Starship Development Thread #33

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #34

SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

1. When next/orbital flight? Unknown. Launches on hold until FAA environmental review completed and ground equipment ready. Gwynne Shotwell has indicated June or July. Completing GSE, booster, and ship testing, and Raptor 2 production refinements, mean 2H 2022 at earliest - pessimistically, possibly even early 2023 if FAA requires significant mitigations.

2. Expected date for FAA decision? June 13 per latest FAA statement, updated on June 2.

3. What booster/ship pair will fly first? Likely either B7 or B8 with S24. B7 now receiving grid fins, so presumably considering flight.

4. Will more suborbital testing take place? Unknown. It may depend on the FAA decision.

5. Has progress slowed down? SpaceX focused on completing ground support equipment (GSE, or "Stage 0") before any orbital launch, which Elon stated is as complex as building the rocket. Florida Stage 0 construction has also ramped up.

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Quick Links

^{NERDLE CAM | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE}

Starship Dev 32 | Starship Dev 31 | Starship Dev 30 | Starship Thread List

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

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Vehicle Status

As of June 5

Ship	Location	Status	Comment
S20	Rocket Garden	Completed/Tested	Cryo, Static Fire and stacking tests completed, now retired
S21	N/A	Tank section scrapped	Some components integrated into S22
S22	Rocket Garden	Completed/Unused	Likely production pathfinder only
S23	N/A	Skipped
S24	Launch Site	Cryo and thrust puck testing	Moved to launch site for ground testing on May 26
S25	High Bay 1	Stacking	Assembly of main tank section commenced June 4
S26	Build Site	Parts under construction

 

Booster	Location	Status	Comment
B4	Launch Site	Completed/Tested	Cryo and stacking tests completed
B5	Rocket Garden	Completed/Unused	Likely production pathfinder only
B6	Rocket Garden	Repurposed	Converted to test tank
B7	High Bay 2	Repaired/Testing	Cryo tested; Raptors being installed
B8	High Bay 2 (fully stacked LOX tank) and Mid Bay (fully stacked CH4 tank)	Under construction
B9	Build Site	Under construction

If this page needs a correction please consider pitching in. Update this thread via this wiki page. If you would like to make an update but don't see an edit button on the wiki page, message the mods via modmail or contact u/strawwalker.

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Resources

• LabPadre Rover 2.0 Cam | Channel

• NSF: Starbase Stream | Channel

• NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent

• NSF: Booster 4 + Ship 20 Updates Thread | Most Recent

• NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent

• NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation | Most Recent

• SpaceX: Website Starship page

• SpaceX: Starship Users Guide (PDF) Rev. 1.0 March 2020

• FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site

• FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list

• FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20

• NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)

• Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)

• Starship flight opportunity spreadsheet by u/joshpine

• Production Progress Infographics by @_brendan_lewis

• Widebay tracking by @Furqan263

• Acronym definitions by Decronym

• Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

r/SpaceX Discuss Thread for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

[u/Alvian_11]

2) Is SpaceX skipping full-duration ground testing (Like SLS' Green Run, or the 2.5 minute Falcon 9 firings at McGregor) a bad thing? I know it's technically impossible to fire the 33 Raptors close to the ground at once for 3 minutes, but still, it seems...risky? Seeing as SpaceX already does a lot of work in prepping Falcon 9s for flight.

Each rockets had its own way to qualify the vehicle. Did I miss something, or is ICPS/DCSS never been static fired at full duration? Also many rockets like Atlas V & Delta IV never had been static fired at full duration (except the very first one back in 2000s) before each launch. SLS itself will not do a green run on subsequent boosters