Tag: Starbase
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SpaceX’s new Starship pad readies for first launch
Over the last two years, SpaceX has been constructing a completely redesigned launch pad for Starship, drawing on lessons learned from the first 11 flights. The new pad alongside Block 3 of Starship is a clean-sheet design that should help SpaceX move toward a much more reusable launch pad. Flame Trench Pad 2 is a…
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Launch Preview: SpaceX and Chinese missions fill busy launch manifest
The week of May 11 brings nine launches across the United States and China, spanning government and commercial operators on both sides of the Pacific. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 accounts for four missions: a Cargo Dragon resupply flight to the International Space Station, a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload from Vandenberg, a Starlink mission, and a…
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Full Stack Flight 12 completes WDR
Following Booster 19’s successful full-duration, full-thrust 33-engine static fire on May 7, 2026, its partner Ship 39 rolled out to join the booster and form the Flight 12 stack ahead of a Wet Dress Rehearsal. While Saturday’s attempt was scrubbed ahead of prop loading, a new attempt on Monday appeared to go as planned. Since…
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Pad 1 conversion ongoing, with Flight 12 nearing
Over six months after the end of Flight 11, the old design, Pad 1, was demolished, and conversion to the newer pad design, like Pad 2, is underway. In that time, crews have made impressive progress, with excavation of the trench about to start. Pad 1 Conversion Since the end of Flight 11, SpaceX…
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SpaceX aims for mid-May Starship Flight 12 launch with revised trajectory
The return of Starship launches may be just weeks away, with notices for the upcoming Flight 12 launch attempt publishing notification for windows opening as early as May 12. The move signals accelerating preparations for the first orbital test flight of the upgraded Version 3 Starship and Super Heavy vehicles, although engineers will have several…
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Ship 39 and Booster 19 Both Complete Full Engine Static Fires
Following the successful return of Orion, attention for the Artemis program has now shifted to SpaceX and Blue Origin to prepare a crewed lander in time for Artemis III. For SpaceX, this means getting Starship Block 3 flying and fully operational so that teams can begin building and launching the Human Landing System (HLS) variant.…
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SpaceX continues refinements at Starbase Pad 2 ahead of Booster 19 return
SpaceX’s Pad 2 at Starbase is continuing to refine its preparations for the return of Booster 19, with deluge testing and even load testing the Ship Quick Disconnect (SQD) arm. This time, Flight 12’s booster will be sporting its full complement of 33 engines, with the subsequent Static Fire test the biggest milestone for the…
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Progress on Starbase Pads ahead of Block 3 Starships
In a flurry of ground activity that underscores SpaceX’s relentless drive for launch cadence, engineers at the company’s Starbase facility are overhauling Launch Pad 1 while putting the finishing touches on Pad 2. These parallel efforts—centered on a massive new flame trench, an on-site Air Separation Unit (ASU), expanded propellant storage, and critical tower testing—are…
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Booster 19 concludes initial test campaign on Pad 2
Starship Flight 12 took another step toward launch, with Booster 19 completing an initial test campaign on the newly commissioned Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. Culminating in a short Static Fire test, the series of tests was a first for Pad 2, the Block 3/V3 Super Heavy Booster, and for the upgraded Raptor 3 outside…
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SpaceX’s Enters a new era with Booster 19 Testing on Pad 2
For the first time since Flight 11 on Oct 13, 2025, 147 days ago, SpaceX has a vehicle back at the launch site. However, instead of a Block 2 booster on Pad 1, this is Booster 19, a Block 3 booster, mounted on SpaceX’s newest launch pad, Pad 2. This launch pad has been under…