Since April 2023, SpaceX Starship vehicles have flown 4 times, with 2 successes and 2 failures. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale.[1] SpaceX aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.[2][3] Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars.
There are currently three planned versions of Starship: Starship 1, Starship 2, and Starship 3.[4] As of September 2024, vehicles of different versions are expected to be flightworthy when integrated.[5] As of August 2024, only Starship 1 vehicles have flown.[4]
Both Starship's first and second stages are reusable, and can be caught via the arms used to assemble the rocket at the pad.[6]
Nomenclature
editSpaceX calls the entire launch vehicle "Starship", which consists of the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the ambiguously named Starship second-stage.[7] To avoid confusion, "Starship" in this article on the flight testing phase (2019–2024) means the second-stage, while the complete launch vehicle will be referred by the particular prototype booster and ship serial number. For example, the integrated flight test 1 booster was Booster 7 (B7), the spacecraft was Ship 24 (S24), and the launch vehicle stack is referred to as Ship 24/Booster 7, or S24/B7.[8]
The first tests started with the construction of an initial flight prototype in 2018, Starhopper, which performed several static fire tests plus two successful low-altitude flights in 2019.[9] SpaceX began constructing the first full-size Starship Mk1 and Mk2 upper-stage prototypes before 2019, at the SpaceX facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, and Cocoa, Florida, respectively. After the Mk prototypes, SpaceX began naming its new Starship upper-stage prototypes with the prefix "SN", short for "serial number".[10] Around mid-2021, SpaceX changed their naming scheme from "SN" to "Ship", or simply "S," for Starship vehicles,[11] and from "BN" to "Booster," or simply "B," for Super Heavy boosters.[12]
Statistics
editStarship vehicles have been launched 4 times over 1 year, resulting in 2 full successes (50%), and two in-flight failures (IFT-1, IFT-2).
Starship 1 has been launched three times between April 2023 to June 2024, and will be replaced by Starship 2 after another four flights.
Launch sites
editBooster landings
edit- Precluded
- Ocean failure
- Tower failure
- Ocean success[ii]
- Tower success
- No attempt
Spacecraft landings
edit- Precluded
- Ocean failure
- Tower failure
- Ocean success[ii]
- Tower success
- No attempt
Vehicle variants
edit- Starship 1
- Starship 1.5
- Starship 2
- Starship 3
- Starship Crew
- Starship HLS
Past launches
edit2023
edit| Flight No. |
Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster |
Version, Ship |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing | Ship landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 April 2023 13:33:09 |
Block 1 B7 |
Block 1 S24 |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 1 | None | Transatmospheric[13] | SpaceX | Failure (SpaceX declared success) |
Precluded | Precluded |
| The first integrated flight test of Starship was the first flight test of the full launch vehicle with both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage integrated. If all early parts of the test were nominal on the test plan, the booster would ultimately make a powered splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, and the ship would enter a transatmospheric Earth orbit before reentering and impacting the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. Three engines were shut down before the booster lifted off the launch mount, with at least three more engines shutting down during booster powered flight. The vehicle eventually entered an uncontrolled spin before stage separation due to loss of thrust vector control. The flight termination system detonated with the intent to destroy the vehicle immediately, but the vehicle remained intact until T+3:59, more than 40 seconds after activation of the flight termination system.[14] SpaceX declared this flight a success, as their primary goal was to only clear the pad.[15] The launch resulted in extensive damage to the orbital launch mount and the infrastructures around it, including the propellant tank farm. | |||||||||||
| 2 | 18 November 2023 13:02:50[16][17] |
Block 1 B9 |
Block 1 S25 |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 2 | None | Transatmospheric | SpaceX | Failure (SpaceX declared success) |
Failure (ocean) | Precluded |
| The second integrated flight test of Starship had a test flight profile similar to the first flight, with the addition of a new hot-staging technique and the introduction of a water deluge system as part of the ground support equipment at the launch pad. During the first stage ascent, all 33 engines fired to full duration. Starship and Super Heavy successfully accomplished a hot-staging separation. After initiating a flip maneuver and initiating boostback burn, several booster engines began shutting down, due to filter blockage.[18] One engine failed explosively, with the damage caused resulting in a loss of the booster.[18]
The upper stage ascended normally for another six minutes.[19] A leak in the aft section developed while a planned liquid oxygen venting was underway, triggering a combustion event that interrupted communication between the craft’s flight computers, causing full engine shutdown.[18] The Autonomous Flight Safety System detected this mission rule violation and activated the flight termination system (FTS) as the ship reached an altitude of ~148 km and velocity of ~24,000 km/h.[18] | |||||||||||
2024
edit| Flight No. |
Date and time (UTC) |
Version, Booster |
Version, Ship |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing | Ship landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 14 March 2024 13:25:00[20] |
Block 1 B10 |
Block 1 S28 |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 3 | None | Suborbital | SpaceX | Success | Failure (ocean) | Failure (ocean) |
| The third integrated flight test of Starship included a full-duration burn of the second-stage engines, an internal propellant-transfer demonstration, and a test of the Starlink dispenser door. If the test sequence had progressed further, additional tests would have included an in-space relight followed by a hard splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1 hour 4 minutes after launch.[21][22][23]
The booster successfully propelled the spacecraft to staging, with 13 engines successfully ignited for a boostback burn, though 6 engines failed a few seconds before the end of the burn. However, several minutes later, during the landing burn ignition, only three engines ignited, and the booster was destroyed by unknown causes at an altitude of 462 meters above the ocean.[23] The spacecraft trajectory was suborbital, with a 234 km (145 mi) apogee and −50 km (−31 mi) perigee,[24] although the ship did reach orbital speed.[25]). A scheduled restart of a Raptor engine for a prograde burn test did not occur, which would have resulted in a 50 km (31 mi) perigee and somewhat later entry into the atmosphere.[24] Minutes into atmospheric re-entry, Ship 28's telemetry cut off, leading SpaceX to conclude the ship had disintegrated prior to its planned splashdown. | |||||||||||
| 4 | 6 June 2024 12:50:00 |
Block 1 B11 |
Block 1 S29 |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 4 | None | Suborbital | SpaceX | Success | Controlled (ocean) | Controlled (ocean) |
| IFT-4 was to use almost the same trajectory as IFT-3. It would not test the Pez Dispenser, or in-space relight, though the ship was to relight its engines for a landing burn.[26] B11 was to attempt a landing on a "virtual tower", in preparation for a catch during IFT-5.[27]
Launch included a loss of a single Raptor engine on booster, but the booster still managed to perform in accordance to its flight profile and conduct a successful controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.[28] The spacecraft performed a successful re-entry despite severe forward flap damage, with the spacecraft still conducted a successful controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.[29] | |||||||||||
Future launches
edit2024
edit| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster |
Version, Ship |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET November 2024[30] | Block 1 B12 |
Block 1 S30 |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 5 | TBA | SpaceX |
| After the successful booster splashdown during IFT-4, Elon Musk stated that Flight 5 will involve a catch of the Super Heavy booster on the tower.[31] | ||||||
| 2024 | Block 1 B13[32] |
Block 1 S31[32] |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 6 | TBA | SpaceX |
| As of June 2024, the flight profile for IFT-6 is unknown. | ||||||
2025
edit| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster |
Version, Ship |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET 2025 | Block 1 B14 |
Block 2[33] S33 |
Starbase, OLM-A | Starship flight test 7 | TBA | SpaceX |
| As of September 2024, the flight profile for Flight 7 is unknown. Flight 7 will feature the first flight of a v2 ship.[34] | ||||||
| NET 2025[35] | Unknown | Block 2 |
TBA | Propellant Transfer Demo 1 | LEO | NASA |
| Propellant transfer demonstration between Starships. Launches will be 3-4 weeks apart, using the same launch pad.[35] | ||||||
| NET 2025 [35] | Unknown | Block 2 |
TBA | Propellant Transfer Demo 2 | LEO | NASA |
| Propellant transfer demonstration between Starships. Launches will be 3-4 weeks apart, using the same launch pad.[35] | ||||||
| NET 2025 [36] | Unknown | HLS | TBA | HLS Demo | TBA | NASA |
| NASA demonstration mission for the Human Landing System prior to Artemis 3, announced in April 2021.[36] An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.[37] | ||||||
2026
edit| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster |
Version, Ship |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET 2026[36] | Unknown | HLS | TBA | Artemis 3 | NRHO, Lunar surface | NASA |
| First crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17.[36] An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.[37] | ||||||
| NET Mid 2026 | Unknown | HLS | TBA | Astrolab FLEX rover mission[38] | NRHO, Lunar surface | Astrolab |
| Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover will include 1,000 kilograms of customer payloads.[38] | ||||||
2027 and beyond
edit| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster |
Version, Ship |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET 2027[35] | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | Superbird-9 | GEO | SKY Perfect JSAT |
| Superbird-9 is a SKY Perfect JSAT's fully flexible HTS (High Throughput Satellites) based on Airbus' OneSat product line. It will be launched on a Starship launch vehicle in 2027 to geosynchronous transfer orbit.[39] | ||||||
| NET 2027[40] | Unknown | HLS | TBA | ISRU Processing System | LEO | Luxembourg Space Agency |
| In April 2023, LSA and a private firm, OffWorld Europe, announced a partnership to develop an ISRU process to extract, process, store and use water collected from the surface of the moon in the form of ice. The project, which is under the oversight of the ESA, will use OffWorld's technical expertise in robotics with a technology demonstration mission slated for launch to the moon in 2027 as part of SpaceX's first Starship HLS mission for the Artemis program.[40] An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.[37] | ||||||
| NET 2028[41] | Unknown | HLS | TBA | Artemis 4 | NRHO, Lunar surface | NASA |
| On November 15, 2022, NASA announced it had awarded a contract to SpaceX as part of Option B of the Appendix H contract. This would allow SpaceX to use a second-generation Starship HLS design to conduct a Lunar Gateway-based demonstration mission as part of Artemis 4.[42] An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.[37] | ||||||
| NET 2028[43] | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | Starlab | LEO | Voyager Space/Airbus |
| Starlab is a planned commercial space station.[43] | ||||||
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Dans, Enrique. "Elon Musk's Economies Of Scale Won SpaceX The NASA Moonshot". Forbes. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Wattles, Jackie (29 September 2019). "Elon Musk says SpaceX's Mars rocket will be cheaper than he once thought. Here's why". CNN Business. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Meredith Garofalo (8 June 2024). "SpaceX wants to build 1 Starship megarocket a day with new Starfactory". Space.com. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ a b Berger, Eric (8 April 2024). "Elon Musk just gave another Mars speech—this time the vision seems tangible". Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ Jax (4 June 2024). "From Render to Reality: A Status Update on Starship Block 2". Ringwatchers. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ Everyday Astronaut (26 May 2022). Go up SpaceX's Starship-catching robotic launch tower with Elon Musk!. Retrieved 3 June 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Amos, Jonathan (6 August 2021). "Biggest ever rocket is assembled briefly in Texas". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "Starship Flight Test". SpaceX. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ Harwood, William (27 August 2019). "SpaceX launches "Starhopper" on dramatic test flight". CBS News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Kanayama, Lee; Beil, Adrian (28 August 2021). "SpaceX continues forward progress with Starship on Starhopper anniversary". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Berger, Eric (14 July 2021). "SpaceX will soon fire up its massive Super Heavy booster for the first time". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Bergin, Chris (5 May 2022). "One year since SN15, Starbase lays groundwork for orbital attempt". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Starship Flight Test, 20 April 2023, archived from the original on 20 April 2023, retrieved 20 April 2023
- ^ O'Callaghan, Jonathan (1 October 2023). "Termination shock". Aerospace America. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ Kelly, Emre (20 April 2023). "SpaceX Starship launches from Texas, then explodes over Gulf of Mexico". USA Today. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ @SpaceX (11 November 2023). "Watch Starship's Second Flight Test" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Starship's second flight test". SpaceX. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d "SpaceX Updates". SpaceX. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ Weber, Ryan (17 November 2023). "After upgrades, Starship achieves numerous successes during second test flight". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan (14 March 2024). "Jonathan's Space Report No. 831". Jonathan's Space Report. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Sheetz, Michael (5 December 2023). "SpaceX plans key NASA demonstration for next Starship launch". CNBC. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "SpaceX". SpaceX. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Starship's Third Flight Test". SpaceX. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan (14 March 2024). "Jonathan's Space Report No. 831". Jonathan's Space Report. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Strickland, Ashley (16 March 2024). "Starship's monumental third flight ends unexpectedly". CNN. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "STARSHIP'S FOURTH FLIGHT TEST". SpaceX.com. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Bergin, Chris (6 April 2024). "Some interesting notes". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Starship Flight 4". SpaceX. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Starship Flight 4". SpaceX. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (10 September 2024). "SpaceX says regulators will keep Starship grounded until at least November". Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Elon Musk X post from June 6". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b Weber, Ryan (16 May 2024). "Starship Flight 4 begins Wet Dress Rehearsal campaign". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
Ship 31's other half, which is assumed to be Booster 13
- ^ Jax (4 June 2024). "From Render to Reality: A Status Update on Starship Block 2". Ringwatchers. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ NASASpaceflight (24 June 2024). Super Heavy Catch Attempt Test Incoming! | Starbase Update. Retrieved 27 June 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e Clark, Stephen (30 April 2024). "NASA lays out how SpaceX will refuel Starships in low-Earth orbit". Ars Technica. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Marcia (9 January 2024). "NASA Delays Next Artemis Missions to 2025 and 2026". SpacePolicyOnline. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "At Least 15 Starship Launches Needed to Execute Artemis III Lunar Landing". Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Astrolab". astrolab.space. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ "SKY Perfect JSAT signs contract with Airbus to build Superbird-9 telecommunications satellite | Airbus". Airbus. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ a b "OffWorld Europe and Luxembourg Space Agency Collaborate in New Lunar ISRU Exploration Program". Business Wire. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ Lloyd, Vanessa (15 November 2022). "NASA Awards SpaceX Second Contract Option for Artemis Moon Landing". NASA. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "NASA Provides Update to Astronaut Moon Lander Plans Under Artemis". NASA. 15 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
- ^ a b Sheetz, Michael (31 January 2024). "Starlab, meet Starship: Private space station buys SpaceX launch for later this decade". CNBC. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.