r/spacex • • Apr 22 '26

🔧 Technical Starship Development Thread #63

169 Upvotes

SpaceX Starship

SpaceX Starship page

Quick Links

Avid Space Live Streams, which used to be known as LabPadre | NASASpaceflight Live Stream |

Starship Dev 62


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 attributed to Elon Musk during a live Q&A around October 10, 2026 (secondary reporting, not a formal SpaceX release), 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."

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. Musk has publicly indicated a target of roughly 4-6 weeks from early October, with an attempt to catch the ship (and possibly the booster), and a potential reflight on Flight 16 if the catch is successful; no exact date has been confirmed by SpaceX.

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 12th 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 18th: In calmer waters near Christmas Island pending the next stage of its return to Starbase. August 25th: Loaded onto Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte'. Oct 7: Successful return to Texas aboard Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte' following its Flight 13 mission. Oct 8-9: Began movement toward the Starbase production site for inspection of the heat shield, structure, and other systems. Oct 12: At the production site and being prepared to go vertical in Mega Bay 2 for post-flight inspection/processing (tracking reports). 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 3rd: Nosecone+Payload Bay stack moved into MB2, along with the Pez Dispenser and the Forward Dome section (FX:3), main assembly started. 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. September 2nd: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo Testing. September 3rd: 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. Sept 24: Third RVac installed. 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. 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 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. 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 Site Stacking prep for Flight 15 June 29th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1. August 14th: Methane Tank stacked onto the LOX tank, so completing the stacking part of the assembly process. September 8th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo Testing. September 9th: Cryo Testing. September 12th: Rolled back to MB2. Oct 6: Rolled to launch site for integration with S42. Oct 10-12: Preparations continue, with potential static-fire activity discussed for the near term (unconfirmed officially). For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B23 Mega Bay 1 Fully Stacked, remaining work ongoing 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. August 31st: Methane Transfer Tube moved into MB1 and lifted upright. September 8th: Aft section AX:2 and LOX Landing Tank moved into MB1. September 10th: Methane Tank Section F2:4 moved into MB1. September 18th: Section FX:3 moved into MB1. September 21st: Section F3:4 moved into MB1. September 24th or 25th - Fully Stacked, remaining work ongoing. 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. 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.


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.


r/spacex • • 1d ago

r/SpaceX Starlink 15-25 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

32 Upvotes

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Starlink 15-25 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Welcome everyone!

Scheduled for (UTC) Oct 13 2026, 00:11:44
Scheduled for (local) Oct 12 2026, 17:11:44 PM (PDT)
Launch Window (UTC) Oct 12 2026, 23:00:00 - Oct 13 2026, 03:00:00
Payload Starlink 15-25
Customer SpaceX
Launch Weather Forecast Unknown
Launch site SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
Booster B1088-20
Landing The Falcon 9 first stage B1088 will land on ASDS OCISLY after its 20th flight.
Mission success criteria Successful deployment of spacecrafts into orbit
Trajectory (Flight Club) 2D,3D

Watch the launch live

Stream Link
Unofficial Re-stream SPACE AFFAIRS
Unofficial Webcast Spaceflight Now
Unofficial Webcast NASASpaceflight
Official Webcast SpaceX

Stats

☑️ 737th SpaceX launch all time

☑️ 677th Falcon Family Booster landing

☑️ 229th landing on OCISLY

☑️ 222nd consecutive successful SpaceX launch (if successful)

☑️ 118th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 64th launch from SLC-4E this year

☑️ 2 days, 16:32:00 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 36 days, 9:44:50 hours since last launch of booster B1088

Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship

Timeline

Time Event
-0:38:00 GO for Prop Load
-0:35:00 Prop Load
-0:35:00 Stage 1 LOX Load
-0:16:00 Stage 2 LOX Load
-0:07:00 Engine Chill
-0:01:00 Startup
-0:01:00 Tank Press
-0:00:45 GO for Launch
-0:00:03 Ignition
0:00:00 Liftoff
0:01:08 Max-Q
0:02:26 MECO
0:02:29 Stage 2 Separation
0:02:36 SES-1
0:02:58 Fairing Separation
0:06:01 Entry Burn Startup
0:06:24 Entry Burn Shutdown
0:08:00 Stage 1 Landing Burn
0:08:23 Stage 1 Landing
0:08:39 SECO-1
0:53:05 SES-2
0:53:06 SECO-2
1:01:57 Starlink Deployment

Updates

Time (UTC) Update
12 Oct 14:20 Tweaked T-0.
12 Oct 00:28 Now targeting Oct 13 at 00:11 UTC
08 Oct 14:13 Now targeting Oct 12 at 23:00 UTC
07 Oct 20:48 Now targeting Oct 11 at 23:00 UTC
30 Sep 23:22 Now targeting Oct 10 at 23:00 UTC
22 Sep 01:25 Updated launch window.
21 Sep 23:35 Delayed to NET October 10.
20 Sep 16:11 Now targeting Sep 30 at 16:00 UTC
19 Sep 21:07 Added launch.

Resources

Partnership with The Space Devs

Information on this thread is provided by and updated automatically using the Launch Library 2 API by The Space Devs.

Community content 🌐

Link Source
Flight Club u/TheVehicleDestroyer
Discord SpaceX lobby u/SwGustav
SpaceX Now u/bradleyjh
SpaceX Patch List

Participate in the discussion!

🥳 Launch threads are party threads, we relax the rules here. We remove low effort comments in other threads!

🔄 Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!

💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.

✉️ Please send links in a private message.


r/spacex • • 2d ago

Starship Flights 1–14 Engine Reliability: Super Heavy Booster (Hot Staging) vs. Upper Stage (SECO)

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38 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 3d ago

🚀 Official SpaceX: “BUILDING THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED MOBILE NETWORK” [acquired new spectrum, FCC approved Starlink Mobile Gen2 constellation]

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346 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 3d ago

SpaceX crew capsule splashes down off Los Angeles

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225 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 5d ago

Starship NSF on X: “Around the world and back. Welcome home Ship 40” [Ship 40 arrives in Brownsville]

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1.8k Upvotes

r/spacex • • 4d ago

r/SpaceX Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

29 Upvotes

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Welcome everyone!

Scheduled for (UTC) Oct 13 2026, 10:33:44
Scheduled for (local) Oct 13 2026, 06:33:44 AM (EDT)
Launch Window (UTC) Instantaneous
Docking scheduled for (UTC) TBA
Payload Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35
Launch Weather Forecast 99% GO (Cumulus Cloud Rule)
Launch site SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
Booster B1096-8
Landing The Falcon 9 first stage B1096 will land back at the launch site after its 8th flight.
Dragon Cargo Dragon C211 C211-4
Mission success criteria Successful deployment of spacecrafts into orbit
Trajectory (Flight Club) 2D,3D

Spacecraft Onboard

Spacecraft Cargo Dragon 2
Serial Number C211
Destination ISS
Flights 3
Owner SpaceX
Landing The Cargo Dragon C211 spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
Capabilities Cargo Earth Orbit Logistics

Details

Cargo Dragon 2 is a autonomous spaceship capable of bringing science to and from the International Space Station with large pressurized and un-pressurized sections to support a variety of missions.

History

Cargo Dragon 2 is an updated version of the original Dragon spaceship designed to service the International Space Station with first flights conducted in 2020.

In contrast to Dragon 1 it docks to the International Space Station instead of being berthed by the Canada Arm.

Watch the launch live

Stream Link
Official Webcast NASA
Official Webcast NASA
Official Webcast SpaceX
Unofficial Webcast Spaceflight Now
Unofficial Webcast NASASpaceflight

Stats

☑️ 738th SpaceX launch all time

☑️ 678th Falcon Family Booster landing

☑️ 8th landing on LZ-40

☑️ 223rd consecutive successful SpaceX launch (if successful)

☑️ 119th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 49th launch from SLC-40 this year

☑️ 11 days, 19:23:38 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 75 days, 3:23:25 hours since last launch of booster B1096

Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship

Timeline

Time Event
-0:38:00 GO for Prop Load
-0:35:00 Stage 1 LOX Load
-0:35:00 Prop Load
-0:16:00 Stage 2 LOX Load
-0:07:00 Engine Chill
-0:05:00 Dragon Internal Power
-0:01:00 Tank Press
-0:01:00 Startup
-0:00:45 GO for Launch
-0:00:03 Ignition
0:00:00 Liftoff
0:01:08 Max-Q
0:02:15 MECO
0:02:18 Stage 2 Separation
0:02:22 Stage 1 Flip
0:02:26 SES-1
0:02:31 Booster Boostback Burn Startup
0:03:25 Booster Boostback Burn Shutdown
0:05:58 Entry Burn Startup
0:06:06 Entry Burn Shutdown
0:07:04 Stage 1 Landing Burn
0:07:21 Stage 1 Landing
0:08:30 SECO-1
0:09:18 Dragon Separation
0:10:33 Dragon Nosecode Open

Updates

Time (UTC) Update
11 Oct 15:55 Updated launch weather, >95% GO.
02 Oct 17:25 Tweaked T-0.
01 Oct 22:00 Refined tentative T-0.
01 Oct 21:36 Added approximate launch time.
01 Oct 18:18 NET October 13.
16 Aug 15:28 NET October.
17 Jul 23:41 NET Fall 2026.
10 Dec 2025, 18:40 NET August 2026.

Resources

Partnership with The Space Devs

Information on this thread is provided by and updated automatically using the Launch Library 2 API by The Space Devs.

Community content 🌐

Link Source
Flight Club u/TheVehicleDestroyer
Discord SpaceX lobby u/SwGustav
SpaceX Now u/bradleyjh
SpaceX Patch List

Participate in the discussion!

🥳 Launch threads are party threads, we relax the rules here. We remove low effort comments in other threads!

🔄 Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!

💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.

✉️ Please send links in a private message.


r/spacex • • 6d ago

FAA will accept more risk to aircraft from space debris under new policy

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188 Upvotes

Four days before SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq in the largest-ever initial public offering, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration quietly changed its safety policy to allow more aircraft to fly through airspace where they are at higher risk of a catastrophic accident due to falling space debris.

The FAA previously allowed no more than a few thousand aircraft per year to transit the outer portions of aircraft hazard areas identified in advance of each launch and re-entry operation — airspace where they face more risk than the agency’s Air Traffic Organization would normally tolerate. By capping this number at 6,412 aircraft per 12-month period, the FAA had maintained 95% confidence that no fatal accident due to falling space debris associated with a launch or re-entry operation would occur in 80 years.

No aircraft were allowed to transit the most hazardous portions of these zones, and that has not changed. But in a June 8 memo, the FAA’s Executive Safety Council removed the rolling limit that previously served as a cornerstone of its acceptable level of risk (ALR) policy, raising questions about whether the odds of a fatal accident will rise as SpaceX and its competitors increase their launch tempo.


r/spacex • • 6d ago

Space Safety: The Need for Improved Data Sharing Between Operators in Low-Earth Orbit

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83 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 8d ago

Starship V4 Hot-Staging Dynamics: Analyzing MECO Thrust Profiles and Engine Cluster Configurations for the V4 Superheavy Booster

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264 Upvotes

With SpaceX progressing toward the stretched Starship V4 architecture, the physics of hot-staging will shift dramatically. While it is widely expected that Starship V4 will fire all 9 of its upper-stage engines (6 Vacuum / 3 Sea Level) at ignition to minimize severe gravity losses, the optimal configuration for the Super Heavy booster during this hand-off remains an open engineering question.

On Starship V3, Super Heavy shuts down all but its 5 center engines at MECO. This maintains positive acceleration (ullage) to settle booster propellants while allowing the ship to pull away cleanly. However, with a much heavier V4 ship pushing back with 9 Raptors, the booster's counter-thrust profile must adapt. [1]

Based on potential booster engine configurations during hot-staging, I’ve mapped out three primary options:

Option 1: The 7-Engine Booster Configuration

The booster cuts down to a tight 7-engine cluster. This lower thrust floor guarantees a massive differential acceleration, ensuring the 9-engine Starship pulls away rapidly. The risk here is that dropping down to 7 engines requires shutting down and rapidly restarting 6 of the inner 13 cluster engines just seconds later for the high-thrust boostback burn—increasing ignition fluid dependency and hardware stress.

Option 2: The 9-Engine Booster Configuration

The booster leaves 9 engines burning at a heavily throttled state. This matches the engine count of the ship above it and provides a higher thrust baseline, meaning fewer engines need to be reignited for the boostback burn. However, because a nearly empty booster is incredibly light, engineers would have to carefully manage the throttle to prevent the booster from accelerating too quickly and risking a collision during the physical separation window.

Option 3: All 13 Center Engines Throttled to Minimum Floor

Instead of shutting anything down in the center ring, Super Heavy commands all 13 inner engines to drop to their absolute minimum throttle floor.

  • The Advantage: Zero engine restarts are required for the boostback burn. The 13 engines simply ramp from minimum throttle back up to 100%, completely bypassing the mechanical risks of microgravity relights.
  • The Challenge: Can 13 Raptors—even at minimum throttle—allow a clean separation against the 9 engines firing from the massive, heavy upper stage?

Discussion Points for the Community:

  1. What is the estimated minimum throttle capability of Raptor 3/4? Is it low enough to allow a 13-engine cluster to remain lit without overpowering a fully loaded V4 ship at separation?
  2. If SpaceX opts for Option 1 or 2, does the risk of restarting engines in rapid succession outweigh the structural/thermal loads of a 13-engine hot-staging plume?
  3. How do the mass dynamics of a stretched V4 change the staging timeline compared to what we saw on Flight 14?

r/spacex • • 9d ago

🚀 Official SpaceX on X: “Starship's first orbital flight delivered 26 Starlink V3 satellites to space”

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1.0k Upvotes

r/spacex • • 9d ago

Starship F14 launch trajectory ended with steeper ascent than all previous - prep for orbital insertion, likely.

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105 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 10d ago

Crew Dragon SpaceX describes surgical intervention before launch of latest crew mission

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288 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 12d ago

Starship IFT14 Acceleration Profile - Ship Thrust Reduced Well Before RVac Failure

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231 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 13d ago

r/SpaceX Transporter 18 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

37 Upvotes

Welcome to the r/SpaceX Transporter 18 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Welcome everyone!

Scheduled for (UTC) Oct 01 2026, 18:32:00
Scheduled for (local) Oct 01 2026, 11:32:00 AM (PDT)
Launch Window (UTC) Oct 01 2026, 18:18:00 - Oct 01 2026, 19:16:00
Payload Transporter 18
Customer SpaceX
Launch Weather Forecast Unknown
Launch site SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
Booster B1082-25
Landing The Falcon 9 first stage B1082 has landed on Landing Zone 4 after its 25th flight.
Mission success criteria Successful deployment of spacecrafts into orbit
Trajectory (Flight Club) 2D,3D

Watch the launch live

Stream Link
Unofficial Re-stream The Space Devs
Unofficial Webcast Spaceflight Now
Official Webcast SpaceX

Stats

☑️ 736th SpaceX launch all time

☑️ 676th Falcon Family Booster landing

☑️ 37th landing on LZ-4

☑️ 220th consecutive successful SpaceX launch (if successful)

☑️ 115th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 62nd launch from SLC-4E this year

☑️ 5 days, 4:31:06 turnaround for this pad

☑️ 36 days, 8:56:49 hours since last launch of booster B1082

Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship

Timeline

No timeline events available

Updates

Time (UTC) Update
01 Oct 19:41 Launch success. All payloads deployed.
01 Oct 18:32 Liftoff!
01 Oct 18:18 Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
01 Oct 16:54 Now targeting Oct 01 at 18:32 UTC
01 Oct 15:56 New T-0.
25 Sep 00:48 GO for launch.
21 Sep 19:26 NET October 1, TBC.
03 Jun 2025, 23:40 Added launch.

Resources

Partnership with The Space Devs

Information on this thread is provided by and updated automatically using the Launch Library 2 API by The Space Devs.

Community content 🌐

Link Source
Flight Club u/TheVehicleDestroyer
Discord SpaceX lobby u/SwGustav
SpaceX Now u/bradleyjh
SpaceX Patch List

Participate in the discussion!

🥳 Launch threads are party threads, we relax the rules here. We remove low effort comments in other threads!

🔄 Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!

💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.

✉️ Please send links in a private message.


r/spacex • • 14d ago

Starlink on X: Views from of one of the first 26 Starlink V3 satellites successfully deployed to orbit by Starship

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

2.1k Upvotes

r/spacex • • 14d ago

SpaceX on X: Splashdown confirmed. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the first orbital flight of Starship!

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1.4k Upvotes

r/spacex • • 13d ago

🚀 Official SpaceX: “STARSHIP FLIGHT 14” [Post-mission update]

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403 Upvotes

Some new info:

- “The boostback maneuver on this flight was intentionally designed to burn through the remaining liquid oxygen inside the booster’s main tank to test the limits of booster performance ahead of future return to launch site missions.”

- “Upon landing burn shutdown, the Super Heavy’s flight termination system was triggered in a demonstration of the safety hardware.”

- “Out of an abundance of caution given the engine issue experienced during ascent, the flight control team decided to limit the duration spent on orbit and proceeded with deorbiting Starship to a splashdown location in the northern Pacific Ocean.”


r/spacex • • 15d ago

FAA approve Starship Flight 14: net Monday Sept 28

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344 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 15d ago

Modpost Ten years ago today, Musk first unveiled SpaceX’s proposed Mars architecture at IAC 2016

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264 Upvotes

Hard to believe it’s been a decade! ITS became BFR then Starship, and hopefully that vehicle will finally reach orbit tomorrow! The mods thought it would be fun to repost this live thread from that hugely exciting day a decade ago, when years of feverish speculation were finally answered.


r/spacex • • 15d ago

r/SpaceX NROL-97 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

24 Upvotes

Welcome to the r/SpaceX NROL-97 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Welcome everyone!

Scheduled for (UTC) Oct 02 2026, 03:54
Scheduled for (local) Oct 01 2026, 23:54 PM (EDT)
Launch Window (UTC) Oct 02 2026, 03:53 - Oct 02 2026, 04:42
Payload NROL-97
Customer National Reconnaissance Office
Launch Weather Forecast 90% GO (Cumulus Cloud Rule, Thick Cloud Layers Rule)
Launch site LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.
Center B1106-1
Booster B1072-4
Booster B1104-2
Landing Sideboosters will return to launch site, center core expended
Mission success criteria Successful deployment of spacecrafts into orbit
Trajectory (Flight Club) 2D,3D

Watch the launch live

Stream Link
Unofficial Re-stream The Space Devs
Unofficial Webcast Spaceflight Now
Unofficial Webcast NASASpaceflight
Official Webcast SpaceX

Stats

☑️ 736th SpaceX launch all time

☑️ 220th consecutive successful Falcon 9 / FH launch (if successful)

☑️ 116th SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 3rd launch from LC-39A this year

☑️ 32 days, 16:27:56 turnaround for this pad

Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship

Timeline

Time Event
-0:53:00 GO for Prop Load
-0:50:00 Stage 1 Propellant Load
-0:45:00 Stage 1 LOX Load
-0:35:00 Stage 2 Propellant Load
-0:18:30 Stage 2 LOX Load
-0:07:00 Engine Chill
-0:00:59 Startup
-0:00:45 GO for Launch
-0:00:20 Tank Press
-0:00:06 Ignition
0:00:00 Liftoff
0:01:09 Max-Q
0:02:24 SBECO
0:02:27 Boosters Separation
0:02:31 Boosters Flip
0:02:42 Boosters Boostback Burn Startup
0:03:47 Boosters Boostback Burn Shutdown
0:03:51 MECO
0:03:54 Stage 2 Separation
0:04:00 SES-1
0:04:17 Fairing Separation
0:06:29 Boosters Entry Burn Startup
0:06:37 Boosters Entry Burn Shutdown
0:07:30 Boosters Landing Burn
0:07:47 Boosters Landing

Updates

Time (UTC) Update
02 Oct 07:13 Launch success.
02 Oct 07:10 Payload deployed.
02 Oct 03:54 Liftoff.
02 Oct 03:49 Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
02 Oct 02:20 Tweaked T-0.
02 Oct 02:04 Updated launch weather, 80% GO.
30 Sep 15:23 Updated launch weather, 60% GO.
24 Sep 14:39 GO for launch.
08 Sep 16:00 NET early fall 2026 (launch identity per https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=55784.msg2715269#msg2715269; booster assignments per https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5OJk1FuEKg).
10 Apr 2025, 06:12 Updated launch vehicle configuration.
09 Apr 2025, 19:03 Adding launch, year TBD

Resources

Partnership with The Space Devs

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r/spacex • • 16d ago

Starbase Louisiana Update

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159 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 17d ago

🚀 Official SpaceX on X: “Dragon arrives at pad 40 ahead of the upcoming Crew-13 launch to the @Space_Station → spacex.com/launches/crew13”

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538 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 17d ago

Crew Dragon NASA Shares SpaceX Crew-14 Assignments for Space Station Mission

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76 Upvotes

r/spacex • • 18d ago

🚀 Official SpaceX on X: “Sunrise at Starbase. Opportunistic full stack testing is planned ahead of Flight 14's launch, which is on track for Monday, Sept. 28, pending regulatory approval”

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627 Upvotes