Since April 2023, the SpaceX Starship has been launched times, with successes and failures. The American company has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale.[1] It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.[2] [3] Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars, and also one of two landing systems selected by NASA for the Artemis program's crewed Lunar missions.
SpaceX calls the entire launch vehicle "Starship", which consists of the Super Heavy first stage (booster) and the ambiguously-named Starship second stage (ship).[4] There are three versions of Starship: Block 1 (also known as Starship 1, Version 1, or V1) which is retired, Block 2 which will fly in Starship flight test 7, and Block 3, which is still in development. As of September 2024, vehicles of different versions are expected to be integrated and flown together.[5] As of October 2024, only Block 1 vehicles have flown;[6] the last Block 1 ship completed its mission in November 2024.[7] Both Starship's first and second stages are reusable, and are planned to be caught by the tower arms used to assemble the rocket at the pad.[8]
Starship vehicles have been launched six times for flight tests over two years, resulting in four successes, and two failures. Starship Block 1 has been launched six times between April 2023 to November 2024, with the ship being retired ahead of the seventh flight.[9] Block 1 boosters are expected to fly further into the future.[10]
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster | Version, Ship | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing | Ship landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13:33:09[11] | Block 1 B7 | Block 1 S24 | Starbase, OLP-A | Transatmospheric | SpaceX | |||||
| For the first flight test with a ship integrated with the Super Heavy booster, the booster was planned to 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 activated 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.[12] SpaceX declared this flight a success, as their primary goal was to only clear the pad.[13] The launch resulted in extensive damage to the orbital launch mount and the infrastructures around it, including the propellant tank farm.[14] | |||||||||||
| 2 | 13:02:50[15] | Block 1 B9 | Block 1 S25 | Starbase, OLP-A | Transatmospheric | SpaceX | (ocean) | ||||
| The second 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 due to filter blockage.[16] An energetic failure of one engine caused a loss of the booster. The upper stage ascended nominally for another six minutes.[17] A leak in the aft section developed during a planned liquid oxygen venting, resulting in a combustion event that interrupted communication between the craft’s flight computers, causing full engine shutdown, after which the flight termination system successfully destroyed the ship as it reached an altitude of ~148 km and velocity of ~24,000 km/h. | |||||||||||
| Flight No. | Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster | Version, Ship | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome | Booster landing | Ship landing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 13:25:00[18] | Block 1 B10 | Block 1 S28 | Starbase, OLP-A | Suborbital | SpaceX | (ocean) | (ocean) | |||
| The third flight test of Starship included a full-duration burn of the second-stage engines, an internal propellant-transfer demonstration, and a test of the Starlink dispenser door. If the test sequence had progressed further, additional tests would have included an in-space relight followed by a hard splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1hour, 4minutes after launch.[19] [20] [21] The booster successfully propelled the spacecraft to staging, with 13 engines successfully ignited for a boostback burn, though 6 engines failed a few seconds before the end of the burn. However, several minutes later, during the landing burn ignition, only three engines ignited, and the booster was destroyed at an altitude of 462 meters above the ocean. The booster malfunctions were attributed to continuing filter blockage issues.[22] The spacecraft trajectory was suborbital, with a apogee and perigee,[23] although the ship did reach orbital speed.[24] A scheduled restart of a Raptor engine for a prograde burn test did not occur, which would have resulted in a perigee and somewhat later entry into the atmosphere. At reentry, Ship had an uncontrolled roll. Minutes into atmospheric re-entry, Ship 28's telemetry cut off, leading SpaceX to conclude the ship had disintegrated prior to its planned splashdown. | |||||||||||
| 4 | 12:50:00[25] | Block 1 B11 | Block 1 S29 | Starbase, OLP-A | Suborbital | SpaceX | (ocean) | (ocean) | |||
| The fourth flight test of Starship flew a similar trajectory to Flight 3, with the addition of a ship landing burn and soft splashdown. One Raptor engine was lost shortly after liftoff, but the booster still managed to perform in accordance to its flight profile and conduct a successful controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico[26] on a "virtual tower", in preparation for a catch by the launch tower during Flight 5.[27] The spacecraft performed a successful reentry despite severe forward flap damage and conducted a successful controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean,[28] within the target region but 6 kilometers from the center.[29] | |||||||||||
| 5 | 12:25:00[30] | Block 1 B12 | Block 1 S30 | Starbase, OLP-A | Suborbital[31] | SpaceX | (OLPA) | (ocean) | |||
| The fifth flight test of Starship was the first to demonstrate booster recovery and the first to have no engine failures at any point in flight.[32] After stage separation, the booster returned to the launch site and was caught by the arms on the launch tower despite a chine being damaged during the booster's descent. After a coast phase, Ship 30 reentered the atmosphere, and performed a successful reentry despite some damage to the forward flaps. It then conducted its landing burn, and successfully splashed down at the center of its target location in the Indian Ocean, where a buoy camera recorded S30 exploding shortly after contact with the water. | |||||||||||
| 6 | 22:00:00[33] | Block 1 B13 | Block 1 S31 | Starbase, OLP-A | Stuffed banana | Transatmospheric | SpaceX | (ocean) (tower abort) | (ocean) | ||
| The sixth flight test of Starship was the second to attempt booster recovery, and last to fly with a Block 1 upper stage. Prior to flight, heat shield tiles were removed from key regions of S31, which also lacked the ablative backup layer used on Flight 5. After stage separation, the booster returned to the ocean near the launch site, but it was decided to divert the booster to the ocean due to certain system health criteria not being met. The ship successfully conducted a planned in-space engine relight test and re-entered prior to splashdown in the Indian Ocean during daylight, another first for Starship. Despite a reduced heat shield and more aggressive entry trajectory, S31 splashed down with minimal flap damage. A stuffed banana served as the zero-g indicator, becoming Starship's first payload, though it remained within the vehicle for the duration of the flight. | |||||||||||
Future launches are listed chronologically when firm plans are in place. Launches are expected to take place "no earlier than" (NET) the listed date.
In a talk in November 2024 from Kathy Lueders, Starbase General Manager, she announced that SpaceX wants to catch a Starship upper stage sometime in the next 6 months and have 25 launches in 2025.[34]
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster | Version, Ship | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 January, [35] | Block 1 B14[36] | Block 2 S33 | Starbase, OLP-A | Suborbital/Transatmospheric[37] | SpaceX | |
| As of November 2024, Flight 7 is expected to fly a similar trajectory to the previous flight, targeting a splashdown in the Indian Ocean approximately one hour after launch. Flight 7 will feature the first flight of a Block 2 ship. | ||||||
| Block 1 B15[38] | Block 2 S34 | Starbase, OLP-A | LEO | SpaceX | ||
| As of September 2024, the flight profile for Flight 8 is unknown. Flight 8 will be the second flight of a Block 2 ship.[39] After Flight 6, Elon Musk announced that Flight 8 may feature the first catch of the ship.[40] | ||||||
| Block 2 | LEO | NASA | ||||
| Propellant transfer demonstration between ships. Launches will be 3-4 weeks apart, using the same launch pad.[41] | ||||||
| Block 2 | Propellant | LEO | NASA | |||
| Propellant transfer demonstration between ships. Launches will be 3-4 weeks apart, using the same launch pad. | ||||||
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster | Version, Ship | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Depot[42] | Propellant Depot | LEO | NASA | ||
| SpaceX will launch a depot to store propellant for HLS flights. As of November 2024, it is unknown whether the depot will support multiple missions. | ||||||
| HLS | Uncrewed Lunar Demo[43] | NRHO, Lunar surface | NASA | |||
| NASA's demonstration mission for the Human Landing System prior to Artemis 3, announced in April 2021. For this mission, SpaceX attempts to land a Starship HLS on the Moon. (Before this, an unknown number of successful refueling flights will be required, estimated to be in the high teens.[44]) | ||||||
| [45] | HLS | Crewed Lunar Demo[46] | NRHO, Lunar surface | NASA | ||
| Artemis III will be the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17. An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.[47] | ||||||
| HLS | Astrolab FLEX rover[48] | Lunar surface | Astrolab | |||
| Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover will include 1,000 kilograms of customer payloads. | ||||||
| 2026 | Uncrewed Mars Demo[49] | Martian surface | SpaceX | |||
| SpaceX plans to launch around five Starship upper stages to Mars in the 2026 Mars transfer window. The Ships would attempt to land on an unspecified location on the Martian surface upon arrival at Mars, as part of their iterative and incremental cycle of development. | ||||||
| Date and time (UTC) | Version, Booster | Version, Ship | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superbird-9[50] | GTO | SKY Perfect JSAT | ||||
| Superbird-9 is a SKY Perfect JSAT's fully flexible HTS (High Throughput Satellites) based on Airbus' OneSat product line. | ||||||
| HLS | ISRU Processing System[51] | Lunar surface | Luxembourg Space Agency | |||
| In April 2023, LSA and a private firm, OffWorld Europe, announced a partnership to develop an ISRU process to extract, process, store and use water collected from the surface of the moon in the form of ice. The project, which is under the oversight of the ESA, will use OffWorld's technical expertise in robotics with a technology demonstration mission slated for launch to the moon in 2027 as part of SpaceX's first Starship HLS mission for the Artemis program. An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required. | ||||||
| HLS | Sustaining Crewed Lunar Demo[52] | NRHO, Lunar surface | NASA | |||
| On November 15, 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 IV.[53] An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required. | ||||||
| Starlab[54] | LEO | Voyager Space/Airbus | ||||
| Starlab is a planned commercial space station. | ||||||
| 2029[55] | HLS | Eagle Rover[56] | Lunar surface | Lunar Outpost[57] | ||
| The Eagle Rover has been selected by NASA for study as a Lunar Terrain Vehicle.[58] | ||||||
| 2032 | HLS | Lunar Cruiser | Lunar surface | JAXA/NASA | ||
| The Lunar Cruiser is a crewed pressurized lunar rover being developed jointly by JAXA and Toyota that astronauts can drive and live on the Moon.[59] | ||||||