SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

  1. When is the next Integrated Flight Test (IFT-2)?

No official date set, waiting on launch license. FAA completed the Starship Safety Review on Oct 31 and is continuing work on environmental review in consultation with Fish & Wildlife Service. Rumors, unofficial comments, web page spelunking, and an ambiguous SpaceX post coalesce around a possible flight window beginning Nov 13.

  1. Next steps before flight? Waiting on non-technical milestones including requalifying the flight termination system (likely done), the FAA post-incident review, and obtaining an FAA launch license. Unclear if SpaceX will perform an integrated B9/S25 wet dress rehearsal or proceed straight to launch after the FAA license issuance. It does not appear that the lawsuit alleging insufficient environmental assessment by the FAA or permitting for the deluge system will affect the launch timeline. Completed technical milestones since IFT-1 include building/testing a water deluge system, Booster 9 cryo tests, and simultaneous static fire/deluge tests.
  2. What ship/booster pair will be launched next? SpaceX confirmed that Booster 9/Ship 25 will be the next to fly. OFT-3 expected to be Booster 10, Ship 28 per a recent NSF Roundup.
  3. Why is there no flame trench under the launch mount? Boca Chica’s environmentally-sensitive wetlands make excavations difficult, so SpaceX’s Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) holds Starship’s engines ~20m above ground–higher than Saturn V’s 13m-deep flame trench. Instead of two channels from the trench, its raised design allows pressure release in 360 degrees. The newly-built flame deflector uses high pressure water to act as both a sound suppression system and deflector. SpaceX intends the deflector/deluge’s massive steel plates, supported by 50 meter-deep pilings, ridiculous amounts of rebar, concrete, and Fondag, to absorb the engines’ extreme pressures and avoid the pad damage seen in IFT-1.

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Quick Links

RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE

Starship Dev 49 | Starship Dev 48 | Starship Dev 47 | Starship Dev 46

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

Type Start (CDT) End (CDT) Status
Primary Date 2023-11-13 00:00 2023-11-13 14:00 Possible Closure
Alternative Date 2023-11-14 00:00 2023-11-14 14:00 Possible Closure
Alternative Date 2023-11-15 00:00 2023-11-15 14:00 Possible Closure

Up to date as of 2023-11-06

Vehicle Status

As of 2023-10-09

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 Static fired Oct 20
S27 Rocket Garden Scrapped Common dome imploded
S28 Engine Install Stand Raptors installed Cryo test x2
S29 Rocket Garden Cryo test x3
S30 High Bay Under construction Aft flaps installed
S31 High Bay Under construction Partially stacked
S32 Build Site Under construction
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 Awaiting WDR and launch Static fire (August 5th)
B10 Megabay 1 Cryo test x4
B11 Masseys Cryo test x1
B12 Megabay 1 Under construction Grid fins installed
B13 Megabay 1 Under construction Partially stacked
B14 Build Site Parts under construction
B15 Build Site Parts under construction

Resources

  • @clothesEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    All these stack/unstack cycles are stressing me out. Which I’m sure is totally unreasonable, but my mental image of the hot staging ring is more fragile than it is.

    As always, thanks for these summaries!

    • threelonmusketeersOPMEnglish
      3•1 year ago

      As always, thanks for these summaries!

      You’re welcome! Glad to know that someone other than me reads them!