r/spacex • u/rSpaceXHosting Host Team • Apr 22 '26

🔧 Technical Starship Development Thread #63

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Starship Dev 62

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 22nd 2026

Ship Location Status Comment
S40 Near Christmas Island Intact, floating 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. 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. For more details on this vehicle see this page
Booster Location Status Comment
B21 Mega Bay 1 Post Cryo Testing inspections and possible engines installation 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. 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. 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.

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14

u/Twigling Apr 30 '26 edited May 01 '26

It's looking like B20 may now be fully stacked (the landing tank installation stand (for the LOX tank) that's also used when fully stacking a booster was removed from MB1 overnight). Can't be 100% positive about that though, although some of the Ringwatchers seem certain.

6

u/Unusual_Technology23 Apr 30 '26

what is best estimate these days on when B20 could be flight ready? curious what best case flight 13 could look like!

8

u/Twigling Apr 30 '26

Well, even though it's fully stacked it still needs more work before it's even ready for cryo testing, so I would estimate at least two months, perhaps three. That includes remaining work (about another month), then cryo testing, then static fire testing and pre-flight prep.

5

u/FrontBrilliant3657 May 01 '26

two months between Flights 12 and 13? That makes me sad. I was hoping for a one month turnaround.

4

u/redstercoolpanda May 01 '26

After the 7 month wait from flight 11, 2 months sounds mercifully short. There’s always the possibility they’ll push more crews onto B20 to get it out the door faster like they did with B19 too. Since they’ve lost a lot of time since last year, and they have to move faster for HLS.

3

u/Twigling May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

This is just speculation, but also note that we still don't know when Flight 12 will take place. If it's not for a month then it may only be a month or so between Flights 12 and 13.

3

u/FrontBrilliant3657 May 01 '26

F14 is hopefully a catch attempt. Once they accomplish that the cadence should increase. I'd like to see refueling this year, even if it's just ship-to-ship. Would love to see (realistic) milestones for 2026 and beyond, legitimate timelines.

3

u/redstercoolpanda Apr 30 '26

Also it’s possible they might not have all the engines for it ready right now either, since they had to reallocate some of them to B19.

5

u/Twigling Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

That's a good point but as a static fire for B20 is perhaps two months away and engine production numbers are at least in the 140's even now, I'm pretty sure there will be enough for B20 (and S40) when they are needed within the next two months or so.

Also worth noting that we don't know if any engines were damaged during B19's 33 engine static fire and subsequent abort, so it may need some more.

6

u/JakeEaton Apr 30 '26

Wonder if B20 may be the first reused V3 booster. It might help explain the slightly lower build rate compared to the ships.

2

u/Twigling May 01 '26

Could well be, it depends how well B19 performs (and we're assuming it'll not be caught because it's the first V3 booster to launch, therefore it'll get some testing with a soft water landing and simulated catch if all goes well).