the OLM

Saturday-

AWP up at the interstage of B9 (Working on an antenna?)

Staircase section lifted into new mega bay

Final corner pieces lifted up to the top of the new mega bay

Lifts up at OLM and Chopsticks

Sunday-

Looks like most of the workers got the day off

Monday-

Lifts return to the OLM around 5:30pm

8:08pm- S25 rolls to the gate at the rocket garden

8:28pm- Rolls backwards

8:30pm- Stops. (From Starship Gazers stream we can see that a lift went up and replaced a tile that fell off)

8:33pm- Rolls back up to the gate

9:36pm- Rolling onto Remidos

10:00pm- Turns on to Hwy 4

10:56pm- Ship stops on Hwy 4 (SPMT is broke down)

Tuesday-

1:08am- Ship starts rolling again

1:22am- Turns into the launch site

1:36am- Arrives just outside of the chopsticks

1:38am- Rolls in between the chopsticks

6:25am- Chopsticks rise up

6:29am- Right chopstick closes in on the ship

6:32am- Left chopstick closes in

6:37am- Chopsticks raise to engage lifting pins

7:59am- Left aft flap unfolds

8:02am- Right aft flap unfolds

8:27am- Pad clear announcement

9:42am- Lift goes up to the chopsticks

11:40am- Crane lifts the QD’s transport panel away. It was putting up quite the fight.

11:53am- Klaxon/Pad clear announcement

12:06pm- SQD arm swings away

12:41pm- Ship going up

1:17pm- Clears B9

1:18pm- SQD arm swings in

1:20pm- S25 starts rotating over

1:27pm- Over B9

1:39pm- Very slowly being lowered

2:03pm- Looks down to me

2:20pm- Stack wobbles

3:07pm- Purge of B9’s engine section

3:40pm- Workers on SQD arm prepping S25’s QD

4:40pm- QD work platform swings away

4:58pm-SQD starts to extend

5:12pm- Looks like it connected

5:32:56pm- Retract test

5:35pm- Extends and then retracts again.

5:41pm- Starting to extend again

5:48pm- Connected again

9:02pm- Lift goes up to the OLM

9:58pm- Crane lifts the metal lid back on to the deluge pipe bunker

Wednesday-

12:07am- LR11000 Moves back over to the sub orbital pad area

1:13am- Lift goes up to the back side of the tower

8:15am- Workers on top of the OLM

10:46am- Another piece of the roof structure is lifted up to the new mega bay

1:44pm- Lifts removing equipment from the dance floor

4:43pm- Pickup pulls the gray tool trailer away

4:48pm- White step van leaves

6:11pm- Dance floor lowers to the ground

8:34pm- Single SPMT heads to the launch site

8:57pm- Dance floor is raised a few feet

9:27pm- Dance floor rises up and it’s transport stand rolls underneath

9:46pm- Dance floor is driven out from under the OLM

10:16pm- S28’s methane hatch is still open and scaffolding still in place

(This gets synced)

S26 is rolling out to the launch site! Starship Gazer coverage has ended, but NSF Starbase Live is covering it.

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase live-

10:45pm- Crane removes a piece manifold at the deluge tank farm

11:52pm- Crane removes another big chunk of the manifold from the deluge tank farm

2:48am- Forklift removes one of the light towers from around the OLM

2:54am- LR11000 picks up the lifting squid

8:58am- Crane lifts another beam up to the new mega bay

9:44am- S26 starts rolling

9:49am- Pauses at the entrance to the rocket garden

9:51am- Turns on to Remidos

10:05am- Turns on to Hwy 4

10:35am- They aren’t taking any chances today. Have an extra power pack for the SPMT’s and a forklift in the motorcade.

11:20am- Turns into the launch site

11:33am- Arrives at the sub orbital pad

11:57am- Squid lowers to just above S26

12:12pm- Lift goes up to connect the squid

12:51pm- Squid connected. Lift goes down

2:45:52pm- Ignitor test at the OLM

2:55pm- Chopsticks release S25 and open a bit

2:57pm- Chopsticks lower a few feet

3:02pm- Chopsticks open wide and lower to their launch position

3:15pm- Chopsticks raise back up and close part way again

4:46pm- Lift up at the nosecone of S20 at the rocket garden. (Reinstalling lift hooks so it can be lifted and scrapped? Or practicing installing tiles on nosecones?)

5:22pm- S26 lifted off its transport stand and swung over to pad B

5:37pm- Making final adjustments to get it lined up on the pad

5:49pm- Gap disappears. Looks like it’s down

9:04pm- Single lift goes up to the OLM

(This gets synced)

S25 has been stacked on top of B9.

NSF livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZqaA17T4eI

SpaceX video and photos: https://nitter.net/SpaceX/status/1699229958064005624

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Should be deluge. They don’t power wash the pad for anything else.

Edit- PA announced Deflector testing confirming deluge test

7:19pm- There’s still a tanker unloading at the deluge tank farm.

7:35pm- Tanker left/still one person under pad

8:18pm- Another tanker

8:35pm- Tanker leaving. Drone

8:43pm- PA announcement/Klaxon

9:07pm- System is being primed. Pad is wet

9:09pm- Whoosh

9:10:05pm- End (Looking at the replays, it looks like full pressure for around 25 seconds)

(This gets synced)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

12:33am- 2nd ventilation hose installed to the OLM

6:45am- Forklift moves a header tank to over by the HLS nosecone

7:36am- AWP goes back up to the SQD arm

8:00am- Lots of welding on the staircase shielding overnight. A few lifts went to the top of the OLM

10:29am- Workers up at the SQD

10:44am- SQD arm getting a fresh coat of paint as well

10:45am- Crane lifts a cross brace up to the halfway point of the staircase. (Piece of square steel tubing)

11:29am- Crane lifts another cross brace up to the staircase. A little above the first one

11:52am- Concrete forms being built around the edge of the OLM pad

1:40pm- 2nd vent hose lowered about halfway. (Probably getting in the way of the welders working on the staircase)

1:51pm- Crane lifts the next cross brace up to the stairs.

3:04pm- S29 rolls out of the high bay

3:10pm- Next cross brace lifted up to the staircase

3:54pm- Another cross brace lifted

4:29pm- After rotating a bit, S29 rolls back into the high bay

5:39pm- Venting at the production site. Can’t see it on Rover 1. Raptor roost definitely shows it at the production site though. Not sure what it is from.

6:45pm- Another piece of bracing is lifted. This one will support the top of the shielding on the right hand side

8:36pm-BQD hood closes

9:30:15pm- RQD test

9:47:58pm- RQD test

10:14:41pm- RQD test

10:36:35pm- RQD test

10:37pm- Depress vent

10:52pm- BQD opens back up

(This gets synced)

From Ars Technica:

(Note: at 6 pm ET on Wednesday, the FAA issued the following statement).

"The SpaceX Starship mishap investigation remains open," the agency stated. "The FAA will not authorize another Starship launch until SpaceX implements the corrective actions identified during the mishap investigation and demonstrates compliance with all the regulatory requirements of the license modification process."

Starship Gazer is live for possible S26 rollout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp-7-rWQc9E

Midbay taken down.

Reddit link copied from LabPadre

Twitter link of the same

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #49