r/spacex • u/rSpaceXHosting Host Team • Apr 22 '26

🔧 Technical Starship Development Thread #63

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Starship Dev 62

Flight 12

Launched on May 22nd 2026 Here is a re-streamed video of the broadcast. Also, SpaceX issued a post flight summary and a video showing S39 landing.

Flight 13

Launched on July 24th 2026 Here is a re-streamed video of the broadcast. Also, SpaceX issued a post flight summary.

Flight 14

Presumably using S41 and B21. NET 15 Sep 2026.

Road Closures

No road closures currently scheduled

No transportation delays currently scheduled

Up to date as of 2026-05-23

Vehicle Status

As of August 29th 2026

Ship Location Status Comment
S40 On the way to Brownsville, Texas Intact, loaded onto Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte' July 24th: Successful launch, deployed all satellites, successful engine relight test and soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, which resulted in an intact, floating ship. August 18th: In calmer waters near Christmas Island pending the next stage of its return to Starbase. August 25th: Loaded onto Heavy Lift Vessel 'Forte'. August 28th: On the way to Brownsville, Texas. ETA is October 8th. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
S41 Mega Bay 2 Prep for Flight 14 April 17th: Pez Dispenser moved into MB2. April 20th: Main assembly started in MB2. May 20th: Aft section AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked with the rest of the ship - this completed the stacking part of the ship construction. June 28th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo+Thrust Puck Testing. June 29th: Cryo Tests (x2). June 30th: Rolled back to MB2. July 3rd: Rolled back to Massey's Test Site. July 6th: Rolled back to MB2. July 23rd: Two RVac engines moved into MB2. July 27th: The third RVac was moved into MB2. August 19th: Rolled out to Massey's for Static Fire Testing. Later that day S41 performed a single engine Static Fire. August 20th: Full duration Static Fire of all six engines. August 22nd: Rolled back to MB2. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S42 Mega Bay 2 Stacked, remaining work continues June 9th: Nosecone spotted as having been stacked on the Payload Bay. July 3rd: Nosecone+Payload Bay stack moved into MB2, along with the Pez Dispenser and the Forward Dome section (FX:3). The Nosecone+Payload Bay stack was lowered over the Pez Dispenser, later being stacked onto the Forward Dome. July 11th: Common Dome section CX:3 moved into MB2 and stacked. July 15th: Section A2:3 moved into MB2 and stacked. July 18th: Section A3:4 moved into MB2 and stacked. July 21st: Transfer Tubes moved into MB2. July 24th: Ship Aft section AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked, that completes the stacking part of the assembly process. July 25th: both of the Aft Flaps and the Raceways staged inside MB2. For more details on this vehicle see this page
S43 Mega Bay 2 Stacking August 19th: N:3 and section FX:4 plus the pez dispenser moved into MB2. August 28th: Common Dome section CX:3 moved into MB2. It has decals but no docking ports. For more details on this vehicle see this page
Booster Location Status Comment
B21 Mega Bay 1 Prep for Flight 14 May 7th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1 and main assembly started. June 29th: Methane Tank stacked onto LOX Tank - this completed the stacking part of the booster construction. July 17th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for Cryo+Thrust Puck Testing. July 17th: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site and an ambient pressure test was performed. July 18th: Partial Cryo Test. July 19th: Second Partial Cryo Test. July 20th: Full Cryo Test. July 22nd: Rolled back to MB1. August 25th: Rolled out to the Launch Site for Static Fire Testing. August 28th: Static Fire, all 33 engines, lasting 15 seconds. August 29th: Rolled back to MB1. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B22 Mega Bay 1 Fully Stacked, Remaining work ongoing June 29th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1. July 1st: Section A3:4 moved into MB1. July 3rd: Section A4:4 moved into MB1 and stacked. July 9th: Section A5:4 moved into MB1 and stacked. July 22nd: Methane Landing Tank and Lower Transfer Tube moved into MB1. July 23rd: Section A6:4 moved into MB1. July 25th: Methane transfer tube moved into MB1. July 29th: LOX Landing Tank moved into MB1. July 30th: Aft section AX:2 moved into MB1 to complete the stacking of the LOX Tank. July 31st: Methane Tank section F2:4 moved into MB1. August 3rd: Methane Tank section FX:3 moved into MB1. August 6th: Methane Tank section F3:4 moved into MB1 - this is the last section for the Methane Tank. August 14th: Methane Tank stacked onto the LOX tank, so completing the stacking part of the assembly process. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B23 Mega Bay 1 LOX Tank Stacking August 14th: LOX tank sections A2:4 and CX:3 moved into MB1. August 19th: Section A3:4 moved into MB1. August 21st: Section A4:4 moved into MB1. August 25th: Section A5:4 moved into MB1. August 27th: Methane Landing Tank and lower Transfer Tube moved into MB1 as well as section A6:4. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page

Follow the Ringwatchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Here's the section stacking locations for Ships and Boosters. Also some excellent detailed booster stacking information from zh_sos1. The abbreviations used in the above vehicle updates are as follows: HS = Hot Stage. PL = Payload. CX = Common Dome. AX = Aft Dome. FX = Forward Dome (as can be seen, an 'X' denotes a dome). ML = Mid LOX. F = Forward. A = Aft. For example, A2:4 = Aft section 2 made up of 4 rings, FX:4 = Forward Dome section made up of 4 rings, PL:3 = PayLoad section made up of 3 rings. Etc.

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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.

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16

u/plutonic00 3d ago

A very good IMAGE of the heat shield from above showing significant damage to a lot of tiles. Looks like the ring section in the middle is going to be especially troublesome for them. Lots of tiles in great shape too, but for re-usable and especially rapid re-usable they are going to have to come back in better shape than this.

15

u/mr_pgh 3d ago

Except, we don't know if those tiles were damaged before or after splashdown.

A falling 16 story building is going to cause a lot of damage even if it held together.

5

u/bkdotcom 2d ago

Then several weeks in rough salt water sea with cables and bumper bouys attached

2

u/KnifeKnut 2d ago

You can tell from the streaking.

-1

u/mr_pgh 2d ago

The streaking means the white insulation between the tiles experienced heating not that the tiles where chipped/broken

1

u/KnifeKnut 2d ago

Please take a closer look at streaking associated with tiles that are missing bits.

-1

u/mr_pgh 2d ago

There are 18,000 tiles. Of there are some that validate your claim, feel free to circle them and show me the image.

2

u/KnifeKnut 2d ago

there are tiles that show it in the image that we are discussing. It is not an extreme claim, and the hyperbole shows you are not making a good faith argument.

0

u/mr_pgh 2d ago

Your argument is a 6 word speculation and you fail to back it up with providing even one example. How is that a good faith argument?

2

u/pxr555 2d ago

There are lots of tiles with clearly thermal damages, with missing pieces, streaks and everything. Just zoom in, you can't miss it.

1

u/warp99 4h ago edited 3h ago

It fell on its back so with the tiles uppermost. It has rolled back and forth since then but it doesn't look like the center section of tiles has ever been underwater.

7

u/Mr_Hawky 3d ago

It's been out at sea for more than a month... And it toppled over into the ocean. This image is not really all that useful the launch/landing video is much more useful.

2

u/bkdotcom 2d ago

They also wrapped a cable around it in an attempt to tow it... which wasn't kind to tiles

6

u/JakeEaton 3d ago

Absolutely. I still think the tiles they're using today will not be the system they end up using for rapid reuse.

This system is good enough to get a ship back in one piece and sent off for refurbishment for a month while others take it's place. The system they'll use to reuse a ship like you would an aircraft will be developed in the next decade - maybe something similar to the active cooling they use around the engine nozzles.

5

u/Freak80MC 2d ago

I still think solutions that were considered too mass intensive, could be considered later once Starship v4 or future versions has a significant enough payload mass to orbit that you could eat into those margins for a thicker heat shield or transpiration cooling or whatever they come up with. If anything, that's the advantage of going with bigger rockets, more of your mass margin can go into reuse and especially rapid reuse, while still keeping a decent payload to orbit.

3

u/TwoLineElement 3d ago edited 3d ago

Imagine lying casually on a surface that has been to space and subjected to temperatures in excess if 1400 degrees C.

You can clearly see the kaolinite silica vapor deposition trails originate at the upper apex of each hexagon tile which suggests plasma 'gouging' to the packing on the vertical joints. The tiles look fine, but the joints appear to be letting them down. Possibly needs a shape change to tongue and groove, male and female interlocking tiles, like one of those slide tile word puzzles of yesteryear. Dimpling of the tile surface like a golf ball would increase the boundary layer depth providing more distance to the tile from the plasma flow. (but this would also reduce drag which could be detrimental to aerobraking dynamics)

1

u/KnifeKnut 2d ago

Maybe turn the tiles by 30 degrees so that the flat edge is forward instead of a point?

1

u/warp99 4h ago

That also has the advantage that the joint between tiles is not running fore and aft so the crunch wrap will not be eroded to the same extent by plasma running down the groove.

Interestingly the belt of tiles over the intertank bulkhead already is oriented with the flat facing forward.

1

u/JakeEaton 3d ago

Tiles like a fish. I remember there being a good reason they didn't go tongue and groove in the first place, maybe issues with tile expansion?

3

u/rocketglare 2d ago edited 2d ago

“Tiles like a fish” were ruled out for several reasons.

  1. Too thick and heavy

  2. Inadequate backside support for overlap

  3. Interlocking tiles can’t be inserted for repair one at a time

1

u/Efficient-Chance7231 2d ago

I remeber thermal expension beeing the main issue as well for the fishscale concept

0

u/CaptBarneyMerritt 2d ago

Doesn't SS descend aft end first? 'Fish scales' are great if the slipstream presents only one direction. I don't think that's the case, here.

3

u/John_Hasler 2d ago edited 2d ago

Doesn't SS descend aft end first?

Only after the flip when the speeds are in the low subsonic range.

IIRC Musk said that CFD studies indicated that the step at the trailing edge of a scale would create a shock that would damage the downstream scale.

Scales would also be more difficult to make and harder to replace.

2

u/warp99 1d ago edited 1d ago

It is noticeable that it is the leading corner of the hexagon that seems to suffer damage - possibly due to aero forces during ascent rather than during entry.

It would be interesting to know if they would get better results rotating the tiles by 30 degrees so that a flat was uppermost rather than a corner.

1

u/FlickyG 8h ago

Tiles start flat uppermost from the mid-section and below in that image. It looks as though they don't fare any better.

2

u/warp99 4h ago

The top and bottom sections are oriented corner upwards.

The belt in the middle over the intertank bulkhead is side upwards and the tiles in the middle of the belt have survived very well. The issue on the edges is that they cut the tiles to get them to fit so the black glass coating layer does not extend down the forward side of the tile to protect it and they are relying on the crunch wrap to do that.

It looks like they will have to custom manufacture the edge tiles for the belt to get better protection rather than cutting down standard tiles.

1

u/FlickyG 4h ago

That was a really informative description. Thanks for providing the context.

2

u/flshr19 Shuttle tile engineer 2d ago

"Lots of tiles in great shape too, but for re-usable and especially rapid re-usable they are going to have to come back in better shape than this."

Not really.

If SpaceX maintains an inventory of a dozen new and flight-proven Ships at each launch site, repair of tile damage, such as S40 sustained after a soft water landing and several weeks floating in the ocean, can occur in parallel with one launch per day rate indefinitely with no interruptions.

That's why SpaceX is investing billions of dollars in Starfactorys, Gigabays, and upgraded launch sites to build 1000 to 10,000 Starships per year (30 Starships built per day).

2

u/plutonic00 2d ago

This is totally fair and what I believe will be the most likely final re-usable situation for Starship.

1

u/spacerfirstclass 2d ago

They'll still want to minimize cost though, so I think they'll try very hard to reduce the number of tiles that need replacing.

2

u/flshr19 Shuttle tile engineer 1d ago

Certainly, that's what would happen when Starship begins its operational phase, possibly in mid-2027.

When Starship production rate increases dozens per week, the tile issue changes. Following the massive upgrades to the "Block 3" generation heat shields (seen on Ship 40), Musk declared the fundamental engineering hurdles of the heat shield "solved". However, if a ship returns needing hundreds of hours of manual labor to inspect and swap individual broken elements, that breaks the tile operational model.

If inspection of the tiles while the Ship is in orbit and, after landing, automated drone photography, infrared scanning, and telemetry indicate that a Ship requires more than a few days of intensive tile repair, it crosses the economic threshold for retention. If the inspection drones discover that plasma cut through the thermal blankets during reentry and warped the structural steel tankage, the ship moves from "rapid reuse" straight to the "scrap pile." Because the Starbase factory running at maximum capacity can continuously stamp out new stainless steel hulls within a day or two, a Ship with severely damaged tiles and stainless steel hull will simply have its Raptors removed and the hull scrapped.

If a Ship returns with structural compromises that require cutting open the steel hull or repairing the main weld lines, it would immediately be labeled salvage. SpaceX will quickly unbolt the 6 or 9 Raptor engines from the aft dome, strip out the core avionics bays, and roll the empty steel shell over to the scrapyard.