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Starship Development Thread December 2024

Starbase activities (2024-11-30):

• Nov 29th cryo delivery tally.
• The long weekend of low activity continues.
• cnunez posts a current wide shot of Tower A and a closeup of Tower B.
• Labelled map of build site from RGV Aerial and BingoBoca.

KSC:

• Launch Mount parts have arrived at the Roberts Road facility. (GregScott 1, GregScott 2)

Starbase activities (2024-11-29):

• Not much reported. Either SpaceX are on holiday, or the local photographers are, or both.
• Nov 28th cryo delivery tally.

KSC:

• A new crane is staged in front of the SpaceX-built LOX tank at LC-39A. (Golden / GregScott)
• The Roberts Road facility may be preparing for the construction of a 4th Starship launch tower. (Golden / GregScott)

Starbase activities (2024-11-28):

• Nov 27th cryo delivery tally.
• Not too much action reported on Nov 28th.
• Gisler posts recent photos of the Tower A antenna, the yellow LR11000 crane at Pad B, and a Starfactory photo of S34 or S35 nosecone.

Starbase activities (2024-11-27):

• Nov 26th cryo delivery tally.
• Nov 26th S26 nosecone emerges from the Highbay and moves to the scrap yard. (ViX)
• Build site: Sections of the now scrapped S26 depart from Starbase by truck. (ViX)
• A large tube moves directly from Starfactory to the scrap yard. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Launch site: The yellow LR11000 crane rises. The crane is reeved for “2x10 line parts”, for a “442t hook capacity”. (Space_Time3, ViX 1, ViX 2 / BJSchnettler)
• Booster quick disconnect is tested. (ViX)
• RGV Aerial post a recent flyover photo of Pad B.

Flight 6:

• Starship S31 debris is brought back to shore in Australia. Recovered items include tiles, COPV tanks, and other components. Interstellar Gateway thread: Tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3, tweet 4, tweet 5, tweet 6, tweet 7, tweet 8, tweet 9, tweet 10, tweet 11, tweet 12, tweet 13, tweet 14, tweet 15, tweet 16.

Starbase activities (2024-11-26):

• Nov 25th cryo delivery tally.
• Nov 25th addendum: Ship quick disconnect arm extends, chopsticks lower slightly. (ViX)
• Fairly quiet day, not much action reported.
• Chopsticks swing to one side. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Ship quick disconnect arm retracts, chopsticks swing back to center, chopsticks lower. (ViX)
• SpaceX post a job listing for a Gigabay structural engineer. (NSF)
• SpaceX had marine assets to return S31 if it had not broken apart upon splashdown. (Kai Trump vlog, at 8:38) Yes, we live in a weird timeline.

KSC LC-39A:

• A larger crane is spotted. (Alejandro Alcantarilla Romera, Felix Space Time)

Starbase activities (2024-11-01):

• Oct 31st cryo delivery tally. ViX shares an outdated but useful infographic on how many deliveries are required for launch.
• Oct 31st addendum: NSF timelapse of S33 cryo test at Massey’s.
• Pad B: The disassembled CC8800-1 crane begins to depart, starting with crane mats and counterweights. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Build site: S34 aft LOX section moves from Starfactory to Megabay 2. (ViX)
• RGV Aerial post a recent flyover photo of office construction.
• Massey’s: S33 prepares for rollback. (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3, Starship Gazer)

Other:

• NSF article on pending upgrades to Starship facilities in Florida.
• Additional highlight summaries on Starship HLS mockup from Kirtland, Bickmore, and Li. Two floors, five bedrooms, laboratory, airlock, life support, four control seats, and a 40-foot ceiling in one area.

Starbase activities (2024-11-11):

• Nov 10th cryo delivery tally.
• Build site: S31 emerges from the Highbay, counterweights are the SPMTs, S31 retreats back inside. (LabPadre, ViX 1, ViX 2, Starship Gazer, NSF)
• Closeup photos from Starship Gazer: Nose, aft.
• Heatshield comparisons from Ringwatchers and mcrs987.
• Construction on passageway between Starfactory and offices continues. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3)
• RGV Aerial post a recent flyover photo of the build site.
• In the evening, S31 rolls out to the launch complex. (LabPadre, ViX, Starship Gazer 1, Starship Gazer 2, Gisler, cnunez, Gomez, clwphoto1 1, clwphoto1 2, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, NSF 4, NSF 5, NSF livestream)
• Pad A: Flame deflector is tested. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF)
• A large spool of orange arrives at the launch complex. (Gisler)
• Pad B launch mount and flame trench renders from ChromeKiwi. (Tweet 1, tweet 2)

Starbase activities (2024-11-14):

• Nov 13th cryo delivery tally.
• Pad A: Overnight, B13 rolls out to Pad A. (LabPadre, ViX, Starship Gazer 1, Starship Gazer 2, Priel, Gisler, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, SpaceX, NSF livestream)
• B13 is lifted onto the launch mount. (LabPadre, ViX, Starship Gazer, Priel, NSF, D Wise, cnunez 1, cnunez 2, cnunez 3, cnunez 4, clwphoto1)
• Ship lifting pins on the chopsticks are deployed. (ViX)
• Chopsticks close around S31. (NSF, Evans)
• S31 is stacked on B13. (NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, Evans, Ramirez 1, Ramirez 2, NSF livestream)
• Golden thinks the timeline is tight for a Monday launch.
• A large piece of pipe is lifted into position near the new recondensers. (ViX)
• Pad B: The LR11000 crane is laid down, and the tip is removed and shipped out on a truck. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Build site: B16’s A5:4 section moves into Megabay 1. (ViX)
• The SpaceX “X” logo on the new offices is illuminated. (cnunez, Beyer, interstellargw, ViX)
• 8-hour road closure is scheduled for Nov 17th (08:00 to 16:00) for non-flight testing activities.

Starbase activities (2024-11-13):

• Nov 12th cryo delivery tally.
• Nov 12th addendum: Pad A photos from Starship Gazer. (Ship 31, nose test tiles, launch mount, aft flaps being secured)
• Build site: Overnight, all three of S34’s outer transfer tubes are lifted to the installation jig in Megabay 2. (ViX)
• Booster transport stand arrives at the build site and enters Megabay 1. (ViX)
• B13 is transferred onto the transport stand and emerges from Megabay 1 in preparation for rollout. (ViX 1, ViX 2 (employee photo op), LabPadre, Starship Gazer, Golden 1, Golden 2, clwphoto1, NSF livestream)
• B16’s A5:4 section is staged outside Megabay 1. (ViX, Gisler 1, Gisler 2)
• cnunez posts a photo of three nosecones in Starfactory, likely for S35, S36, and S37.
• Office construction continues. Application of the SpaceX logo begins. (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3, Gisler)
• Pad B: The LR11000 is being prepared to be laid down prior to IFT-6. (ViX)
• Pad A: S31 has a banana on each side. (Gisler, cnunez)
• 14-hour road closures are posted for Nov 18th, 19th, and 20th (all 08:00 to 22:00), for flight testing activities, presumably IFT-6.
• NOTAM and NOTMAR are posted for IFT-6.

McGregor:

• A Raptor 3 has a hard start a rough start on the horizontal stand. (Hayden / NSF)

Starbase activities (2024-11-07):

• Nov 6th cryo delivery tally.
• Pad A: The remaining subcooler is lifted into position. (ViX, Gisler)
• Work on chopsticks continues. Workers observed on the booster quick disconnect. (cnunez, ViX)
• Pad B: CC8800-1 disassembly continues. Six truckloads depart from the launch site. (ViX, Gisler 1, Gisler 2)
• Build site: Scaffolding is delivered, glass installation continues on the passageway between Starfactory and offices. (ViX)
• Two new semi-circular work platforms arrive at Megabay 2. (ViX)
• Booster CO2 tank moves from Starfactory towards Megabay 1. (ViX)
• Hotstage ring spotted outside Megabay 1. (Anderson / LabPadre)
• S31 receives a “banana for scale” sticker. (Starship Gazer, Mary, Gisler, cnunez, Ramirez)
• Sanchez: Launch mount B construction continues. The GMK 7550 crane lifts the first and second (of four) side sections into position. (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3)
• Rocket Garden: Counterweights are added to SPMTs, likely in preparation for B13 rollout. (ViX)
• 1-hour road delays are posted for Nov 11th (19:00 to 22:00) and 12th (10:00 and 13:00) for transport from factory to pad, likely B13 rollout.

McGregor:

• The tripod stand is being retired. Some tanks are removed. (NSF)

Starbase activities (2024-11-19):

IFT-6:

• Launch pad clearing begins. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Road is closed. (LabPadre)
• A few cryo deliveries continue. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Chopsticks open to launch position. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF)
• Booster transport stand arrives at the roadblock. (ViX, NSF)
• Chopstick landing rails are raised. (LabPadre, ViX)
• Frost and venting are observed on the vaporizers to the left of the D2 gate. (ViX)
• Helicopter and fast boats are spotted, presumably for range duty. (ViX, NSF, RGV Aerial)
• Tank farm, tower, and launch mount venting. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF 1, NSF 2, Golden)
• Frost on ship and booster, propellant is loaded. (LabPadre, SpaceX)
• IFT-6 happens. The payload is a single banana. (ViX, Cornwell)
• Booster catch attempt is aborted. B13 performs a soft splashdown, propellant tanks rupture when booster tips over. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF)
• SpaceX marine assets approach B13. (Cornwell)
• B13 continues to to belch fire over an hour after splashdown. (LabPadre, Golden)
• In-space raptor relight test is successful. (SpaceX, LabPadre)
• Slight warping of the hull is observed during reentry. (Golden)
• S31 survives reentry and performs a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. (SpaceX, courtesy of marine assets)
• S31 had an older heatshield design, fewer tiles, and flew a steeper reentry profile. (Tankwatchers, Maxarick 1, Maxarick 2)
• Cause of catch abort: Although “Tower is go for catch”, was called out during the webcast, it seems like a later check identified an issue which triggered the abort: “Following a nominal ascent and stage separation, the booster successfully transitioned to its boostback burn to begin the return to launch site. During this phase, automated health checks of critical hardware on the launch and catch tower triggered an abort of the catch attempt. The booster then executed a pre-planned divert maneuver, performing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.” (Golden’s thoughts](https://x.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1859074034698183118))

Non-IFT-6:

• Nov 18th cryo delivery tally.
• Build site: A Bigge BG-28H drill rig, Bigge Tadano crane, and drill bits are delivered. (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3, Golden)
• Minor damage to the lighting and communications pole on Tower A. (NSF, Golden)
• Booster load spreader moves into Megabay 1. (ViX)

Other:

• Elon shares flight 6 objectives. (Elon)
• SpaceX share updated HLS renders. (SpaceX, Golden)
• SpaceX share photos of heatshield tests in simulated martian atmosphere. (SpaceX)
• Elon shares some numbers: “Flight 6 liftoff thrust is ~7500 tons and mass is ~5000 tons. The tanker version of Starship V3 will weigh over 7000 tons.”
• Elon shares more Starship V3 info: “Same diameter of 9m (~30 ft), but longer and at least 2 versions. The propellant tanker version will be especially heavy, as the payload volume in the forward section will mostly contain propellant. Thrust goal will be ~10k tons (3X Saturn V) and liftoff mass of tanker version ~7k tons. This should be capable of ~200 tons of orbital refilling. Note, 3% of liftoff mass as useful cargo would be insanely good for a fully reusable orbital rocket. Most expendable rockets aren’t that good.”
• Elon regarding flight 7 and 8: “We will do one more ocean landing of the ship. If that goes well, then SpaceX will attempt to catch the ship with the tower.” This puts S34 as potentially the first RTLS ship.

Starbase activities (2024-11-15):

• Nov 14th cryo delivery tally.
• Nov 14th addenda: ViX and Priel timelapses of S31 stacking. Side-by-side comparison of all seven full stackings.
• Pad A: Overnight, ship quick disconnect connects to S31. (LabPadre)
• Scaffolding is removed from the launch mount, and access hole covers are welded. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Launch mount work platform is lowered. (ViX)
• B13 performs an igniter test. (ViX, Golden)
• B13 performs a gridfin wiggle test. (ViX, Priel)
• Launch mount detonation suppression system is tested. (ViX, Priel)
• S31 performs an igniter test. (ViX)
• Workers install flight termination systems on B13. FTS for S31 might already be installed. (Starship Gazer 1, Starship Gazer 2, Starship Gazer 3, Golden)
• B13 closeups from D Wise. (Tweet 1, tweet 2)
• Pad B: Draw works dead end spool cradle spotted is en route. (ViX)
• Build site: B16’s downcomer moves from Starfactory to Megabay 1. (ViX 1, ViX 2)

IFT-5:

• SpaceRhin0 summary of recovered engines.

IFT-6:

• SpaceX announce an updated target date of Tuesday Nov 19th at 16:00 CT (22:00 UTC), due to weather.

Other:

• TheSpaceEngineer creates some speculative renders based on known HLS information: Tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3, tweet 4, tweet 5

Starbase activities (2024-11-20):

• Nov 19th cryo delivery tally.
• Nov 20th road closure is revoked.
• 1-hour road delay was posted for Nov 21st (00:00 to 03:00) for transport from factory to pad, but then revoked.
• Build site: S26 moves to Highbay, the LTR1220 crane delivers a ring spreader, and the lower 4 rings of S26 are removed. (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3, Beyer, DeffGeff)
• Booster transport stand arrives at the production site. (ViX)
• Potential raptor delivery truck is spotted. (ViX)
• Pad A: Chopsticks and launch mount inspections overnight. (Starbase Pulse)
• Launch mount work platform rolls back out to the pad. (ViX, NSF)
• Three truckloads of cryo piping are delivered. (ViX)
• Booster stabilization pins are moved back towards the launch mount. (ViX)

IFT-6:

• Gulf of Mexico: Final sighting on Nov 19th of B13 heading south into Mexican waters, guarded by support aircraft. (LabPadre)
• Two out of three support ships return to port. (Cornwell, Cornwell 2)
• Indian Ocean: The two ships slowly move west, likely following the remains of S31. (Cornwell 1, Cornwell 2)
• “What caused the catch abort?” Elon: “Lost comms to the launch tower computer. Catch would probably still have worked, but we weren’t sure, so erred on the side of caution.”
• “What happened to the banana?” Elon: “Well, the fairing did blow up when the ship fell over after landing in the water (as expected)”
• FAA confirms no mishap. All outcomes were within the scope of the launch license. (Beil)

Other:

• “Is the perspirative cooling still off the table?” Elon: “Metallic shielding, supplemented by ullage gas or liquid film-cooling is back on the table as a possibility”
• The FAA publish a revised Environmental Assessment draft (Revised Draft EA, PDF warning) for increasing launch cadence to 25 per year. Document includes (pg. 153 and 154) a map showing the planned trajectory for Starship RTLS, passing over Matamoros (Mexico) and the outskirts of Brownsville. (thanks u/Nydilien and u/scarlet_sage in The Other Place)

Starbase activities (2024-11-06):

• Nov 5th cryo delivery tally.
• Pad B: CC8800-1 crane disassembly continues. Two more truckloads of parts depart. (ViX, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3)
• RGV Aerial post a recent flyover photo of the launch site.
• Some sort of box/cover is lifted into place at the tank farm. (clwphoto1)
• Construction on passageway between Starfactory and offices continues. Window installation in progress. (Gisler)
• Build site: The A4:4 LOX section for B16 moves from Starfactory to Megabay 1. (ViX)
• Sanchez: Construction continues on launch mount B. All four corner sections are in place. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• The pez load has shrunk. (ViX)

IFT-6:

• FAA NOTAMN is posted for Nov 18th through 26th. (LabPadre)

• SpaceX announce November 18th as the NET date for flight 6, and post info on mission objectives and changes since flight 5. Highlights:

  Hardware upgrades for this flight add additional redundancy to booster propulsion systems, increase structural strength at key areas, and shorten the timeline to offload propellants from the booster following a successful catch. Mission designers also updated software controls and commit criteria for the booster’s launch and return.

  An additional objective for this flight will be attempting an in-space burn using a single Raptor engine, further demonstrating the capabilities required to conduct a ship deorbit burn prior to orbital missions.

  The flight test will assess new secondary thermal protection materials and will have entire sections of heat shield tiles removed on either side of the ship in locations being studied for catch-enabling hardware on future vehicles. The ship also will intentionally fly at a higher angle of attack in the final phase of descent, purposefully stressing the limits of flap control to gain data on future landing profiles. Finally, adjusting the flight’s launch window to the late afternoon at Starbase will enable the ship to reenter over the Indian Ocean in daylight, providing better conditions for visual observations.