Portions of this thread copied from a Starship Dev thread on r/SpaceX.
FAQ
- When next launch? (IFT-5) Booster catch is now NET late November, per SpaceX.
- When previous launch? (IFT-4)? Booster 11 and Ship 29 launched on 2024-06-06.
- What was the result? Both booster and ship make it to landing burn and splashdown. Ship flaps took a beating on reentry, but remained in control of the vehicle.
Quick Links
RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE
Starship Dev 56 | IFT-4 launch thread | Starship Dev 55 | IFT-3 launch thread | Starship Dev 54 | Starship Dev 53 | Starship Dev 52
Official SpaceX Starship Update Video (2024-04-06)
Status
Road Closures - @bocaroad Mastodon bot
| Type | Start (CDT) | End (CDT) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Date | 2024-07-09 08:00 | 2024-07-09 20:00 | Possible Closure. |
| Backup Date | 2024-07-10 08:00 | 2024-07-10 20:00 | Possible Closure. |
| Backup Date | 2024-07-11 08:00 | 2024-07-11 20:00 | Possible Closure. |
| Backup Date | 2024-07-10 12:00 | 2024-07-11 00:00 | “Clossure” Scheduled. |
| Backup Date | 2024-07-11 12:00 | 2024-07-12 00:00 | Possible “Clossure”. |
| Primary Date | 2024-07-12 08:00 | 2024-07-12 20:00 | Possible “Clossure”. |
Up to date as of 2024-07-11
Vehicle Status
As of 2024-08-23
Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.
| Ship | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| S20 | Rocket Garden | Pending scrapping? | |
| S26 | Rocket Garden | Pending scrapping? | Static fire Oct. 20. No fins or heat shield, multiple mysterious changes. Completed 3 cryo tests, latest on Oct 10. Rolls to Massey’s May 8th, cryo test May 24th, static fired Jun 3rd, rolls to rocket garden Jun 12th. Moves to Megabay 2 Aug 13th, raptors removed Aug 14th. |
| S30 | Stacked on B12 | Static fired Jul 26th | 2x cryo: Jan 3rd and Jan 5th. Engines installed ~Apr 9th. Static fired May 8th. Heatshield replacement completed by Jul 20. Static fired Jul 26th. Raptor replacement Aug 3rd. Spin prime Aug 6th. |
| S31 | Highbay | Resting | Cryo tested May 12th, suffers small electrical fire. Underwent repairs in the Highbay, rolls back to Massey’s Jul 1. Cryo tested Jul 2nd and 3rd. Engines installed by Jul 26th. Rolls to Massey’s Sep 6th. Partial (aborted) cryo test Sep 8th. Static fired Sep 18th. |
| S32 | Rocket Garden | On the move | Fully stacked, fore flaps installed but not aft flaps |
| S33 | Megabay 2 | Pending flaps install | First V2 Starship. Nosecone spotted Jul 14th. Forward section spotted Jul 27th. Stacking completed Aug 23. |
| S34 | Starfactory | Stacking | Methane header tank spotted Aug 14th. Nosecone stacked on payload bay Sep 20th. |
| S35 | Starfactory | Parts spotted | Parts spotted Sep 20th. |
| Booster | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| B12 | Launch Mount A | Pending hot stage ring install | Cryo x2, Static fire Jul 15th. |
| B13 | Megabay 1 | Testing | Cryo tests Apr 26th (methane tank) and Apr 29th (LOX tank) |
| B14 | Megabay 1 | Pending cryo | Stacked Apr 26th |
| B14.1 | Sanchez | Resting | Multiple catch simulation “slap tests” performed on Jun 26th and 27th. |
| B15 | Build Site | Assembly | Potential aft end, common dome section, aft tank section, and forward dome spotted. |
| B16 | Build Site | Assembly | Parts spotted |
| B17 | Build Site | Assembly | Parts spotted |
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
- Everyday Astronaut 2024 Elon Musk Interviews: Starfactory tour | Pad tour and post-IFT-4 interview
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Starbase activities (2024-09-29):
- Pad A: S30 still stacked on B12, still not launching yet. (Beyer, LabPadre, Ansuini, clwphoto1)
- S30 transport stand moves towards the launch mount. (ViX)
- Build site: New road markings are painted. (ViX)
- Second set of chopsticks are receiving the same reinforcements as the first set. (Anderson)
- S32, S26, and S20 are still in the Rocket Garden. (cnunez)
- RGV Aerial post recent photos of Sanchez, Massey’s, launch site, B11 aft section, and Pad B flame trench construction.
Maritime:
- HOS Ridgewind is back at the B11 splashdown site. (Cornwell)
Other:
- Lewis Knaggs speculative renders of Pad B launch mount. Zack Golden’s thoughts.
Starbase activities (2024-09-28):
- Pad A: S30 still stacked on B12, not launching. (Gisler, cnunez, clwphoto1)
- S30 missing a couple tiles. Possibly intentional like last time? (Gisler)
- S32 moves from the Rocket Garden. (Gisler)
- Work on the passage between Starfactory and offices continues. (Gisler, BocasBrain)
- Build site wide shot. (Gisler)
Maritime:
- Hos Ridgewind heads back out into the Gulf. (Cornwell)
Curious to see what happens in the Gulf given Zack Golden’s speculation from a few days ago. Are they really going to retrieve a booster that’s hundreds of meters below sea level? Feels hard.
Yeah, retrieving B10 seems too difficult. My guess would be that there are some additional bits of B11 that they didn’t/couldn’t retrieve on the previous excursion. Either way, we’ll find out over the coming days!
Starbase activities (2024-09-30):
- Sep 29th cryo delivery update. (clarification)
- Pad A: Ship quick disconnect retracts from S30 (ViX, NSF), work platform deploys and ship ports are sealed, and work platform retracts.
- Ship quick disconnect arm retracts (ViX, NSF), and S30 is destacked from B12. (LabPadre, ViX, Starship Gazer, Priel, Beyer, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, Gisler 1, Gisler 2)
- S30 not “ready-to-roll”. Purpose of destack is potentially for B12 access. (ViX)
- Load spreader arrives, the LR11000 crane rolls towards the launch mount, the load spreader is attached, and the hot stage ring is destacked from B12.
- Pad B: Safety netting removal begins. (ViX)
- Build site: More launch mount parts are delivered. (Beyer)
- Construction on passageway between Starfactory and offices continues. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3)
- Scaffolding has been erected around the chopsticks carriage destined for Pad B. (Gisler)
- 2-hour road delays are posted for Oct 2nd and 3rd between 00:00 and 03:00 for transport from factory to Massey’s.
McGregor:
- The longest duration Raptor engine test (897 seconds, ~15 minutes) is performed. (NSF)
- Previous record was 330 seconds, set on 2023-06-04.
Starbase activities (2024-09-19):
- Sep 18th addendum: S31 static fire (Gomez).
- Busy Sep 19th.
- Pad A: Chopsticks have received a coat of primer zebra-stripes, and are tested. (Gisler, Ramirez, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, Hammer)
- Pad B: The CC8800-1 crane rises. (Gisler)
- Starhopper’s weather station is removed. (Gisler)
- Build site: S34 moves into the Highbay. (Starship Gazer, NSF, Planatus666)
- B12 emerges from the Megabay with some new stringers. (Ramirez, Booster_13soon, Starship Gazer, NSF)
- Some work is done on B12’s quick disconnect ahead of rollout. (Hammer)
- Potential parts for the new orbital launch mount are delivered. (NSF, Ramirez)
- RGV Aerial post recent photo of S31 at Massey’s and comparison photo of Pad A and Pad B construction.
- Amended road delay (2-hour) is posted for Sep 20 between 00:00 and 04:30. Likely for B12 rollout (NSF livestream)
- Road “clossures” are posted for Sep 23rd, 24th, and 25th from 08:00 to 20:00 for non-flight testing activities.
McGregor:
- An 84-second Raptor test fire is observed, likely Raptor 3. (NSF)
Starbase activities (2024-09-21):
- Overnight, hotstage ring is stacked on B12. (Hammer, NSF timelapse)
- S30 is stacked on B12. (NSF full livestream, Starship Gazer, Mary, cnunez, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF timelapse, Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3, Gisler 4, Gisler timelapse, Doherty 1, Doherty 2, Hammer closeup 1, Hammer closeup 2, RGV Aerial, Beyer, SpaceX official photos)
- Ship quick disconnect is tested. (NSF)
- Recent photo of S35 in Starfactory. (cnunez)
Starbase activities (2024-09-20):
- Another busy day!
- Overnight, B12 and (separately) hotstage ring roll out to Pad A. (NSF full livestream, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF timelapse, Ramirez, Hammer 1, Hammer 2, Hammer 3)
- Also overnight, S31 rolls from Massey’s to Megabay 2. (NSF, Gomez, Hammer)
- S31 is transferred from static fire stand to SPMTs and moves to Highbay. (Ramirez, cnunez, Planatus666)
- S34 nosecone is stacked on its payload bay. (Planatus666)
- B12 is lifted onto the launch mount. (Starship Gazer, cnunez wide, cnunez closeup, Doherty, Hammer 1, Hammer 2, Ramirez 1, Ramirez 2, NSF 1, Ramirez 3, Ramirez 4, NSF 2, NSF 3, NSF timelapse)
- SpaceX official photos
- During the lift, the chopsticks are raised to the top of the tower (expected catch height). The extra high lift may have been some form of structural verification test. (Zack Golden)
- S30 rolls out to Pad A as well. (NSF full livestream, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, NSF timelapse, Beyer, Ramirez 1, Ramirez 2)
- SpaceX official photos
- S30 rolls close to the launch mount. (NSF)
Starbase activities (2024-09-22):
- Sep 21st addenda: Starship Gazer timelapse of S30 stacking on B12. RGV Aerial photo 1 and photo 2 of stacking. NSF timelapse comparison of all six stackings so far.
- Not too much Starbase activity reported on Sep 22nd.
- Recent RGV Aerial photos of the launch site, Massey’s, Pad B flame trench construction, and build site.
- Road “clossure” still in place for Sep 23rd from 08:00 to 20:00 for non-flight testing activities. (Wet dress rehearsal)
Maritime activities:
- Elon posts a photo of B11 remains from IFT-4.
- Gisler photo of the vessel (Hos Ridgewind), Interstellar Gateway video on the recovery operations and satellite photos.
- Zack spots some potential filter mounting brackets.
Starbase activities (2024-09-23):
- Main event: Partial tanking test on B12 and S30. (NSF full livestream, LabPadre full livestream, NSF timelapse)
- Road is closed (NSF), tower vent (NSF), propellant loading (NSF), depress vent. (NSF), detanking (NSF, LabPadre).
- SpaceX tweet: “Propellant load test and preflight checkouts complete ahead of Flight 5”
- Sep 23rd closure is concluded, and the Sep 24th and 25th closures are cancelled.
- S30 thermal protection system looks very clean. (NSF closeup)
- Build site: S34 nosecone and payload bay, now stacked, move from Highbay to Starfactory. (NSF, Planatus666)
Starbase activities (2024-09-25):
- B12 and S30 are still stacked at Pad A. (Starship Gazer)
- Booster alignment pins are removed. (Anderson 1, Anderson 2)
- SpaceX post a photo of technicians posing on the chopsticks. (alternate angle from Hammer)
- HOS Ridgewind arrives at Brownsville port. (LabPadre 1, LabPadre 2, Beyer 1, Beyer 2, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3, interstellargw, Jordan Guidry, Hammer)
- Roof of the passage between Starfactory and the new offices looks complete now. (Gisler)
- Road delay is posted for Sep 25th between 22:00 and 02:00 for transport from Brownsville Port to Massey’s. (Offloading B11 remains?)
McGregor:
- Raptor tests continue. (NSF)
Starbase activities (2024-09-26):
- Overnight, B11 remains are offloaded from Hos Ridgewind, and transported to Massey’s. (Beyer 1, Beyer 2, Beyer 3, Carson Phillips, Hammer)
- Sanchez: SpaceX begins lifting possible Pad B OLM hardware. (Beyer)
- Pad A: Chopsticks close around S30, 'murican flag is flown from tower. (Starship Gazer, NSF, Hammer, SpaceX official)
- Road delay is posted for Sep 27th from 00:00 to 03:00 for transport from Brownsville Port to Massey’s.
Other:
- Why not salvage B10 in addition to B11? Probably too deep, 800 meters vs. 61 meters. (Golden)
Starbase activities (2024-09-27):
- Not too much action reported today.
- Overnight, the recovered B11 aft section is transported to Massey’s. (Starship Gazer, Gisler, RGV Aerial (flyover closeups!))
- Pad A: Third consecutive daily photo from SpaceX of B11/S30 not launching.
Other:
- SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell addresses the Texas House of Representatives. She highlights the investment SpaceX have put into their Texas sites and surrounding communities, stresses the importance of enhancing regulatory efficiency, and recommends “updating legislation and regulations in the state to protect individuals and the public from potential hazards associated with launch while allowing freedom and flexibility for us to continue operations safely and efficiently”. She also clarifies that SpaceX have a good relationship with TCEQ, and that most of the regulatory issues they are encountering are at the federal level. (xdNiBoR)
Starbase activities (2024-09-24):
- Mary spots some more potential hardware for Pad B launch mount. Zack Golden’s thoughts: Tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3.
- S34 is back in Starfactory. (cnunez)
- Roof of the passage between Starfactory and the new offices is mostly complete. (Gisler)
- B12 and S30 still looking beautiful. (LabPadre, Gisler, Doherty 1, Doherty 2, clwphoto1, )
- Chines have a slightly wrinkled appearance.
FAA:
- SpaceX Global Government Affairs refutes comments made in Congress by the administrator of the FAA.
Maritime:
- HOS Ridgewind departs after a brief stop in Altamira, Mexico, and is now heading for Brownsville, likely to delivery the recovered portions of B11.
Starbase activities (2024-09-17):
- Gisler posts Starfactory photos from the last night: Nosecone, doors.
- Starhopper outer layer is being removed. (cnunez (before), NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, Marcus House, Gisler, Ramirez)
- RGV Aerial post a recent flyover photo of launch site.
- S33 right aft flap is lifted into Megabay 2 for installation on ship. (Thanks, u/Planatus666)
- B12 hot stage ring is removed. (Thanks, u/Planatus666)
Other:
- Zack and ChromeKiwi further speculate on new launch mount designs. (Golden, Killip 1, Killip 2)
- Ryan Hansen speculates on whether S24 ignited its engines (IFT-1).
- mcrs987 notes that the vessel Hos Ridgewind might be attempting to recover portions of Booster 11 (IFT-4). (mcrs987 1, mcrs987 2, mcrs987 3, mcrs987 4, mcrs987 5, mcrs987 6, mcrs987 7)
Starbase activities (2024-09-18):
- Sanchez: Tower B ship quick disconnect arm hinge arrives. (Starship Gazer, Beyer, Hammer 1, Hammer 2)
- Massey’s: S31 static fire. (Starship Gazer 1, Starship Gazer 2, Beyer, Mary, NSF, Hammer, Gomez 1, Gomez 2, SpaceX, House, full NSF livestream)
- Starhopper work continues.
- 1-hour road delay is posted for Sep 20 between 00:00 and 03:00 for transport from Production to pad.
This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:
Starship Development Thread October 2024