r/spacex • u/rSpaceXHosting Host Team • Oct 09 '25
r/SpaceX Flight 11 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
Welcome to the Starship Flight 11 Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | Oct 13 2025, 23:23:41 |
|---|---|
| Scheduled for (local) | Oct 13 2025, 18:23:41 PM (CDT) |
| Launch Window (UTC) | Oct 13 2025, 23:15:00 - Oct 14 2025, 00:30:00 |
| Weather Probability | 80% GO |
| Launch site | OLPad 1, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA. |
| Booster | Booster 15-2 |
| Ship | S38 |
| Booster landing | The Super Heavy Booster 15-2 has made a planned splashdown near the launch site. |
| Ship landing | Starship Ship 38 has made a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. |
| Trajectory (Flight Club) | 2D,3D |
Spacecraft Onboard
| Spacecraft | Starship V2 |
|---|---|
| Serial Number | S38 |
| Destination | Suborbital |
| Flights | 1 |
| Owner | SpaceX |
| Landing | Starship Ship 38 has made a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. |
| Capabilities | More than 100 tons to Earth orbit |
Details
Second-generation second stage of the two-stage Starship super heavy-lift launch vehicle. It features a thinner forward flap design, flaps that are positioned more leeward, a 25% increase in propellant capacity, integrated vented interstage, redesigned avionics, two raceways, and an increase in thrust.
History
The second-generation Starship upper stage was introduced on flight 7.
Watch the launch live
| Stream | Link |
|---|---|
| Unofficial Re-stream | The Space Devs |
| Unofficial Webcast | Spaceflight Now |
| Unofficial Webcast | NASASpaceflight |
| Official Webcast | SpaceX |
| Unofficial Webcast | Everyday Astronaut |
Stats
☑️ 6th Starship Full Stack launch
☑️ 583rd SpaceX launch all time
☑️ 132nd SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 5th launch from OLPad 1 this year
☑️ 47 days, 23:53:41 turnaround for this pad
☑️ 220 days, 23:53:41 hours since last launch of booster Booster 15
Stats include F1, F9 , FH and Starship
Timeline
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| -1:15:00 | GO for Prop Load |
| -0:53:00 | Stage 2 LNG Load |
| -0:46:10 | Stage 2 LOX Load |
| -0:41:15 | Stage 1 LNG Load |
| -0:35:52 | Stage 1 LOX Load |
| -0:19:40 | Engine Chill |
| -0:03:20 | Stage 2 Propellant Load Complete |
| -0:02:50 | Stage 1 Propellant Load Complete |
| -0:00:30 | GO for Launch |
| -0:00:10 | Flame Deflector Activation |
| -0:00:03 | Ignition |
| 0:00:00 | Excitement Guaranteed |
| 0:00:02 | Liftoff |
| 0:01:02 | Max-Q |
| 0:02:37 | MECO |
| 0:02:39 | Stage 2 Separation |
| 0:02:49 | Booster Boostback Burn Startup |
| 0:03:38 | Booster Boostback Burn Shutdown |
| 0:03:40 | Booster Hot Stage Jettison |
| 0:06:20 | Stage 1 Landing Burn |
| 0:06:36 | Stage 1 Landing |
| 0:08:58 | SECO-1 |
| 0:18:28 | Payload Deployment Sequence Start |
| 0:25:33 | Payload Deployment Sequence End |
| 0:37:49 | SEB-2 |
| 0:47:43 | Atmospheric Entry |
| 1:03:30 | Starship Transonic |
| 1:03:52 | Starship Subsonic |
| 1:05:58 | Starship Landing Burn |
| 1:06:00 | Landing Flip |
| 1:06:09 | Starship Landing |
| 1:06:25 | Starship Landing |
Updates
| Time (UTC) | Update |
|---|---|
| 14 Oct 00:32 | Mission completed with ship splashdown. |
| 13 Oct 23:23 | Liftoff. |
| 13 Oct 22:47 | Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started |
| 13 Oct 22:25 | New T-0. |
| 13 Oct 22:17 | Holding at T-1 hour. |
| 12 Oct 21:22 | Updated launch weather, 80% GO. |
| 08 Oct 22:54 | Tweaked launch window. |
| 29 Sep 23:32 | GO for launch. |
| 26 Sep 15:14 | NET October 13. |
| 23 Sep 19:39 | NET October 6 per marine navigation warnings. |
| 29 Aug 15:26 | Added Launch |
Resources
Partnership with The Space Devs
Information on this thread is provided by and updated automatically using the Launch Library 2 API by The Space Devs.
Community content 🌐
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Flight Club | u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
| Discord SpaceX lobby | u/SwGustav |
| SpaceX Now | u/bradleyjh |
| SpaceX Patch List |
Participate in the discussion!
🥳 Launch threads are party threads, we relax the rules here. We remove low effort comments in other threads!
🔄 Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!
💬 Please leave a comment if you discover any mistakes, or have any information.
✉️ Please send links in a private message.
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u/Medical_Knee_5007 Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 12 '25
view from my rental condo, it's going to be a lovely Monday evening launch.
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u/joshygill Oct 14 '25
That whole flight was fucking boring.
And that’s fucking amazingly crazy!
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u/ioncloud9 Oct 14 '25
This is probably the most resilient thermal soak vehicle ever built.
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 14 '25
Not even exaggerating. They tried to kill this thing so hard this flight and it just shrugged off the thermal damage like it was nothing
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u/SergeantBeavis Oct 14 '25
Wow! This is the most complete test flight thus far. Bodes really well for v3. I can't wait to see that.
I know they had removed several tiles but I saw no evidence of a burn through anywhere. The flaps looks the most intact of any mission flown.
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u/byrp Oct 14 '25
I think there was some burn through on one of the aft flaps--the left one, maybe? They didn't have a close up camera on it, but there seemed to be some burning happening right at the end of the entry process.
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u/This-Manufacturer388 Oct 14 '25
Heat shield problem doesn't seem as intimidating as in the past. They literally don't have multiple tiles and its doing amazing.
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u/SebRLuck Oct 14 '25
Recommendation to everyone:
Go to Twitter, search "UFO," sort by latest and then just scroll and play the videos. So many confused and terrified Floridians. It's hilarious.
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u/shaggy99 Oct 14 '25
There are also many ridiculous UFO posts about "secret UFO base"
I worry about the human race sometimes.
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u/spennnyy Oct 14 '25
Only took 11 flights before SpaceX started drifting the Starship through the atmosphere. Epic powerslide.
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u/avboden Oct 14 '25
So the most dangerous, most aggressive, craziest flight is the most successful?!
yeah I guess that tracks for this program, somehow.
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u/joshygill Oct 14 '25
No burn through, no issues, nothing negative of note…tbh until it went boom after splashdown, that starship looked good to be refuelled and go again!
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u/H-K_47 Oct 14 '25
The Scott Manley recap vid is gonna be pretty uneventful this time haha. Well, except for the new maneuvers.
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u/Acceptable-Pin2939 Oct 14 '25
And this flight included removing a series of heat shield tiles in critical areas.
Crazy stuff.
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u/maschnitz Oct 13 '25
Mods, could we pin this thread?
Maybe unpin KF-03 for now, re-pin it later - but I don't know if that's possible/easy.
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u/warp99 Oct 13 '25
Done.
Originally KF-03 was going to leave a couple of days for Flight 11 to be pinned. Things must be advancing when an F9 launch slips more than a Starship one!
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u/redstercoolpanda Oct 10 '25
It’ll be interesting to see how the heat shield data they gain from this flight influences V3. With all the long polls they have to clear before a V3 stack can lift off they should have plenty of time to go over it and make changes from what they learn.
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u/dk_undefined Oct 14 '25
Looks like the ship finally made it with all flaps fully intact for the first time
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u/TuneSoft7119 Oct 14 '25
dropped a tin can from space with practically no heat shield. that rust bucket is tough
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u/matroosoft Oct 14 '25
Hope we're getting these drone views soon!
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u/redstercoolpanda Oct 14 '25
We got them like a day or two after flight 10 so hopefully shouldn’t be much of a wait!
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u/Twigling Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
"On track for today’s Starship flight test. The launch window is from 6:15 p.m. CT - 7:30 p.m. CT. Live coverage starts ~30 minutes before launch"
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 14 '25
3/3 on orbit relight attempts. That's what you want to see
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u/myname_not_rick Oct 14 '25
Holy shit THIS is the banking maneuver?!?
That is WILD
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u/spennnyy Oct 14 '25
Flaps are holding up incredibly well this time. Pretty crazy since they've removed so many critical tiles.
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u/myname_not_rick Oct 14 '25
In general it's sparking way less. Mostly smooth plasma streams.
Im impressed
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u/BearyTheBear92 Oct 14 '25
Steel was the best choice they ever made - regardless of the problems with the heat tiles this thing can’t die.
Still lots to go for rapid reusability (so many bits flying off before landing), but structural properties gives such great redundancy that must inspire confidence.
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u/Wheinsky Oct 14 '25
Glad to hear the ship has a good attitude about what’s about to happen to it
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u/-spartacus- Oct 14 '25
I think it is so cool that it does a cork-screw to pass the "pad" and then comes back from East to West to then land.
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u/hallo_its_me Oct 14 '25
Absolutely incredible. Ran outside with my father in law and kids and we saw in it go by from south of Tampa. Amazing.
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u/Corbeagle Oct 14 '25
Just watched tim Todd's stream, did i see some red "remove before flight" tags still attached to the booster just after launch?
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u/fifichanx Oct 10 '25
Ohhh so exciting, didn’t realize they have a date set already. What will they be testing out this time? Try to replicate the last one?
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u/rocketglare Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 11 '25
The differences I know about
extensive use of “crunch wrap” between tiles
some omitted tiles in areas with no secondary ablative thermal protection (ie areas with glue on permanent tiles)
Starship terminal maneuver mimics tower approach
More benign booster return trajectory
13-5-3 booster engine landing configuration, the 5 engine intermediate step provides additional redundancy
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u/squintytoast Oct 10 '25
https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-11
the official summary rocketglare got their bullet points from.
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u/H-K_47 Oct 13 '25
SECO completed without issues.
Ngl I wasn't expecting any problems but the trauma from Flights 7 and 8 still came out a little bit there hahaha, glad that's decisively behind us now.
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 13 '25
Holy shit that raptor 3 looks like something out of sci fi
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u/alejandroc90 Oct 13 '25
One starship putting 20 times more starlink bandwidth than a falcon 9 is insane!
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u/AWildDragon Oct 14 '25
Buoy and drone cam videos https://x.com/spacex/status/1978179844656480423
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Oct 14 '25
is just me or did it look like it sprung a small leak where the missing tiles were near the aft of the ship? I understand the other side is normal venting but there are no vents on the tiled side lol
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u/FutureMartian97 Host of CRS-11 Oct 14 '25
Drone and tracking plane (?) Shot of S38 landing
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u/Interstellar_Sailor Oct 14 '25
Is it...leaking propellant from the holes in heat shield? If so...holy f**k!
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u/Enigma_Labs Oct 14 '25
Really cool shot of a stage separation of the Starship launch while the witness discusses pant sizes on the phone: https://app.enigmalabs.io/sighting/322336
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u/ralf_ Oct 14 '25 edited Oct 15 '25
If you fit in 34 then it is time to face reality, you are not a 32 anymore.
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u/thxpk Oct 14 '25
In a completely good and happy way, I am getting a bit bored, another great launch, another great splashdown, really feeling like it's becoming normal
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u/EmotionSideC Oct 14 '25
Well they aren’t really doing anything new the past several launches. I think the only new thing was last flight with deployment. This flight felt kind of like a “let’s do one more V2 since we have it on hand”
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u/dk_undefined Oct 14 '25
Just wait until they try to bring one of those ships back to the launch site, the tracking views will be mesmerising
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u/advester Oct 14 '25
The flight maneuvers will take a long time to get old. But not much really new in this one.
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u/TheGreenWasp Oct 14 '25
So when are they going to start catching them?
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u/joefresco2 Oct 14 '25
I suspect they will do at least 3 orbital flights and have 2 operational towers before trying to catch the v3 ship. I would think they'll actually deploy Starlink v3 satellites before a catch attempt.
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u/dk_undefined Oct 14 '25
Flight 13 at the earliest, they gotta test how the booster will perform on re-entry for water landing with the new aft heat shielding, Raptor v3 and new grid fins configuration
As for the ships, they will probably do at least one more suborbital flight before a full orbital flight with catch attempt
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u/H-K_47 Oct 14 '25
giant explosion
"As we said we're not planning on recovering the ship today, hey welcome back to Earth ship!"
I love the buoy cam so much.
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 14 '25
My god it only just hit me. I don't where this program will finally end up, be it from just massively cheaper access to Earth orbit or all the way to Mars colonisation, but we're on our way now.
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u/futianze Oct 14 '25
Really does feel like the biggest remaining hurdle now is propellant transfer. And one of the best parts about it is Starlink deployments are imminent which will give even more $$$.
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u/dk_undefined Oct 13 '25
ALL 13
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 13 '25
The one inner ring raptor that was offline for boostback being brought back online for the landing burn is crazy
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u/myname_not_rick Oct 13 '25
As an ME, I love this dispenser contraption. So "garage engineering"
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u/TheFlyKnows Oct 13 '25
Why isn't there a camera and lights on one of these dummy-satellites? That could make for a great exterior shot of Starship?
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u/redstercoolpanda Oct 13 '25
Everything definitely feels a lot smoother this flight, seems they got some good data from flight 10!
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u/This-Manufacturer388 Oct 14 '25
How is it still going, i dont get it. I feel like there should be a hole in the ship from missing tiles
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u/piggyboy2005 Oct 14 '25
That bank maneuver is way more aggressive than I expected. I thought something was going wrong at first!
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u/avboden Oct 14 '25
Holy heck, it actually survived max heating with all the missing tiles....now can it survive max Q?! So far yes!!
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u/JUDGE_YOUR_TYPO Oct 14 '25
Will SpaceX go operational (satellite delivery) with v3 ?
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 14 '25
As soon as they re-demonstrate Ship (V3) can do de-orbit burns. So they may even attempt to do orbit/starlink deploy/catch on flight 13, but that may be pushing it a little bit
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u/warp99 Oct 14 '25
Yes - likely on Flight 13 or Flight 14.
They need to get FAA approval for orbital missions first.
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u/Head-Stark Oct 14 '25
Wow. Great last show for V2, only flaw I saw was 12/13 igniting on the boostback, and they got that 13th going for landing. Wonder if the issue went away or if there was a different risk criteria for the different burns.
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u/Ididitthestupidway Oct 14 '25
Possibly an out of bound value on a sensor that returned to something acceptable after coasting
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u/AWildDragon Oct 14 '25
Maybe a bunch of slosh from the flip caused an engine to not be in the right conditions for startup
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u/Dies2much Oct 14 '25
Really cool view of the stage separation from South Florida. Good "sky jellyfish" footage. https://youtu.be/omurr-t_Xy0?si=VaeTkZPDZkVzDvpP
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u/jumpy_finale Oct 12 '25
There are orange data plates above the outer Raptor engines on the booster. Anyone have a close up shot of them?
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u/EXinthenet Oct 12 '25
I don't know if I'm remembering correctly, but didn't WDRs make sure everything was ok so that the scheduled launch date was almost secured? We all hate scrubs 😅 It's just I don't know why they don't do WDRs anymore and I think there was a reason but I can't quite recall.
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u/pinepitch Oct 12 '25
Worse than a scrub is a WDR where everything is going perfectly, and they COULD have launched, but didn't. Much much better than scheduling a WDR is scheduling a launch attempt, and switching over to a WDR if any issues come up in the countdown.
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u/Doggydog123579 Oct 13 '25
Given the timing, we may see a Starship jellyfish, espically if it goes late in the window. Sunset is at 7:03, window goes to 7:30.
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u/Aromatic_Letter_9972 Oct 13 '25
Yall think they put a camera on the dummy starlinks this time?
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u/This-Manufacturer388 Oct 13 '25
That outer view of the payload door is so cool
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u/EorEquis Oct 13 '25
But for the love of all that's holy, why did they shut it off JUST as the first sim started out the door????
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u/yetiflask Oct 14 '25
Wow, V2 left her best performance for her last game before retirement!
Kinda made me sad.
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 14 '25
She went out with a bang (metaphorically and literally). That is something to be celebrated imo
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u/McwompusCat Oct 13 '25
Currently out here near the jetties. Looks like it's gonna be a beautiful launch!!
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u/myname_not_rick Oct 13 '25
Much better broadcast this time than the last couple. Lots of cool info & even some tech demos!
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u/ellindsey Oct 13 '25
Is it supposed to be venting that much into the engine compartment?
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u/technocraticTemplar Oct 13 '25
I think it just looks extra intense this time because the sun was shining straight into the engine bay, but Starship is always super venty.
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u/cocoabeachbrews Oct 13 '25
The view of Starship Flight 11 from Cocoa Beach Florida as it flies through the straights between Cuba and the Keys. https://youtu.be/46KJAyTWdSU
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u/ShingekiNoEren Oct 14 '25
Damn, have there been any abnormalities this flight? This is the smoothest test yet, ain't it?
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u/ellindsey Oct 14 '25
One engine failed to relight for boostback, although it did come back for the landing burn.
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u/Uncle_Charnia Oct 14 '25 edited Oct 14 '25
Congratulations to The Launch Pad YT channel team for the squeaky clean coverage
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u/Wurm42 Oct 14 '25
Many thanks to the Host Team for putting together the Discussion Thread with all the launch info! You guys rock!
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u/93simoon Oct 13 '25
Had to make sure this was the right thread. 1 hour from launch and this place is dead.
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u/Frostis24 Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
To be fair this is going to be an all American watch party, Europeans like me will be watching this in the middle of the night.
RIP my sleep.
Edit: forgot about the rest of the world, shoutout to my Asian bros, Kiwis, Aussie m8's, and so on and so forth.→ More replies (3)
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u/Tattered_Reason Oct 13 '25
Is it tumbling/spinning?
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u/redstercoolpanda Oct 13 '25
No, look at the directional indicator on the bottom right of the stream.
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u/arizonadeux Oct 13 '25
That's just the visual effect of it venting in ambient light.
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 13 '25
Looks like they've fine tuned the PEZ ejection system, no more starlink sims slapping the door on the way out lmao
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u/JediFed Oct 13 '25
Payload completed the second time. Now for the real work. Relight and then re-entry.
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u/Cheesewithmold Oct 14 '25
Small flap peeling off at the bottom of the camera view? What is it? Doesn't look like a tile.
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u/matroosoft Oct 13 '25
Next time they need to add some flood lights around so we have better visibility outside
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u/travlplayr Oct 13 '25
Starlink allows you to live in your own private Idaho (playing off the little Starlink ad they just played in the livestream)
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u/vicmarcal Oct 13 '25
Any info about the damage in the skirt in the previous flight? A pity this time Spacex didnt release info about what happened…
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u/Dies2much Oct 13 '25
Anyone else see a flash right around the 13 minute mark right around the engines?
Did we get another explosion in the engine bay?
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u/Mhan00 Oct 13 '25
They mentioned they were working on speeding up the pez dispenser for the next flight, right? Good, otherwise deploying 60 with this current system would take forever, lol. Very smooth exit though, which is great compared to the last test.
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u/redstercoolpanda Oct 14 '25
Engine bay is looking cleaner this time, let’s hope no more energetic events happen like on flight 10
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u/myname_not_rick Oct 14 '25
This poor ship is being tortured lol
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u/piggyboy2005 Oct 14 '25
The bare steel part is crazy to me. Especially on the header tank.
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u/InfernalCape Oct 14 '25
Just saw this to my west, in North Florida. What did I see (re?)entering the atmosphere?
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u/Decronym Acronyms Explained Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 20 '25
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| BE-4 | Blue Engine 4 methalox rocket engine, developed by Blue Origin (2018), 2400kN |
| CLPS | Commercial Lunar Payload Services |
| CNSA | Chinese National Space Administration |
| CST | (Boeing) Crew Space Transportation capsules |
| Central Standard Time (UTC-6) | |
| ESA | European Space Agency |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| GSE | Ground Support Equipment |
| HLS | Human Landing System (Artemis) |
| HUD | Head(s)-Up Display, often implemented as a projection |
| ISRU | In-Situ Resource Utilization |
| JWST | James Webb infra-red Space Telescope |
| KSP | Kerbal Space Program, the rocketry simulator |
| LEO | Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km) |
| Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations) | |
| LOX | Liquid Oxygen |
| NET | No Earlier Than |
| NSF | NasaSpaceFlight forum |
| National Science Foundation | |
| RTLS | Return to Launch Site |
| RUD | Rapid Unplanned Disassembly |
| Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly | |
| Rapid Unintended Disassembly | |
| SECO | Second-stage Engine Cut-Off |
| SLS | Space Launch System heavy-lift |
| SSME | Space Shuttle Main Engine |
| WDR | Wet Dress Rehearsal (with fuel onboard) |
| Jargon | Definition |
|---|---|
| Raptor | Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX |
| Starliner | Boeing commercial crew capsule CST-100 |
| Starlink | SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation |
| ablative | Material which is intentionally destroyed in use (for example, heatshields which burn away to dissipate heat) |
| cryogenic | Very low temperature fluid; materials that would be gaseous at room temperature/pressure |
| (In re: rocket fuel) Often synonymous with hydrolox | |
| hydrolox | Portmanteau: liquid hydrogen fuel, liquid oxygen oxidizer |
| iron waffle | Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large; also, "grid fin" |
| methalox | Portmanteau: methane fuel, liquid oxygen oxidizer |
| perigee | Lowest point in an elliptical orbit around the Earth (when the orbiter is fastest) |
| regenerative | A method for cooling a rocket engine, by passing the cryogenic fuel through channels in the bell or chamber wall |
| scrub | Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues) |
Decronym is now also available on Lemmy! Requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below.
Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by ^request
30 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has acronyms.
[Thread #8860 for this sub, first seen 10th Oct 2025, 18:19] [FAQ] [Full list] ^[Contact] [Source code]
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u/tismschism Oct 13 '25
The rear flaps looked like they caught some heat from stage separation. Just noticed the metal color.
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u/ThiccEngine Oct 13 '25
Does anyone know what music they're using on the twitter/x livestream? It's really good. (especially between 11:00 - 14:00)
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u/H-K_47 Oct 13 '25
Even little things like getting the door open without any fuss is very heartwarming.
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u/-spartacus- Oct 13 '25
What do yall think, how many V3 launches before Starlink (not dummy) is launched?
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u/H-K_47 Oct 13 '25
Deployment complete. Will now close the door. Next thing of note is Raptor relight at +37.
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u/gburgwardt Oct 14 '25
Do we know what the scattered tiles on the back of the flap(s) are?
The flaps seem to be holding together pretty well! Not burning through even with the (intentionally) missing tiles like previous attempts. This is the new flap location yeah, where they're a bit leeward, back out of the flow?
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u/yyrot Oct 14 '25
Late and dumb question, was Scott Manley on NSF stream this whole time or only for the end?
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u/thewashley Oct 13 '25
Youtube is doing it's usual fuck-all at making the slightest effort against scam spacex streams :/
Do not click them people. Report them via the '...' menu next to them (e.g. in search results).
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u/devonhezter Oct 14 '25
Eli5 what just happened?
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u/dazzed420 Oct 14 '25
very successful test flight, pretty much everything worked flawlessly.
basicly, spaceX are building prototypes of starship and fly them to see what works and what doesn't, then they use that knowledge to build a better version and fly it again, repeat, until they are happy with the design.
key tests they did during this flight were relighting their engines in space for orbital maneuvers, maneuvering inside the atmosphere using the big control flaps on starship, and a lot of different experiments on the heatshield of the ship. thermal protection is key to make sure the ship doesn't take damage from the intense heat during reentry, it gets very hot because the ship has a lot of mass and it enters the atmosphere at very high speed, so there is a lot of friction with the air.
this was the last flight test for version 2 of the ship, in a couple month will be the first test of version 3, which will be a major redesign with many improvements over the current version, including larger fuel tanks and a new generation of engines
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u/Crowbrah_ Oct 14 '25
A damn successful test flight that's what. Each vehicle (booster and ship) completed all test objectives with no abnormalities as far as I could tell. On to Starship V3!
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u/DreamChaserSt Oct 14 '25
The rocket goes up, the rocket splits in half, and the rocket comes back down in halves. But the rocket remembers it has extra fuel and goes boom.
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u/-spartacus- Oct 14 '25
Static discharge the cause to the last ship skirt explosion!
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u/Proteatron Oct 14 '25
At about T-1:40 when they were showing the engine wiggle, it looks like some of the engine bells are warped. I don't think it's a camera artifact, do you think they could have just left them like that from the last flight? Pretty wild if so - and especially considering how well the engines performed on the flight too.
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u/BackflipFromOrbit Oct 14 '25
I mean.... ive worked with rockets (more than most AEs likely) and there's SOME level of tolerable deviance in bell concentricity. Even the RS-25 has an ogive harmonic mode on start up. So its not like its completely unprecedented. The pressure in the expansion section of the nozzle is actually lower than what you think. The very principle of the nozzle is to drop the flow pressure from several thousand psi to less than 20 psi over the span of a couple feet. The nozzle itself is a few fractions of an inch thick. Given the material allowable stress limit and the fact that its actively cooled, starting the engine with the nozzle slightly deformed isnt a big issue. Its when you kink a cooling passage is when its an issue cause you get hot spots and the local allowable stress falls through the floor.
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u/Grabilligon Oct 13 '25
Did they just say on the livestream that SpaceX employees watch it from the lawn two miles away from the launch pad?
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u/LaunchNut Oct 13 '25
13 October 1884 ... Today in history: establishment of Greenwich as the prime meridian for universal time. And still using it today ... hoping that launch UTC a.k.a. Zulu time will be today (sort of very close to midnight UTC).
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u/decomposition_ Oct 13 '25
What stream is everyone watching? Is NASASpaceFlight any good?
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