SpaceX Starship flight tests

SpaceX Starship flight tests include eleven launches of prototypes of the Starship spacecraft on sub-orbital and low-altitude tests, and three orbital trajectory flights of the entire Starship launch vehicle with a Starship prototype atop a Super Heavy first-stage booster.[a][1][2][3][4][5] Designed and operated by private manufacturer SpaceX, the flown prototypes of Starship so far are Starhopper, SN5, SN6, SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11, SN15, Ship 24/B7, Ship 25/B9, and Ship 28/B10.[6][7][8][b]

Starship is planned to be a fully-reusable two-stage super heavy-lift launch vehicle.[9] Unusual for previous launch vehicle and spacecraft designs, the upper stage of Starship is intended to function both as a second stage to reach orbital velocity on launches from Earth, and also eventually[10] be used in outer space as an on-orbit long-duration spacecraft. It is being designed to take people to Mars and beyond into the Solar System.[11]

Nomenclature

SpaceX called whole launch vehicle "Starship". The launch vehicle consists of the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the ambiguously named Starship second-stage.[12] To avoid confusion, "Starship" in this article means the second-stage, while the complete launch vehicle will be referred by the booster's and spacecraft's serial number. For example, the integrated flight test 1 booster was Booster 7/B7, the spacecraft was Ship 24/S24, and the rocket stack is referred to as Ship 24/Booster 7, or S24/B7.[13]

The first tests started with the construction of the first prototype in 2018, Starhopper, which performed several static fires and two successful low-altitude flights in 2019.[14] 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".[15] Around mid-2021, SpaceX changed their naming scheme from "SN" to "Ship", or simply "S" for Starship crafts,[16] and from "BN" to "Booster" or simply "B" for Super Heavy boosters.[17]

Vehicle testing

Starship prototype tests can generally be classified into three main types. In proof pressure tests, the vehicle's tanks are pressurized with either gases or liquids to test their strength—sometimes deliberately until they burst. SpaceX loads the vehicle prototype with propellant and briefly fires its engines in a static fire test.[18] Before a test flight, the vehicle performs mission rehearsals, with or without fuel, to check the vehicle and ground infrastructure. Alternatively, the engines' turbopump spinning can be tested without firing the engines, referred to as a spin prime test.[19]

Following successful testing, uncrewed flight tests and launches may take place. During a sub-orbital launch, Starship prototypes fly to a high altitude and then descend, landing either near the launch site or in the sea. During an orbital launch, Starship performs procedures as described in its mission profile.[18]: 19–22  The tests, flights, and launches of the Starship rocket have received significant media coverage due to SpaceX's relatively open approach to allowing outsiders to view the facilities.[20]

Suborbital campaign (2019–2021)

Launch outcomes

1
2
3
4
2019
2020
2021
  •   Success (tethered)
  •   Success (untethered)


Landing outcomes

1
2
3
4
2019
2020
2021
  •   Loss before landing
  •   Loss on landing
  •   Loss after landing
  •   Success (tethered)
  •   Success (untethered)


Flight
No.
Date and time
(UTC)
Vehicles Launch site[c] Flight apogee Duration Launch outcome Landing outcome
- 3 April 2019 Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site <0.3 m (1 ft 0 in) ~3 seconds Success
The first firing of Starhopper and the first tethered hop (according to Musk[21][22]). The burn was a few seconds in duration and the vehicle was tethered to the ground. The vehicle may have lifted off the ground, but only to a very small height, and it was not possible to see the lift off in public video recordings of the test.[22][23]
- 5 April 2019 Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site 1 m (3 ft 3 in) ~5 seconds Success
Tethered hop which hit tether limits.[1]
1 25 July 2019[24] Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site 20 m (66 ft)[2] ~22 seconds Success Success
First free (untethered) flight test.
2 27 August 2019, 22:00[3][25] Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site 150 m (490 ft)[3] ~1 minute[26] Success Success
Starhopper was retired after this launch and used as a water tank at the production site.[3][27][28]
3 4 August 2020, 23:57[29][30] Starship SN5 Suborbital Pad A 150 m (490 ft)[29] ~45 seconds Success Success
Second 150-meter hop, and first hop of a full Starship prototype.[4][31]
4 3 September 2020, 17:47[32] Starship SN6 Suborbital Pad A 150 m (490 ft)[33] ~45 seconds Success Success
Third 150-meter hop, and second hop of a full Starship prototype.[32]
5 9 December 2020,[34] 22:45 Starship SN8 Suborbital Pad A 12.5 km (41,000 ft)[35] 6 minutes, 42 seconds Success Failure
First high-altitude flight test. Vehicle successfully launched, ascended, performed the skydive descent maneuver, relit the engines fueled from header tanks, and steered to the landing pad.[35][36] The flip maneuver from horizontal descent to vertical was successful, but a sudden pressure loss in the methane header tank caused by the flip maneuver reduced fuel supply and thrust, resulting in a hard landing and explosion.[35]
6 2 February 2021,[37] 20:25 Starship SN9 Suborbital Pad B 10 km (33,000 ft)[38][37][39] 6 minutes, 26 seconds[39] Success Failure
A raptor failed to start due to a problem with its oxygen preburner,[citation needed] causing SN9 to over-rotate and hit the landing pad. Vehicle destroyed on impact.[39][40][41][42]
7 3 March 2021,[43][44] 23:15 Starship SN10 Suborbital Pad A 10 km (33,000 ft)[45] 6 minutes, 24 seconds[46][d] Success Partial failure
SN10 experienced a hard landing with a slight lean after the landing, and a fire developed near the base of the rocket.[49] Eight minutes after landing, SN10 exploded.[undue weight? ][45] Insufficient deacceleration was possibly due to helium ingestion from the fuel header tank.[47]
8 30 March 2021, 13:00[50] Starship SN11 Suborbital Pad B 10 km (33,000 ft)[51] ~6 minutes[50] Success Failure
SN11 had engine issues during ascent (according to Elon Musk).[52] Vehicle lost before T+6:00.[53][54] Musk stated that a "relatively small" methane leak caused a fire on one of the Raptor engines during ascent, causing the engine to experience a hard start when relit.[55]
9 5 May 2021, 22:24[56] Starship SN15 Suborbital Pad A 10 km (33,000 ft)[57] 5 minutes, 59 seconds Success Success
SN15 was a new iteration of prototype Starship with many upgrades over previous vehicles.[58] SN15 achieved a soft landing, with a small fire starting near the base shortly after landing. The post-flight fire was out within 20 minutes, and SN15 was retired by the end of the month and scrapped in July 2023.[59][60]

Orbital campaign (2023–)

The first orbital flight test of Starship took place on 20 April 2023, marking the begin of the orbital test campaign.

Launch sites

1
2
2023
2024
2025

Launch outcomes

3
6
9
2023
2024
2025
  •   Loss on launchpad
  •   Loss before staging
  •   Loss after staging
  •   Partial Failure
  •   Success
  •   Planned

Booster landing outcomes

1
2
2023
2024
2025
  •   Precluded
  •   Loss before landing
  •   Loss on landing
  •   Partial Failure
  •   Success (splashdown)
  •   Success (landing)

Spacecraft landing outcomes

1
2
2023
2024
2025
  •   Precluded
  •   Loss before landing
  •   Loss on landing
  •   Partial Failure
  •   Success (splashdown)
  •   Success (landing)
Flight Date and time
(UTC)
Vehicles Launch site[e] Orbit Duration Launch outcome Booster landing Spacecraft landing
IFT-1 20 April 2023, 13:33:09 Ship 24/Booster 7 Starbase Orbital Pad A Transatmospheric[61] (planned) 3 minutes, 59 seconds (until vehicle loss) 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.[62] SpaceX declared this flight a success, as their primary goal was to only clear the pad.[63] The launch resulted in extensive damage to the orbital launch mount and the infrastructures around it, including the propellant tank farm.
IFT-2 18 November 2023, 13:02:50[64][65] Ship 25/Booster 9[66][67] Starbase Orbital Pad A Transatmospheric (planned) 8 minutes, 5 seconds (until vehicle loss) Failure (SpaceX declared success) Failure 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. One failed energetically, which caused the destruction of the booster.[68] The root cause was filter blockage leading to inadequate inlet pressure in the engine oxidizer turbopumps.[68] The filter and filter operation were upgraded for the next flight.[68][69]

The upper stage ascended normally for six minutes.[70] 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.[68] The Autonomous Flight Safety System detected this mission rule violation and activated the flight termination system (FTS) as the ship reached an altitude of ~150 km and velocity of ~24,000 km/h.[68]

IFT-3 14 March 2024, 13:25:00[71] Ship 28/Booster 10[71] Starbase Orbital Pad A[72] Suborbital (achieved)
Transatmospheric (planned)
49 minutes, 35 seconds (until vehicle loss) Success
[disputed ]
Failure Failure
The third integrated flight test of Starship involved an internal propellant transfer demonstration, a deorbit burn, and a test of the Starlink dispenser.[73] A hard splashdown of the ship was planned to occur in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1 hour 4 minutes after launch.[74][75] The apogee and perigee were 234 km (145 mi) and −50 km (−31 mi), respectively, on a suborbital trajectory[71] (though one that did reach orbital speed[76]). A scheduled restart of Raptor engines for a prograde burn did not occur, which would have resulted in a 50 km (31 mi) perigee and transatmospheric Earth orbit.[71] Minutes into atmospheric re-entry, Ship 28's telemetry cut off, leading SpaceX to conclude it had disintegrated prior to its planned splashdown.

After the launch had concluded, SpaceX confirmed that the booster failed to reignite properly and was destroyed at 462 m above sea level over the Gulf of Mexico.[75] On 14 March 2024, the FAA declared that a mishap had occurred involving both the upper stage and booster, triggering the start of a SpaceX-led investigation overseen by the FAA.[77]

Upcoming flights

Flight Date and time

(UTC)

Vehicle Launch site Orbit Booster landing Spacecraft landing
IFT-4 NET late April 2024[78][79] Ship 29/Booster 11[80][81][82] Starbase Orbital Pad A Unknown Planned Unknown
As of March 2024, the flight profile for IFT-4 is expected to be similar to IFT-3.[83] As of 19 March 2024, Starlink satellites are not planned to be flown on IFT-4.[79]
IFT-5 NET Q2 2024 S30/B12[80][81] Starbase Orbital Pad A Unknown Planned Unknown
As of March 2024, the flight profile for IFT-5 is unknown.
IFT-6 NET Q2 2024 S31/B13[80][81] Starbase Orbital Pad A Unknown Planned Unknown
As of March 2024, the flight profile for IFT-6 is unknown.

Future operational flights

SpaceX has on various occasions made a few public statements about preliminary ideas for future operational orbital flights using the Starship system. All dates for future flights are approximate, being "no earlier than" (NET) dates.

Elon Musk has stated that Starship would fly hundreds of times before launching with humans.[10] A likely use of some of these flights would be to launch Starlink satellites.[84]

Date Vehicle Mission Notes
NET 2025[85] Starship HLS HLS Demo NASA demonstration mission for the Human Landing System prior to Artemis 3, announced in April 2021.[86] Includes refueling and landing vehicles.
Starship Cargo (refueling)[f]
NET 2026 Starship HLS Artemis 3 Human Landing System vehicle for Artemis Program. Date is dependent on many NASA Artemis program and SpaceX Starship development contingencies.
Starship Cargo (refueling)[f]
NET Mid 2026 Starship Cargo Astrolab FLEX rover mission[88] Could be a rideshare. Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover will include 1,000 kilograms of customer payloads.
NET 2026 Starship Cargo Unnamed As of 2023, this was mentioned as the earliest potential cargo flight to Mars.[89]
2027[90] Starship Cargo Superbird-9 Superbird-9 is a SKY Perfect JSAT's fully flexible HTS (High Throughput Satellites) mounted the payload missions to be configured and combined to match end-user needs. The satellite will be based on Airbus' standardised OneSat product line. Superbird-9 will be launched by SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle in 2027 to geosynchronous transfer orbit.[91][92]
NET 2028 Starship HLS Unnamed On 15 November 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.[93]
NET 2028[94] Starship Cargo Starlab Starship was selected to launch the Starlab space station to LEO before the decommissioning of the ISS.[95]
NET 2029 Starship Crew
(Heart of Gold[96])
Unnamed As of March 2022, 2029 was mentioned as the earliest potential crewed flight to Mars.[97]
TBD Starship Crew Third Polaris Program Flight On behalf of Jared Isaacman, last flight of the Polaris Program and first crewed mission of Starship.[98][g]
TBD Starship Crew dearMoon The dearMoon project was announced in 2018, with the goal of a crewed flyby loop around the Moon.[99][100]
TBD Starship Crew Unnamed As of 2022, Dennis and Akiko Tito are the first two crewmembers announced on Starship's second commercial spaceflight around the Moon. This will be Dennis' second mission to space after becoming the first commercial astronaut to visit the International Space Station in 2001, and Akiko will be among the first women to fly around the Moon on a Starship. The Titos joined the mission to contribute to SpaceX's long-term goal to advance human spaceflight and help make life multiplanetary.

Over the course of a week, Starship and the crew will travel to the Moon, fly within 200 km of the Moon's surface, and complete a full journey around the Moon before safely returning to Earth. Ten other seats on Starship remain unsold and are available. Tito said he was not at liberty to disclose the price he paid.[101]

Notes

  1. ^ Not including tethered, short hops of Starhopper on 3 and 5 April 2019.
  2. ^ In hardware prototyping, the term Serial Number is abbreviated to "SN", and shows the chronological order of production between prototypes. The Starship spacecraft, after SN19, began to be referred to with only the S, for Ship, as in S24. The Superheavy booster had also initially been labeled with BN, as in BN3, for Booster Number, but had shifted to B, as in B7, for Booster. This shift occurred around the same time as the shift from SN to S and likely occurred because of the focus on orbital flight configurations following the stacking of S20 and B4, the first Ship and Booster respectively to be labeled as such.
  3. ^ All launches are from the same Boca Chica site. SpaceX started calling this Starbase from March 2021 after discussions called a "casual inquiry". See Boca Chica (Texas) § Starbase
  4. ^ Despite making an intact landing and beginning the detanking procedures, the vehicle suffered an explosion several minutes later destroying the vehicle in the process. SpaceX called it a successful landing but later acknowledged a problem with lower-than-expected engine thrust causing a hard landing[47] way past leg loads[48] and the vehicle exploded.[44]
  5. ^ All launches are from the same Boca Chica site. SpaceX started calling this Starbase from March 2021 after discussions called a "casual inquiry". See Boca Chica (Texas) § Starbase
  6. ^ a b NASA has estimated that 16 launches in short succession (due to cryogenic propellant boil-off) would be needed to partially refuel Starship for one lunar landing.[87]
  7. ^ The first (Polaris Dawn) and second mission of this program will be launched with Crew Dragon.

See also

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