Portions of this thread copied from a Starship Dev thread on r/SpaceX.
FAQ
- When next launch? Wen IFT-4? IFT-4 is now NET June 1st. “Objective is for the ship to get past max heating or at least further than last time.”
- When previous launch? (IFT-3)? Booster 10 and Ship 28 launched on 2024-03-14.
- What was the result? Booster makes it to the landing burn, but loses control and insufficient engines relight. RUD occurs at 462 m in altitude. S28 makes it to reentry but fails to face the heat shield in the correct direction, followed shortly by RUD. Payload door test and propellant transfer demo “complete”.
Quick Links
RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE
IFT-3 launch thread | Starship Dev 54 | Starship Dev 53 | Starship Dev 52 | Starship Dev 51 | Starship Dev 50 |
Official SpaceX Starship Update Video (2024-04-06)
Status
Road Closures - @bocaroad Mastodon bot
Type | Start (CDT) | End (CDT) | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Primary Date | 2024-04-05 08:00 | 2024-04-05 20:00 | Closure Scheduled. |
Up to date as of 2024-04-02
Vehicle Status
As of 2024-05-08
Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.
Ship | Location | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
S24 | Gulf of Mexico | Destroyed | IFT-1 launched on 2023-04-20. Destroyed by flight termination system after successful launch. |
S25 | Atlantic Ocean | Destroyed | IFT-2 launched on 2023-11-18. Mostly successful launch and stage separation |
S26 | Massey’s | On new test stand | 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, likely to test the new flame trench. |
S28 | Indian Ocean | Destroyed | IFT-3 launched on 2024-03-14. Ship destroyed on reentry due to heat shield facing the wrong way. |
S29 | Launch site | Pending WDR | Spin prime Mar 11th, Static fire Mar 25th (6 engines) and 27th (1 engine) |
S30 | Highbay 1 | Static fire completed | 2x cryo: Jan 3rd and Jan 5th. Engines installed ~Apr 9th. Static fired May 8th. |
S31 | Massey’s | Cryo testing | Cryo tested May 12th |
S32 | Rocket Garden | Resting | Fully stacked, fore flaps installed but not aft flaps |
S33-34 | Build Site | Parts spotted | To be scrapped in preparation for Starship V2 |
Booster | Location | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
B7 | Gulf of Mexico | Destroyed | Destroyed by flight termination system after successful launch. |
B9 | Gulf of Mexico | Destroyed | Successfully launched, destroyed during Boost back attempt. |
B10 | Gulf of Mexico | Destroyed | IFT-3 launched on 2024-03-14. Booster destroyed shortly after failed landing burn attempt. |
B11 | Launch Mount | Pending WDR | Completed 2 Cryo tests. Static fired Apr 5th. Hot stage ring installed ~May 3rd. |
B12 | Megabay 1 | Finalizing | Cryo x2 |
B13 | Megabay 1 | Testing | Cryo tests Apr 26th (methane tank) and Apr 29th (LOX tank) |
B14 | Megabay 1 | Partially stacked | Stacking in progress |
B15 | Build Site | Assembly | Potential aft end spotted Jan 5th |
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
Starbase activities (2024-05-15):
- Overnight, S31 returns from Massey’s to the Highbay. Closeup of raceway damage.
- GSE-2 inner tank is removed.
- Tower segment 1 of 5 moves from Brownsville to Sanchez.
- S29 moves towards the launch pad, and is stacked on B11 (LabPadre, NSF) shortly before noon (closeup). NSF and StarshipGazer livestreams.
- IFT-4 full stack photos: Starship Gazer, Beyer, Doherty 1, Doherty 2, Cargile, RGV Aerial 1, RGV Aerial 2, and of course, SpaceX.
- Ship transport stand and raptor work platform move away from the OLM.
- Demolition continues on the Gateway to Mars wall and suborbital test pad.
- Build site: Two new segments arrive, joining B14.1 forward section, which then enters Megabay 1 (not Megabay 2, I think).
- Massey’s: Some venting observed in the evening.
- Road closure scheduled for May 16th. (Official document). May 17th closure added.
Other:
- Aspirational Mars goals from the CEO: “Less than 5 years for uncrewed, less than 10 to land people, maybe a city in 20 years, but for sure in 30, civilization secured.” I’ll eat my hat Beck-style if this timeline holds, but I’m glad he’s still ambitious.
- IFT-4 launch license for early June should be feasible for the FAA.
This thread probably not, next thread MAYbe!
Starbase activities (2024-04-02):
- Water deliveries to deluge tanks at orbital pad. (LabPadre, NSF)
- Tank farm and OLM venting and more venting. (NSF timelapse)
- New road closure posted for Apr 5th from 08:00 to 20:00, likely for tank farm plumbing tests, possibly for B11 testing.
- S29: Nosecone tiles reinstalled. (Mary, Starship Gazer)
- New type of ring section spotted, potentially for Starship V2.
Other:
- Ryan Hansen Space speculates on the cause of damage to the methane hose in the booster quick disconnect during IFT-3.
- ChromeKiwi render of Massey’s static fire stand.
Starbase activities (2024-04-03):
- Road delays for B11 transport posted: 14:00 to 18:00 and 21:00 to midnight.
- B11: Transport stand moves to Megabay (LabPadre, NSF). Megabay door opens (NSF, LabPadre), but nothing happens during the first road delay. A second road delay is posted for the evening, and B11 is finally lifted onto transport stand, and rolls out of Megabay (NSF, LabPadre, Starship Gazer). Transport closeups (NSF 1, NSF 2, Starship Gazer), booster arrives at launch site (NSF, RGV Aerial). Full NSF livestream. B11 has no hotstaging ring yet.
- Chopsticks: Handrail is installed (tweet 1, tweet 2). Chopsticks movement announcement. Movement of stabilization arms. Chopsticks rise and SQD retracts. Artistic shot from cnunez.
- Combination of machines (excavator + pumpcrete?) makes for an amusing sight :)
- Third and final section of water-cooled flame diverter arrives at Massey’s.
KSC activities (2024-04-03):
- Final remaining OLM leg at LC-39A is felled.
Other:
- New Ringwatchers Raptor tracking diagrams](https://ringwatchers.com/diagrams/raptor-diagrams/8)
Starbase activities (2024-04-04):
- Launch site: Timelapse of B11 transport (LabPadre, NSF). Chopsticks lift booster onto launch mount (LabPadre, NSF, SpaceX, Mary, Starship Gazer). Chopsticks descend and ship quick disconnect extends. Booster transport stand rolls away from launch mount. B11 likely connected to booster quick disconnect. Venting announcement followed by venting.
- Build site: S29 emerges from High Bay, S30 moves from High Bay to Megabay 2, S29 returns to High Bay, and S30 is lifted onto engine installation stand.
- April 5th road closure window shifts by 2 hours.
- Road closures posted for April 8th and 9th from 08:00 to 20:00.
Other
- SpaceX recap and teaser video for IFT-3 and IFT-4.
- New Ringwatchers article about observed changes on B11 and S29.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters KSC Kennedy Space Center, Florida LC-39A Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy (SpaceX F9/Heavy) NSF NasaSpaceFlight forum ~ National Science Foundation OLM Orbital Launch Mount Jargon Definition Raptor Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX
[Thread #39 for this sub, first seen 7th Apr 2024, 03:20] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
Starbase activities (2024-04-05):
- Overnight, detonation suppression system and igniter are tested on B11.
- Starfactory progress continues: RGV Aerial flyover photo, Rover 1 (which moved, along with Rover 2).
- S30 is lifted onto engine installation stand and crew lift rises into the skirt. Ship lifting jig leaves Megabay 2.
- Scaffolding and work platforms are removed from the OLM.
- Main event: B11 static fire (NSF livestream and timelapse): Security arrives for road closure, pad clearance announcement (LabPadre, NSF), chopsticks rise to launch position, and SQD extends. Venting, more venting, and frost on booster (LabPadre, NSF 1, NSF 2). Engine chill, siren, and static fire (LabPadre, NSF).
- Static fire angles: Nerdle, Rover 2, Sapphire, RGV 1, RGV 2, SpaceX drone photos and video. Zoom-in on possible debris.
- Chopsticks descend and SQD retracts.
- Vehicle transport road delays posted for Apr 7th 22:00 to 03:00 and Apr 8th 06:00 to 09:00.
Starbase activities (2024-04-06):
- Booster transport stand moves towards the launch mount.
- New large nitrogen vapouriser positioned at the orbital tank farm, followed shortly by another.
- Starfactory progress continues.
Other:
- Official Starship update presentation from SpaceX (~45 min)
- Chris Bergin of NSF made a highlights list.
- Some overview slides and raptor slides. Comparison between Starship and Raptor versions.
- Grid fin placement may change.
- RGV Aerial photoshop of stretched stack.
- New official booster catch animation.
- Photoshop of potential non-norminal booster catch attempt :)
Sorry for the delay; I was travelling to witness a specific astronomical event.
Starbase activities (2024-04-07):
- B11 lift and rollback: Chopsticks close around booster, stabilizer pins engage, and B11 is lifted off the OLM onto a transport stand (LabPadre, NSF 1, NSF 2, Mary, NSF 3, Starship Gazer). Chopsticks open and lower, ship quick disconnect arm swings back in.
- Starfactory progress continues. Frame looks complete, roof is coming along nicely.
- S29 (I think) recent tile status from April 6th.
Starbase activities (2024-04-08):
- B11 moves from launch site to Megabay 1 (LabPadre, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, AnthonyFGomez).
- Rover 1 build site timelapse. Starfactory progress continues. Raptor spotted near Megabay 2, likely to be installed on S30. A second and third Raptor arrive at Megabay 2 shortly after.
- Large crane labelled “High Bay” is spotted.
- OLM work continues. A launch clamp arm linkage is removed.
Starbase activities (2024-04-09):
- Metalwork on the chopsticks overnight.
- RC #269 and RVac #398 installed on S30.
- Starfactory progress continues.
- OLM work continues. Launch clamp arm linkages 2 through 14 removed.
Starbase activities (2024-04-10):
- Starfactory progress. Cladding has reached the angled section on the corner.
- OLM work continues. Launch clamp arm linkages 15 through 18 removed.
Other:
- TheSpaceEngineer renders and speculation threads on IFT-3 booster behaviour after stage separation: Tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3, tweet 4, tweet 5, tweet 6, tweet 7, tweet 8, tweet 9. TL;DR: Flamey end pointing the wrong direction may have led to significant cosine losses.
- IFT-4 reported to require a launch license modification for SpaceX to do “some different things”. FAA to revamp reentry license process.
- Zack chimes in with his thoughts on the interstage in the new official renders of Starship V2 and V3.
- Japan to develop lunar rover, and fly two astronauts on future Artemis missions. I wonder if the rover will fly on Starship or H3?
- SpaceX tweets a slow-mo video of an R-vac shutdown at sea level. Flow separation is visible.
Starbase activities (2024-04-11):
- Launch clamps are starting to be removed from launch mount. Zack Golden is baffled.
- Build site: Starfactory progress continues with more roof and wall cladding.
- Two welding robots are delivered to and enter Megabay 2.
- Work on flame trench at Massey’s. First and second pieces of flame bucket laid next to the trench.
Other:
- NSF posts a nice timelapse of Megabay 2 construction.
Starbase activities (2024-04-12):
- First 5 (at least) replacement launch clamp arm linkages lifted into place.
- Left chopstick actuator removed (NSF, LabPadre) and replaced (closeup).
- Booster quick disconnect front cover reinstalled on launch mount.
- Artistic shot of S30 in Megabay 2 from cnunezimages.
Starbase activities (2024-04-13):
- Work on OLM continues. Nice NSF timelapse of the OLM work over the past couple of days.
- Video of launch clamp arm linkage replacement from yesterday (Apr 12).
- Closeups of Starfactory and chopsticks yesterday from cnunez.
- Newly installed booster quick disconnect front cover is a redesigned version.
- Plumbing work for the horizontal tanks in the tank farm.
- RGV flyovers of launch site, build site, and Massey’s.
- Possible testing at Massey’s of a new ship quick disconnect.
Starbase activities (2024-04-14):
- Relatively quiet day.
- Launch site: New HVAC box installation. More launch clamp arm linkages replaced.
- Build site: Peek at S29 in high bay. Still pending further tile work.
- Starfactory progress: Cladding continues, painting begins.
Other:
- New Ringwatchers article on potential Starship V2 hardware.
Starbase activities (2024-05-09):
- LR11000 crane moves toward the S30 on the test pad. Ship lifting jig rolls back out to the launch pad, and is (eventually) connected to S30 (NSF, LabPadre).
- An SPMT rolls to the launch site to retrieve the ship lifting jig stand. A different lifting jig rolls into the Highbay, and the stand returns to the test pad.
- Removal of the berm between the suborbital tank farm and the test pad begins. Likely an indication that all further ship testing will be at Massey’s.
- Drilling and rebar installation for the second orbital pad continues.
- Convoy of vacuum trucks continue to remove perlite insulation from GSE-2 outer tank.
- Late-morning build site tour video: Parking garage construction continues. Workers observed at the gap in glass panels on Starfactory. Gap still present as of late afternoon.
- A ring segment enters Megabay 2, following the May 7th and 8th deliveries of a triple and single segment. It is thought that these are to test welding robots.
- May 9th road closure cancelled. New road closures posted for May 14th, 15th, and 16th, all 08:00 to 20:00.
- New road delays posted for May 10th (15:00 to 17::30 and 22:00 to midnight), 11th and 12th (both 00:00 to 03:00).
Starbase activities (2024-05-10):
- S30: Overnight, ship is lifted off of test stand. Lifting jig removed around midday. In the afternoon, S30 rolls back to the Highbay.
- Suborbital pad: Demolition of the test stand begins.
- S29 moves from Highbay to Megabay 2 (after some manoeuvring).
- Orbital pad: OLM legs have been recently repainted.
- Orbital tank farm had a long queue of cryogen deliveries, likely caused by competing gravel deliveries.
- New road closure scheduled for May 13th from 08:00 to 20:00, for non-flight testing. NOTMAR issued for May 16th.
- Build site: Build site video tour: Parking garage nears its final height; Starfactory cladding installation continues.
- RGV Aerial photo of the build site. I don’t think I quite realized how big Starfactory is in terms of area when compared to the Highbay and Megabays.
- New booster landing tank spotted outside Starfactory.
- S31: A ship test stand arrives at the build site, likely for transporting S31 to Massey’s.
- New launch tower: New road delays posted for May 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, and 20th (all 22:00 to 02:00 the following day). These are “to transport tower modules from Brownsville Port to Sanchez”. Tower segments incoming!
- B11: Booster transport stand arrives at the build site, and later enters Megabay 1. B11 is lifted onto the transport stand, and rolls out of Megabay 1. B11 is currently rolling out to the launch site. NSF are live.
Starbase activities (2024-05-11):
- B11: Overnight, booster rolls out to the launch site, and chopsticks close around B11. In the afternoon, B11 is lifted onto OLM, then chopsticks release B11 and are lowered. SpaceX posts photos of B11 leaving Megabay 1, with other boosters visible.
- S31: Also overnight, ship moves to Massey’s.
- Launch site: LR11000 crane moves toward orbital tank farm, and load spreader is attached. This may indicate that perlite insulation removal from the GSE-2 outer tank has been completed, and the tank will soon be scrapped. Crews working to attach load spreader to the tank.
- Starfactory: Helicopter delivers HVAC units (LabPadre, NSF). (closeup).
- S30 enters Highbay.
- Starkitty sighted :) (LabPadre, Doherty)
- S29: Road delay scheduled for early morning May 12th, possibly for ship roll out.
- S26: RGV Aerial posts a photo of Massey’s.
Other:
- Wen IFT-4? IFT-4 is now NET June 1st. “Objective is for the ship to get past max heating or at least further than last time.”