Tag: Starbase
-
Poor weather delays Starship Flight 10 to Tuesday
Several people wander the dunes surrounding Launch Pad A at Starbase, Texas, to marvel at the fully integrated Starship rocket designed to launch Starship Flight 10. Image: Stephen Clark / Ars Technica Update Aug. 25, 8:22 p.m. EDT: An anvil cloud forced a mission scrub. The launch is now scheduled for no earlier than Tuesday…
-
SpaceX has built the machine to build the machine. But what about the machine?
STARBASE, Texas—I first visited SpaceX’s launch site in South Texas a decade ago. Driving down the pocked and barren two-lane road to its sandy terminus, I found only rolling dunes, a large mound of dirt, and a few satellite dishes that talked to Dragon spacecraft as they flew overhead. A few years later, in mid-2019,…
-
Starbase Pad 2: Design Advancements from Pad 1
SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, continues to evolve as the company pushes the boundaries of rocket development with its Starship program. Following the operational experience gained from Pad 1, significant design advancements have been implemented for Pad 2, aiming to enhance efficiency, reliability, and safety for future Starship launches. This includes key modifications…
-
Launch Roundup: SpaceX, Chinese, and Russian missions make up busy week
Two Chinese rockets, a pair of Russian missions, a trio of Falcon 9 launches, a New Shepard, an Electron, and the long-awaited tenth flight of Starship were scheduled to fly this week. In Russia, a Soyuz rocket launched a modernized version of the Vostok capsule that flew crewed missions in the 1960s from Baikonur, while…
-
FAA approves Starship Flight 10 after mishap probe, eyes August 24 launch
SpaceX has received clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct the 10th test flight of its Starship rocket, with a targeted launch date of August 24. The approval for Flight 10 comes after the closure of an investigation into anomalies during the vehicle’s previous mission, marking a key step forward in SpaceX’s test…
-
Ship 37 completes a Spin Prime test following Engine Swap
The target launch date for Flight 10 is one step closer after the retest of Ship 37, which followed an engine change after the ship completed a pair of static fires on Pad 1 (A). Additionally, Booster 16 has been rolled to the rocket garden as it awaits its companion to be ready for flight.…
-
How SpaceX modified Pad 1 for Ship Static Fire tests to cover Massey’s downtime
Following the energetic RUD of Ship 36 at Massey’s on June 18, teams at the launch site focused on modifying the Pad 1 Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) to facilitate ship testing. This creative initiative has proven to be a success, as Ship 37 conducted two Static Fire tests on Pad 1, paving the way for…
-
The Final Two Block 2 Ships leave Mega Bay 2 for Testing
Following the loss of Ship 36 during its static fire test campaign at Masseys on June 18, SpaceX has been trying to recover, rebuild, and proceed with the last two Block 2 ships it has for flight. These are Ship 37 and Ship 38, and this week, both vehicles rolled out for respective testing before…
-
Starship Salvage Operation off Coast of Mexico complete as B13 aft returns home
July 18, 2025: 1:29 PM Eastern – First Publication. NASASpaceflight.com is tracking a developing situation involving the salvage of SpaceX Starship booster parts off the coast near Brownsville, Texas. The construction and salvage ship LB Jill appeared on the Port of Brownsville’s manifest, explicitly stating “To Load Rocket Parts 1 M/T,” strongly suggesting salvage operations…
-
Starship at Cape Canaveral making progress as SpaceX tries to push the program forward
While SpaceX continues to attempt to launch flight tests at Starbase, crews are working diligently to bring the next several pads and the next production facility online. Roberts Road and LC-39A have seen significant progress, while demolition of SLC-37 continues. Roberts Road Over the past several months, SpaceX has been significantly expanding its operations at…