Topic: Interesting stuff about SpaceX Starship (hate the name)

[Nemesis]

IFT 13 now has a date (as always subject to delays)

Tue • Jul 14th, 2026 6:45 PM - 8:56 PM EDT

So next Tuesday.  I've seen one quote allegedly from Shotwell placing the first orbital flight as possibley IFT 15, people (including me) have been assuming that if IFT 13 went well then IFT 14 would be orbital.  Why the delay?  Unknown to me.  That might place it in September if the 1 flight a month she mentioned is lived up to. 

With Vulcan there is an "oddity" when it comes to launch dates.  The source I use www.spacelaunchschedule.com when I look for any ULA launches lists a Vulcan launch in September but when I look just for Vulcan launches it only lists them as December and one for June next year.  I don't know why so I haven't been listing it. 

Edit 1:  That didn't take long: 

Wed • Jul 15th, 2026 6:45 PM - 8:56 PM EDT

Edit 2:

Thu • Jul 16th, 2026 6:45 PM - 8:15 PM EDT

Edit 3:

Launch scrubbed during the ignition sequence.  Why unknown as yet of course as is the next launch date.  Hopefully Friday otherwise likely next week.

Edit 4:

"Some of the engines didn't start, triggering an automatic launch abort," Musk said in ​a post on X, without disclosing the number ​of engines on the Super Heavy rocket that did not start. "To ‌be ⁠confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed & replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week."

[Nemesis]

China just did their first successful landing of an orbital class booster.  A little less cargo capacity than Falcon 9 but in the same class. 

[Nemesis]

A couple of items

When IFT 12 Starship had done the simulated landing and cut the engines it quite naturally fell the remaining distance and exploded.  One of the COPVs survived under pressure and went across the water like a torpedo and struck one of the floating "kiddy pool" buoys which seems to have survived due to the flexibility of the inflated rings.  The odds of going straight at a buoy seems quite low but it happened, there is video of it.

It seems that the problem on hot staging was tiny timing differences in the startup of the engines causing the booster to tilt 90⁰ from the targeted angle.  Hopefully they have corrected for this now. 

[Tus-XC]

China just did their first successful landing of an orbital class booster.  A little less cargo capacity than Falcon 9 but in the same class.

Also looked like it needed more support infrastructure to land

[Nemesis]

China just did their first successful landing of an orbital class booster.  A little less cargo capacity than Falcon 9 but in the same class.

Also looked like it needed more support infrastructure to land

This is a first try for them and It wouldn't surprise me if that is reduced in the future OR the rocket made larger.  Everything you leave behind increases your cargo.

Also over time Falcon has increased its cargo by being able to reduce the fuel they need to keep for landing.  Less fuel retained more cargo.  So don't be surprised if over the next year or two they increase its capacity.

[Nemesis]

IFT 13 now has a new date (as always subject to delays)

Thu • Jul 23rd, 2026  6:45 PM - 8:15 PM EDT

Testing of the booster for IFT 14 has begun. 

There is speculation that soon the other launch platforms will need boosters for testing the platform equipment and a booster now under construction will be transferred there.  After that a Starship will be needed as well.  It is possible they will transfer both at the same time.

Once they start reusing boosters, they can reduce booster production and increase Starship production to increase cadence (until Starship reuse begins). 

Apparently only 29 engines ignited and since the launch criteria requires 30 an abort was automatic.  The 4 engines were in two pairs of adjacent engines in the middle ring.  There were 6 engines where the oxygen pumps didn't respond properly.  They think it was some water was in the pump from prior operations which froze preventing the pumps from working to spec and stopping 4 of the engines from igniting

Edit 1

Fri • Jul 24th, 2026   6:45 PM - 8:15 PM EDT

Flight 13:

About 45 minutes till the scheduled launch and I've been reminded of something that I don't think has been mentioned here.   Starship can be fuelled on the pad FASTER than the much smaller Falcon 9.

Launch successful all engines lit.  Hot staging successful with the engine relights on the booster all as planned and the booster tilting correctly by the burn.   During the descent the booster cameras showed the tower of "smoke" from the launch above the launch site. 

Final landing burn once again had engine relight issues with only 10 of the 13 engines lighting and though it was on target it was a hard impact.

They deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites they are expected to survive and be tested for about 20 minutes.  A full load is apparently 50 satellites or about 100 tons.   Two of them had cameras (the last two) and some at least of the rest had "flashlights" to light up the ship for those cameras which apparently had a narrow focus and I didn't see what video they recorded which was supposed to be for tile inspections.

The Ship engine relight not only worked correctly but the test instead of being 4 or 5 seconds like earlier ones was 14 seconds. 

Ship landed AND after the engine cutout when it fell over it DID NOT explode.  There were flames around it as it floated intact in the water.  They even are getting views from the engine compartment camera which is submerged though most of the compartment is above water.  SpaceX ended their video at that point. 

On to Flight 14. 

Since the Booster landing didn't manage a fully successful ocean landing it won't likely do a catch.  But since it appears to be a fully successful Ship flight they might go orbital and if they go orbital there is a very small chance (my speculation but I've heard others say the same) that they might attempt a Ship catch instead.

Edit 2  Based on a Scott Manley video

Musk has apparently confirmed that if things go right on the next mission the Ship will be caught.  The booster will not attempt a catch as the V3 booster has yet to have a successful simulation.  This of course means that IFT 14 will be an orbital attempt.  Also it may set the stage for a reuse of the booster later in the year.  Will it take the full 50 starlink or will it take only 20 again? 

It seems in orbit they vented gases again.  This has previously been oxygen that was taken as "cargo", also has been fuel that they would have used when going to orbit with a full cargo. 

Interesting times.

Edit 3  Apparently the "boost back burn" with 33 engines after hot staging ended early.  Why not yet revealed. 

Edit 4 The Ship is still afloat and Musk IS talking of towing it back. 

No FAA investigation required.

Flight 14 (according to Ellie in Space you tube channel) around August 24th. 

Edit 5

The recovery is apparently running into problems.  Details are scarce.

[Nemesis]

Japan has been test flying something similar to Starhopper.  Whether they are targeting competing with Falcon or Starship I don't know.  Seems the French and maybe Germans are also involved.

I've been seeing from spacelaunchschedule.com conflicting information on Vulcan launches.  When looking a Vulcan launches it shows none till December at the earliest.  However when looking at ULA (owners of Vulcan) it shows 1 in September.  According to Scott Manley the SRBs can't be used till sometime next year and the September launches uses the maximum number of SRBs. 

[Nemesis]

Flight 14 Starship

Projected To Launch  September, 2026

Edit 1:  There are apparently filings that indicate a possible launch date as early as August 20th.

[Nemesis]

Update on the New Glenn explosion.  Seems to be a fault on the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines.  But they are continuing to look for other faults.

This fault presumably will also apply to the BE-4 engines used on the ULA Vulcan and along with the SRB nozzle faults will keep Vulcan from flying till both are fixed. 

Amazon Leo is supposed to be launching on both New Glenn and Vulcan. 

[Nemesis]

SpaceX has filed a communications application with the FCC for IFT 14.  The time frame for the permission starts August 28th, it also lists a booster catch AND a ship catch. 

The ship for next launch has had some heat tiles removed and replaced based on the experience with IFT 13.

Edit 1:  Plans to catch the ship on IFT 14 cancelled.  A catch of the ship apparently "months away".  So November at earliest?  Also it may be that the booster won't be caught either.

Edit 2: The previous unofficial IFT 14 launch on Aug 28th seems to be replaced with Sept 15th.  Plausible at least.

[Nemesis]

China has had another (different design) booster land.  Methalox engine this time.  The landing was down range not return to launch site but still on land.  Another which seems to be a Falcon 9 competitor. 

Since it lands on land the landing is a little easier and doesn't require the expense of a barge, but since it is down range it gets a cargo increase for a given orbit.  Diameter a little bigger but a little shorter than a Falcon 9.  How they will transport it back I don't know, truck or rail seem most likely. 

So they now have 2 successful Falcon 9 class booster landings, a kerolox and a methalox.  How long till they scale them up or go for a Falcon Heavy like design (or both?).

This appears to give them 2 different booster designs that could be able to launch a Starlink competitor at a similar cost to Starlinks own launch costs. 

The race heats up.

Edit 1: That landed booster?  Sometime after the landing it seems the landing gear failed and it fell over.  So partial success.

Edit 2: It was a stainless steel booster so heavier than Falcon 9 and resembling a mini Starship booster. 

[Nemesis]

Now THIS is interesting.

Superbird-9, Starship, SpaceX

Launch Status - Date/Time TBD - Projected To Launch - June, 2027


A third party contracted launch of Starship with payload. 

Superbird 9 is no longer listed (has been for about a week). 

Now listed for the same date:  SpaceX HLS LEO Demo Starship

Seems they plan to launch it from Florida.

Launch Complex 39A Starship Pad Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

[Nemesis]

This one is big. 

There are 3 Starlink on Falcon 9 launches scheduled between now and Sept 4th.  According to Musk that is the end.  Future launches will be Starlink V3 on Starship. 

There are still a lot on the schedule for this year and next year but non Starlink when it comes to Falcon 9. 

Still looking like mid to late September for IFT 14 and some are casting doubt on it being orbital. 

For the future they are planning a new Starbase in Louisiana with (at least) 10 launch pads and their own construction facilities, propellants made/processed on site.  Beginning launches in 2029. 

[Nemesis]

Booster and Ship for IFT 14 have now had static fires.  Apparently both successful.  Recent history seems to predict about 2 weeks from completion of both static fire to a launch attempt.  Delays due weather etc are common after that.  So September 15 th is not unlikely to be announced

Edit 1:  Falcon 9 has no reached 37 flights for booster and 37 landings.  40 is in reach though with Star Link being about to move to Starship it will be a little slower to get there. 

Just look at how tiny that Giant 2nd stage looks on a ship designed to carry ships and oil rigs.

[Nemesis]

IFT14 Fri • Sep 18th, 2026 8:15 AM - 10:14 AM EDT

So next Friday.  Subject to change. 

Edit 1:  Tue • Sep 22nd, 2026  8:15 AM - 10:14 AM EDT

Edit 2:  Looks like 6 orbits ending off the coast of Chile in the Pacific ocean 10 hours later.  26 Starlink V3 (mass about 50 tons by my estimate).  They plan to refly a few tiles (maybe as few as 2). 

I'm assuming they are not going for full mass this flight, probably increase in increments over the next few flights as they gather orbital performance data and landing data. 

Edit 3:  Starlink Group 31-1 (Starship Flight 14)  Mon • Sep 28th, 2026  8:15 AM - 9:30 AM EDT

The booster’s primary test objective on Flight 14 will be executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boost back burn, and landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf.

Starship will deliver 26 Starlink V3 satellites to orbit for the first time, which aim to greatly expand the network's capacity and user speeds. Each Starlink V3 satellite will add 1 Tbps of capacity to the constellation.

This launch is part of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet constellation, a global broadband network designed to provide high-speed internet coverage worldwide. The Starlink mega-constellation uses thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver reliable internet connectivity to underserved and remote areas across the globe.

Flight 15 Starship Projected To Launch  December, 2026  - nothing about cargo or flight plan.  Presumably similar to flight 14 but maybe catch(es)?

SpaceX HLS LEO Demo Starship Projected To Launch June, 2027 - Launch Complex 39A Starship Pad
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Three starships with scheduled launches.  The first one listed with a Florida launch site. 

They aren't managing the one a month launches they were planning by now but that always was optimistic.

Ship 40 is due to return by October 8th. 

The white on the bow?  The tiles are flat and with the curvature of the hull it allows some plasma to get under the tiles and erode the metal which is where the white comes from. 

Edit 4: The flight will initially be on a suborbital trajectory targeting the Indian ocean like prior flights.  If everything is acceptable they will then light the engines and head for orbit.  This may be one reason that it only carries 26 Starlink v3 as it wastes fuel compared to heading directly to orbit. 

Starship apparently is on the pad fully stacked. 

Edit 5:

Now this is BIG if true. 

There is a report listing:

SpX Starship FLT-15 OCT 19

AND

SpX Starship Starlink 30-1 OCT 30 - this would be from Florida. 

This is from the youtube channel NASASpaceflight they fall in the category of being reliable. 

I have my doubts that they can meet those dates but it makes it more likely to have a launch (or 2) before December. 

Edit 6: Doing this edit while watching the flight.

Starlink Group 31-1 (Starship Flight 14) Launch has occurred.

Booster:  All engines ignited.  Re-ignition 2 failed (redundancy allows for that).  3rd ignition the same two of 13 failed.  Still covered by redundancy.  Reduction to 5 engines successful.  Final reduction to 3 successful.  Simulated landing fully successful.  The tower ran its deluge system as if it was doing a catch.

Starship:  During the ascent to the trajectory for the Indian ocean 1 R-Vacc cut out 30 seconds early so the burn continued longer.  While in coast phase they evaluate whether to go to orbit or not which does not use the R-Vaccs so in spite of that failure they have the ability to go to orbit.  (Cause of failure not stated as of now).  The ascent to orbit only uses one of the sea level Raptors at this point. 

They just decided to go for orbit.

Orbital burn performed.  Starship is orbital.  So much for the naysayers who said this will never happen. 

There are 6 orbits planned with the ability to abort at various points if things begin to fail. 

Next releasing the 26 v3 Starlink satellites.  52 tons of satellites.  Pez door has opened.  Satellite deployment begun.  The deployment will be slower than on the suborbital deployment tests as they aren't time constrained while in orbit.  These 26 v3 Satellites will provide as much increased capacity as 10 launches on Falcon 9 and this is at most half the number of v3 that Starship will be carrying in the future.

The satellites are connecting to the system within 2 minutes of deployment (not for customer use yet of course).  A few will have cameras and lights just to look back at Starship to inspect it while in orbit and they can communicate this telemetry. 

At this point it looks like they are going to take the orbital abort and do a ocean landing at over 2 hours, so more than 1 orbit.  No specific reason given.  This will be in the Pacific near Hawaii.

My speculation is that the 1 R-Vacc cutting out early put them very slightly off course and each orbit compounds it till eventually they wouldn't be able to come down on one of the later cleared descent locations.  No one has said anything I've heard to indicate that, it is pure speculation.

I'm pretty sure it now has the record for the largest mass reaching orbit for any rocket.  Probably will be broken as soon as they launch with more v3 satellites on board.

De-orbit burn has occurred, it should enter the atmosphere in about 30 minutes.  Total flight time estimated to be 3 hours and 8 minutes.   

Re-entry has been underway for a while, they are down to the point where temperatures are going down.  For a while naysayers have been claiming that the extra heat of an orbital re-entry would destroy Starship.  Since the temperatures are going down and it seems intact it appears that once again naysayers are wrong.   I'm sure the naysayers will use the early (but a planned option) re-entry is a failure "proving" that Starship can't do enough orbits to return to the landing site. 

They just reached sub-sonic speeds.  All 3 engines ignited, it did the full simulated landing but it still had an explosion when it reached the surface.  This explosion is what is expected the last one surviving is the anomaly.   

On to flight 15 whether October or December or who knows maybe December.  Maybe a catch or two then.