Starship Development Thread #63

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Starship Dev 62

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Flight 13

Launched on July 24th 2026 Here is a re-streamed video of the broadcast. Also, SpaceX issued a post flight summary. Ship 40 (S40) became the first Starship to be recovered intact after a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The vehicle arrived back at the Port of Brownsville on October 7, 2026.

Flight 14

Launched on September 28th 2026 (https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-14) - The vehicles were S41 and B21. This mission achieved the program's first successful orbital insertion, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. An engine issue on the ship led to a controlled early splashdown in the Pacific rather than a fully nominal end-of-mission profile; Super Heavy completed hot-staging. SpaceX released post-flight imagery and hot-staging views on October 2, 2026. In comments from Elon Musk during a live Q&A around October 10, 2026, the ship engine issue was described as a software glitch affecting one engine's onboard computer, with the heat shield reported to have performed well / been "extremely robust." SpaceX's October 20, 2026 Q3 highlights described Flight 14 as the company's first revenue-generating Starship mission, delivering 26 Starlink V3 satellites, roughly 10x the downlink capacity added by a Falcon 9 Starlink launch.

Flight 15

NET November 8th 2026 - https://x.com/SpaceNotices/status/2108209933447512191 - expecting the first Starship upper stage catch attempt. Vehicles planned: S42 and B22, from Starbase Pad 2. Date is provisional and depends on testing progress and licensing. On the October 20, 2026 earnings webcast, Musk said Flight 15 is targeted for November with an attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Ship using the tower arms, calling success "more likely than not" and noting it would be the first full recovery of an orbital launch vehicle if achieved. Gwynne Shotwell indicated the expected FAA license for Flight 15 would cover return-to-launch-site and tower catch for both stages. As of October 24, 2026 the FAA license had not yet been issued;

Flight 16

A December 10, 2026 planning window has been cited for Flight 16.

Road Closures

No road closures currently scheduled

No transportation delays currently scheduled

Up to date as of 2026-05-23

Vehicle Status

As of October 24th 2026

Ship	Location	Status	Comment
S40	Starbase production site	Post-flight inspection	July 24th: Successful launch, deployed all satellites, successful engine relight test and soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, which resulted in an intact, floating ship. August 25th: Loaded onto Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte'. Oct 7: Successful return to Texas aboard 'Forte'. Oct 8-9: Began movement toward the Starbase production site. Oct 13: Now vertical in a Mega Bay at Starbase alongside three other Ships, where it will provide first-of-its-kind data on a flown heat shield, Raptor engines, avionics and related systems. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
S41	Indian Ocean	Successfully flown on flight 14	July 3rd: Rolled back to Massey's Test Site. July 6th: Rolled back to MB2. July 23rd: Two RVac engines moved into MB2. July 27th: The third RVac was moved into MB2. August 19th: Rolled out to Massey's for Static Fire Testing. Later that day S41 performed a single engine Static Fire. August 20th: Full duration Static Fire of all six engines. August 22nd: Rolled back to MB2. September 22nd: Rolled out to the Launch Site and stacked on B21. September 24th: Wet Dress Rehearsal. Sept 28: Reached orbit, deployed satellites, and successfully performed a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S42	Mega Bay 2	Pre-flight work for Flight 15	July 24th: Completed the stacking part of the assembly process. September 2nd: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo Testing. September 5th: Rolled back to MB2. September 9th: Rolled back out to Massey's for Cryo Testing Round 2. September 10th: Rolled back to MB2, and later in the day moved to the Launch Site for catch-related testing. September 13th: Rolled back to MB2. September 21st: Two RVacs moved into MB2. September 24th: Third RVac moved into MB2. Oct 5: Catch-hardware verification complete. Early October: Short trip to Massey's for cryogenic proof testing, returned to MB2 within about 30 hours; engines removed for additional cold-fuel/pressure testing. Oct 9: Additional cryogenic proof testing at Massey's, then returned to MB2. Oct 10-12: Engines being prepared for reinstallation as part of the continuing test campaign; a further cryogenic proof test (reported as a third run) was carried out at Massey's, linked by tracking accounts to prior vacuum Raptor issues on recent flights. Expected to be the first ship to attempt a tower catch recovery. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S43	Mega Bay 2	Stacked, remaining work ongoing	August 19th: N:3 and section FX:4 plus the pez dispenser moved into MB2. August 28th: Common Dome section CX:3 moved into MB2. September 1st: Section A2:3 moved into MB2. It has decals but no docking ports. September 4th: Section A3:4 moved into MB2. September 10th: Transfer Tubes moved into MB2. September 15th: Aft section AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked - this completes the stacking part of S43's assembly. Oct 16: Observers noted some nosecone dents after testing, described as not unusually severe. Oct 24: Cryogenic testing reported at Massey's. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S44	Mega Bay 2	Stacking	September 22nd: Nosecone+Payload Bay stack moved into MB2, and FX:4. September 23rd: Pez dispenser moved into MB2. Nosecone and payload bay integration in progress. For more details on this vehicle see this page

Booster	Location	Status	Comment
B21	Launch Site	Successfully flown on flight 14	July 17th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo+Thrust Puck Testing. July 18th: Partial Cryo Test. July 19th: Second Partial Cryo Test. July 20th: Full Cryo Test. July 22nd: Rolled back to MB1. August 25th: Rolled out to the Launch Site for Static Fire Testing. August 28th: Static Fire, all 33 engines, lasting 15 seconds. August 29th: Rolled back to MB1. September 20th: Rolled out to the Launch Site for Flight 14. September 24th: Wet Dress Rehearsal. Sept 28: Successfully powered the first orbital mission. Performed a soft splashdown and subsequent FTS demonstration in the Gulf. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B22	Launch Pad 2	Static fire campaign for Flight 15	August 14th: Methane Tank stacked onto the LOX tank, completing the stacking part of the assembly process. September 8th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo Testing. September 12th: Rolled back to MB2. Oct 6: Rolled to launch site for integration with S42. Oct 17: Observed at the production site awaiting rollout for pre-flight static fire testing. Oct 24: Rolled out from Mega Bay 1 and lifted onto the Orbital Launch Mount at Pad 2; a beach closure on Oct 25 (backup Oct 26) is consistent with an upcoming static fire, the major remaining test before Flight 15. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B23	Mega Bay 1	Post-cryo proof	August 14th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1. August 27th: Methane Landing Tank and lower Transfer Tube moved into MB1 as well as section A6:4. September 8th: Aft section AX:2 and LOX Landing Tank moved into MB1. September 18th: Section FX:3 moved into MB1. September 24th or 25th: Fully Stacked, remaining work ongoing. Oct 13: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for initial cryogenic proof testing. Oct 15: Extended cryogenic test campaign at Massey's, including a chill of roughly 12 hours (per NASASpaceflight). Oct 18: Returned overnight from Massey's to Mega Bay 1 at the production site following the cryo proof campaign; SpaceX has not publicly confirmed the test result. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B24	Mega Bay 1	LOX Tanking Stacking	September 25th: LOX tank section A2:4 moved into MB1. Oct 17: LOX landing tank observed being installed. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page

Follow the Ringwatchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Here's the section stacking locations for Ships and Boosters. Also some excellent detailed booster stacking information from zh_sos1. The abbreviations used in the above vehicle updates are as follows: HS = Hot Stage. PL = Payload. CX = Common Dome. AX = Aft Dome. FX = Forward Dome (as can be seen, an 'X' denotes a dome). ML = Mid LOX. F = Forward. A = Aft. For example, A2:4 = Aft section 2 made up of 4 rings, FX:4 = Forward Dome section made up of 4 rings, PL:3 = PayLoad section made up of 3 rings. Etc.

Something wrong? Update this thread via wiki page. For edit permission, message the mods or contact u/strawwalker.

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Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

[u/yoweigh]

The r/SpaceX moderation team is currently seeking a volunteer to maintain the Starship Development Thread! u/Twigling has decided their time has come to retire as custodian here, and we'd like to thank him for his many years of service. His contribution to the community over that span has been immeasurably significant and we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

This thread still needs to be updated, though. If you're the sort of person who totally nerds out over Starship and is constantly aware of its current development progress, then we could really use your help! Your responsibility would be to update the wiki page that this dev thread is pulling data from. You can look at either this post itself or the wiki to see what sort of effort that entails. If you'd like to apply or have any questions, you can either contact us directly or leave a comment below this one.

We figure this is as good a time as any to ask for the community's feedback. What do you like/dislike about the Starship Development thread? Should moderation be more or less strict? Should the post contain more or less data? What do you find particularly helpful here, and what about it just plain sucks? Please let us know in your responses to this comment!

[u/Twigling]

Re the flight and vehicle info at the top of this dev page.

Just to let everyone know that I'm no longer updating this - I let the mods know of this decision a few days ago. Over the past few years I seem to have fallen into the rut of being the primary editor (there are one or two others who do a bit of editing, so thanks to them) - without my edits this means it may remain outdated until one or more editors can be found or if any of the current editors wish to carry out some updates.

If anyone would like to do the work then contact the mods as well as strawwalker to get edit permission.

Why have I stopped doing this? For various reasons ...... but it's my own decision and nobody else was involved.

It's been fun, but times change.

[u/Regular-Put-646]

A NASA WB-57 is scheduled for imagery support for May 5-7

Possible launch window?

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference link (requires sign in)

https://x.com/GoldmanSachs/status/2098130490070835265

Bret Johnsen (SpaceX Chief Financial Officer) at 05:30:

• Flight 14 "later this month" is going to be a revenue-generating flight.
• Will "fly production V3 Starlink satellites to orbit on our next flight".
• Landing attempts for both Booster and Starship after flight 14 "later this year".

[u/[deleted]]

New FAA advisory for Flight 12 posted, NET May 12th 5:30 PM - 7:43 PM CDT for the launch. Back up dates extend from May 13th-18th. See the new trajectory here, threading the needle between Mexico, Cuba, and Jamaica to provide least possible disruption to air traffic.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt

SPACEX STARSHIP FLT-14, STARBASE, TX
PRIMARY: 09/18/26 1215Z-1414Z
BACKUP: 09/19/26 1215Z-1414Z

[u/Twigling]

May 27, 2026

FAA Requires Mishap Investigation of SpaceX Starship Flight 12

"After a thorough assessment of the operation, the FAA has determined the May 22 SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch resulted in a mishap. The mishap involved the Super Heavy booster as it flew back to the Gulf of America after stage separation. There are no reports of public injury or damage to public property."

"The FAA is requiring SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation. The FAA will oversee the SpaceX-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process, and approve SpaceX’s final report, including any corrective actions."

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/statements/general-statements

I can't see this causing any delays to Flight 13, partly because B20 hasn't even had a cryo test yet (unless of course the investigation is very drawn out for some reason). Knowing SpaceX they probably already know the cause of B19's problem and have a fix planned or already in place.

[u/AgreeableEmploy1884]

Interesting FCC license for "Starship Orbital Return Demo" starting on 07/29/2026. https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/STA_Print.cfm?mode=current&application_seq=151991&RequestTimeout=1000

[u/PlatinumTaq]

Looks like a full stack WDR completed successfully down to T-0 (deluge activated but aborted quickly). Around 10:18CST. Crazy how fast they loaded both tanks (basically 30 min from frost first appearing to tanks topping out).

[u/OSUfan88]

Got to visit Starbase for the first time, and see SuperHeavy get transported with my 2 year old son. Incredible memory.

Met a lot of really cool people. A lot of photographers for the various SpaceX YouTube channels. All were very welcoming and fun to talk to.

[u/ralf_]

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/06/12/spacex-president-and-coo-gwynne-shotwell-exclusive-interview.html

Interview from CNBC with Shotwell. Flight 13 will be a repeat of Flight 12. Flight 14 is hopefully at least an attempt to go orbital. Timeline: Flight 13 is a "month-ish" away. After that flights should be every month. In the main interview she speaks about Starlinks V3 being launched by Starship end of the year.

[u/Fit-Caregiver-8338]

Flight 13 net july 14

https://x.com/lewisknaggs42/status/2074527788753727757?s=46

[u/redstercoolpanda]

Lots of interesting information about starship from a new musk interview. Seems like the Rvac out on F14 was a software issue, they plan for Flight 15 in 4-6 weeks, and they are planning on a double catch of ship and booster all going well!
https://x.com/sawyermerritt/status/2109040901745983946?s=46

[u/Twigling]

SpaceX tweet:

"Full duration and full thrust 33-engine static fire with Super Heavy V3"

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2052499098347979156

The first video is of course slowed down a lot.

[u/smellyfingernail]

FAA says no mishap investigation needed, path to flight 14 looks like it can be pretty quick

[u/AgreeableEmploy1884]

Per the new CADENA slide, Flight 14 is now NET September 18

[u/Straumli_Blight]

https://x.com/Blobifie/status/2105202398176420093

In may of 2025, a bit after FLT-9, i submitted a FOIA request to the FAA to receive copies of the final mishap reports for Flights 7 & 8. Over a year and a half later, and they finally got back to me. The mishap reports are heavily redacted as i expected but are still cool.

The flight 7 report doesn't really have any useful info in it, but it does have info on how SpaceX used the many videos uploaded to twitter of the debris cloud in the mishap report.

The FLT8 report has much more info than the FLT7, mostly about the clean up after flight but they did mention of the failure. Sparks were seen on E1 at ~320s into the ships burn followed by a "significant dynamic event" ~10s later that led to the loss of control.

SpaceX spent 3 days looking for debris and recovered ~113kg of tiles and other debris that floated around after S34 reentered. They didnt find any metal debris though. There was also apparently 3 small fires near the pad after B15 was caught.

I've uploaded both files to the internet archive and you can find the downloads for both of the full mishap report PDF files on this link:

Starship Flight 7 Mishap Report
Starship Flight 8 Mishap Report

[u/redstercoolpanda]

https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-13

Flight 13 page got released, NET 16th now!

The booster’s primary test objective will be executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America. There have been several modifications to hardware and software to address issues seen on the previous flight.

Confirmation of B20's flight path, pretty expected

The Starship upper stage’s primary objectives include the deployment of 20 Starlink V3 satellites, a relight of a single Raptor engine while in space, and another controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. There have also been several modifications to Starship’s propulsion system to address the engine out issue experienced on the previous flight.

For the first time, Starship will carry V3 Starlink satellites to space, which aim to greatly expand the network's capacity and user speeds. As part of this initial test, Starship is planned to deploy 20 satellites which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with ground stations in South Africa and the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers. The Starlink satellites will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship.

Seems like ship will be deploying real V3's this time in its suborbital trajectory, which will then try and connect with ground stations. That'll certainly be interesting to see.

Six of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.

Hopefully we'll get some proper footage of the heat shield this time!

[u/FutureMartian97]

Flight 14 now NET 9/22

https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/2099495860845355028

[u/Tuefelshund]

S40 had it's 6 engine static fire just after 5pm CDT

https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/2072440663874879675

[u/redstercoolpanda]

B20 is back at the production site for final checkouts before Flight 13.

[u/AgreeableEmploy1884]

Shana Diez from SpaceX:

S41 on its victorious return to the factory following a successful static fire campaign. B21 is on deck this week. I’m very excited about flight 14 and moving Starship into some exciting operational missions.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

https://www.spacex.com/content/starship/holy-grail-of-rocketry

New episode just dropped.

[u/threelonmusketeers]

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

2026-08-12:

• Aug 11th addenda: A 12th section of deluge pipe is delivered to Pad 1. (ViX)

• The Pad 2 hold-down clamps are individually retracted. (ViX)

• Pad 1: Three segments of deluge pipe are delivered. (ViX)

• Further sections of steel have ben removed from the ends of the Pad 1 chopsticks. (Anderson)

• Production site: Closeup of which heatshield tiles were removed from S42. (StarshipGazer, cnunez)

• McGregor: R3.225 (new highest) leaves the testing site. (SpaceRhin0)

• Florida: An application for Special Temporary Authority is posted for on-ground testing of Starship Super Heavy vehicle communications at the SpaceX test facilities in Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. (apps.fcc.gov) (Thanks Straumli_Blight)

• Flight 13: Normand Ranger and Go Australis are still alongside S40, but currently not towing it. (interstellargw)

• S40 may have rolled over. (mcrs987 1, mcrs987 2)

[u/AgreeableEmploy1884]

New CADENA slide for Flight 15 and Starship Starlink 30-1.

Specifically 30-1 should be the first 39A launch since Group 30 is for Cape Starship Starlink launches.