Tag: Starship
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Starship Flight 13 Set to Deploy First V3 Starlink Satellites in Operational Debut
Flight 13 is the 13th test launch overall of the Starship megarocket and the second flight this year, following the May 22 launch of Flight 12. It will also be the second flight of SpaceX’s new Starship Version 3, or V3. The vehicle stands more than 400 feet tall and is being designed as a…
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NASA Artemis III Demo Will Fly Two HLS Landers in 2027
Does NASA’s 2027 Artemis III Mission Actually Land on the Moon? No — and that distinction matters enormously for anyone tracking the Artemis Program schedule. NASA’s Artemis III, currently planned for 2027, is a crewed rendezvous-and-docking demonstration in low Earth orbit and cislunar space, not a lunar surface landing. The actual crewed Moon landing is…
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Starship Flight 13 Carries 20 Starlink V3 Sats July 16
Does Starship Flight 13 Carry Its First Real Payload? Yes — and it matters. SpaceX has confirmed Starship Flight 13 is targeting liftoff from Starbase, Texas, as early as Thursday, July 16, carrying 20 Starlink V3 satellites: the vehicle’s first operational payload in 13 flights of developmental testing. For the first time, the world’s most…
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SpaceX Plans Natural Gas Pipeline to Support Starship Operations in Texas
SpaceX is planning to construct a natural gas pipeline in Texas to supply fuel for its Starship launch operations, according to regulatory filings reviewed by Reuters and the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. SpaceTechnology The proposed pipeline would extend approximately eight miles from the Port of Brownsville to the company’s Starbase launch and manufacturing facility.…
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Aerospace Corp Study Questions Super Heavy Lift Economics
Does Super Heavy Lift Actually Lower Launch Costs Per Kilogram? A new Aerospace Corporation report released June 29 challenges the core economic assumption driving the super heavy lift rocket race: that bigger always means cheaper per kilogram to orbit. The report warns that beyond a certain threshold — which it deliberately does not quantify —…
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Ship 40 completes single-engine static fire; Booster 20 and Pad 2 see new work
SpaceX rolled out Ship 40 for engine testing, but after completing only a single engine test and what appeared to be an abort, it was rolled back to Mega Bay 2. The full test of all of Ship 40’s engines has yet to be completed, though time remains as Booster 20 appears to still be…
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Ship 40 Single-Engine Static Fire Signals Caution
Ship 40’s Single-Engine Static Fire: What the Restrained Test Tells Us About Starship’s Next Phase SpaceX fired exactly one Raptor on Ship 40 — and that deliberate restraint may be the most informative data point of the day SpaceX rolled Ship 40 to the orbital launch mount at Starbase, Boca Chica on June 26, conducted…
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SpaceX tests upcoming Starfall reentry vehicle with demonstration mission on Tuesday
Early Tuesday morning, SpaceX launched a demonstration mission for its Starfall reentry vehicle. Falcon 9 lifted off at 6:53 AM EDT (10:53 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Weather was 95% “go” for launch, with the only concerns being the cumulus cloud rule. Riding within…
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Booster 20 Completes Cryo, As Ship 40 Nears Static Fire
With the completion of Flight 12 about three weeks ago, all focus is now on Flight 13 and its vehicles, Booster 20 and Ship 40. To date, both have completed cryogenic proof testing and are now set up to complete static fire testing next. Booster 20 Booster 20 only recently completed cryo proof testing when…
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NASA Names Four-Astronaut Crew for Artemis III Docking Mission with SpaceX and Blue Origin Landers
NASA has selected three American astronauts and one European astronaut to fly on Artemis III, a landmark mission scheduled for late 2027 that will conduct the first in-space docking demonstrations between NASA’s Orion spacecraft and lunar landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the crew during a ceremony in Houston…