The loss of Booster 18 during gas pressure testing only cost SpaceX the shell of a booster. There were no raptor engines in it. UPDATE SpaceX says they will stack the Booster 19 Super Heavy Booster in December, 2025. They plan to keep the flight test for First Quarter 2026. The Starbase team plans to …
SpaceX Booster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing… No propellant was on the vehicle, and engines were not yet installed. The SpaceX teams need time to investigate before they are confident of the cause. There were no engines inside. There was no damage to the site. This is not unusual for a …
SpaceX’s VP Launch Kiko Dontchev said at the Economist Space Summit that the first V3 Starship launch could take place as soon as January, 2026. A booster will be rolling out to the pad for tests in days to weeks. SpaceX VP of Launch, Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver), stated Flight 12 of the first V3 Starship …
SpaceX Raptor 3 rocket engine had it first hot-fire in August 2024 and entered scaled production by early 2025. It has 280 tonnes-force (tf) sea-level thrust, 350-second specific impulse (Isp), and a dry mass under 1,525 kg. It has nearly double the thrust-to-weight of Raptor 2 at a fraction of the complexity (no external heat …
SpaceX booster 15 will be the last Block 2 Super Heavy booster to fly. It rolled out 10 days after Flight 10. It had a static fire and future tests shift to Pad 2 for Block 3 boosters. SpaceX plans to upgrade Pad 1’s flame trench to match Pad 2’s design. This will end use …
SpaceX released new high resolution photos and video of the SpaceX Starship 10 soft landing in the Indian Ocean. The images were taken by the floating camera created by the company, Marksetbot. View of Starship landing burn and splashdown on Flight 10, made possible by SpaceX’s recovery team. Starship made it through reentry with intentionally …
SpaceX Starship 10 was scrubbed on Sunday and on Monday. NEW UPDATE: Tuesday launch attempt in 21 minutes. UPDATE: The launc for Monday was scrubbed as well. SpaceX stood down Sunday to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems. (liquid oxygen leak). The launch window for Booster 16 and Ship 37 opens at …
SpaceX’s operations at Starbase have faced significant challenges, primarily due to persistent rain and the explosion at Massie’s test site for the Ship 36 static fire. SpaceX has redesigned and installed a new fuel transfer tube. This should help prevent the explosion that happened with Ship 36. The redesigned fuel transfer tube for the Superheavy …
Elon Musk has updated the Mars and Starship plans. Starship and the Booster will eventually each be made about 20% more powerful. There will be versions by the end of the year that will be improved by about 5-10%. The new Starship will not have heat shields around the engines. The new engines can withstand …
The ninth flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Tuesday, May 27. The launch window will open at 6:30 p.m. CT. A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff, which you can watch at SpaceX.com and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast …
Elon Musk says SpaceX Starship will departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely. There will likely be hundreds to thousands of Optimus Teslabots on the unmanned missions. There will be a larger …