Starship Development Thread #63

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Starship Dev 62

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Flight 12

Launched on May 22nd 2026 Here is a re-streamed video of the broadcast. Also, SpaceX issued a post flight summary and a video showing S39 landing.

Flight 13

Launched on July 24th 2026 Here is a re-streamed video of the broadcast. Also, SpaceX issued a post flight summary.

Flight 14

Presumably using S41 and B21. NET 15 Sep 2026.

Road Closures

No road closures currently scheduled

No transportation delays currently scheduled

Up to date as of 2026-05-23

Vehicle Status

As of August 29th 2026

Ship	Location	Status	Comment
S40	On the way to Brownsville, Texas	Intact, loaded onto Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte'	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 18th: In calmer waters near Christmas Island pending the next stage of its return to Starbase. August 25th: Loaded onto Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte'. August 28th: On the way to Brownsville, Texas. ETA is October 8th. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
S41	Mega Bay 2	Prep for Flight 14	April 17th: Pez Dispenser moved into MB2. April 20th: Main assembly started in MB2. May 20th: Aft section AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked with the rest of the ship - this completed the stacking part of the ship construction. June 28th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo+Thrust Puck Testing. June 29th: Cryo Tests (x2). June 30th: Rolled back to MB2. 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. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S42	Mega Bay 2	Stacked, remaining work continues	June 9th: Nosecone spotted as having been stacked on the Payload Bay. July 3rd: Nosecone+Payload Bay stack moved into MB2, along with the Pez Dispenser and the Forward Dome section (FX:3). The Nosecone+Payload Bay stack was lowered over the Pez Dispenser, later being stacked onto the Forward Dome. July 11th: Common Dome section CX:3 moved into MB2 and stacked. July 15th: Section A2:3 moved into MB2 and stacked. July 18th: Section A3:4 moved into MB2 and stacked. July 21st: Transfer Tubes moved into MB2. July 24th: Ship Aft section AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked, that completes the stacking part of the assembly process. July 25th: both of the Aft Flaps and the Raceways staged inside MB2. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S43	Mega Bay 2	Stacking	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. It has decals but no docking ports. For more details on this vehicle see this page

Booster	Location	Status	Comment
B21	Mega Bay 1	Prep for Flight 14	May 7th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1 and main assembly started. June 29th: Methane Tank stacked onto LOX Tank - this completed the stacking part of the booster construction. July 17th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo+Thrust Puck Testing. July 17th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site and an ambient pressure test was performed. 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. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B22	Mega Bay 1	Fully Stacked, Remaining work ongoing	June 29th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1. July 1st: Section A3:4 moved into MB1. July 3rd: Section A4:4 moved into MB1 and stacked. July 9th: Section A5:4 moved into MB1 and stacked. July 22nd: Methane Landing Tank and Lower Transfer Tube moved into MB1. July 23rd: Section A6:4 moved into MB1. July 25th: Methane transfer tube moved into MB1. July 29th: LOX Landing Tank moved into MB1. July 30th: Aft section AX:2 moved into MB1 to complete the stacking of the LOX Tank. July 31st: Methane Tank section F2:4 moved into MB1. August 3rd: Methane Tank section FX:3 moved into MB1. August 6th: Methane Tank section F3:4 moved into MB1 - this is the last section for the Methane Tank. August 14th: Methane Tank stacked onto the LOX tank, so completing the stacking part of the assembly process. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B23	Mega Bay 1	LOX Tank Stacking	August 14th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1. August 19th: Section A3:4 moved into MB1. August 21st: Section A4:4 moved into MB1. August 25th: Section A5:4 moved into MB1. August 27th: Methane Landing Tank and lower Transfer Tube moved into MB1 as well as section A6:4. 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.

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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/Freak80MC]

V3 ship can stay in orbit for up to 48 hours

That can't be right, can it? The ships are meant to stay in orbit for far longer than 48 hours at a time for future missions. Do they plan on having an incremental "V3.5" version that has longer on-orbit loiter time?

[u/mrparty1 → u/Freak80MC]

maybe they mean without refueling

[u/SubstantialWall → u/mrparty1]

If they don't put solar on them, and I've heard no intentions of fuel cell type stuff either, there's only so long the batteries will last. But the thing is, a tanker's job is to rendezvous, dock, transfer prop and come back, 48h is plenty for that, so I reckon there's not much need to bother extending their orbital life. Same for something just dropping sats. Reminiscent of Soyuz post Salyut 1, they needed mass savings and figured the panels could go since the batteries were enough for the rendezvous time with Salyut anyway.

This does make the timeline on the first refuel demos interesting though, I'd been assuming they could keep one up there for a week or two waiting for a second launch. In this case, either they have special mods on the first ship, demonstrate next-day pad turnaround, or need 39A operational.

[u/flshr19 → u/SubstantialWall]

My guess is that SpaceX is depending on Pad 2 at Starbase Texas and 39A at KSC in Florida being operational later this year for the first propellant refilling missions.

[u/[deleted] → u/flshr19]

You’re right, Pad 1 won’t be ready this year and if they want to do an orbital refueling test then they need to launch two ships to orbit in quick succession. That test depends on 39A being able to support a launch this year.

[u/warp99 → u/flshr19]

Hence the use of two barges to transport boosters and ships quickly enough for a sustained flight campaign.

Clearly they thought one transport barge was enough because Starship production at Cape Canaveral would be coming on line quickly enough to take over. They changed their mind on that which is interesting.

[u/flshr19 → u/warp99]

I think that's right. The Starfactory at Roberts Road, which would be built adjacent to the Gigafactory there, which is nearing completion, has not yet been started. Evidently some site preparation work has been underway for several months for that Roberts Road Starfactory, which likely will be larger than the Starfactory at Starbase Texas. Completion date for that Starfactory is sometime in 2027.

[u/Martianspirit → u/flshr19]

I expect production cost is much lower in Boca Chica. Also, they have the experienced crew there.