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SpaceX Starship during IFT-2

SpaceX Starship flight tests include fifteen launches to date of prototype rockets during 2019–2024 for the SpaceX Starship launch vehicle development program. Eleven test flights were of single-stage Starship spacecraft flying low-altitude tests (2019–2021),[a][1] while four were orbital trajectory flights of the entire Starship launch vehicle (2023–2024), consisting of a Starship spacecraft second-stage prototype atop a Super Heavy first-stage booster prototype.[2] None of the flights to date has carried an operational payload. Additional flight tests are planned in 2024.

Designed and operated by private manufacturer SpaceX, the prototype Starship and Super Heavy vehicles flown to date are Starhopper, SN5, SN6, SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11, SN15, Ship 24/B7, Ship 25/B9, Ship 28/B10, and Ship 29/B11.[3][4][5][b]

Starship is planned to be a fully-reusable two-stage super heavy-lift launch vehicle,[6] and this affects expansion of the flight envelope during the long-running flight test program. 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 as a long-duration spacecraft.[7] It is being designed to take people to Mars and beyond into the Solar System.[8]

Nomenclature

SpaceX calls the launch vehicle "Starship", which consists of the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the identically named Starship second-stage.[9] To avoid confusion, "Starship" in this article on the flight testing phase (2019–2024) means the second-stage, while the complete launch vehicle will be referred by the particular prototype booster and ship serial number. For example, the integrated flight test 1 booster was Booster 7 (B7), the spacecraft was Ship 24 (S24), and the launch vehicle stack is referred to as Ship 24/Booster 7, or S24/B7.[10]

The first tests started with the construction of an initial flight prototype in 2018, Starhopper, which performed several static fire tests plus two successful low-altitude flights in 2019.[11] 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".[12] Around mid-2021, SpaceX changed their naming scheme from "SN" to "Ship", or simply "S," for Starship vehicles,[13] and from "BN" to "Booster," or simply "B," for Super Heavy boosters.[14]

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 (known as a test to failure). In a static fire test, SpaceX loads the vehicle prototype with propellant and briefly fires its engines while the vehicle does not move.[15] Alternatively, the engines' turbopump spinning can be tested without firing the engines, referred to as a spin prime test.[16] Before a test flight, the vehicle performs mission rehearsals, with or without propellants, to check the vehicle and ground infrastructure.

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.[15]: 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.[17]

Upper-stage flight tests (2019–2021)

Launch outcomes

Launch outcomes 2019 2020 2021 Total
Success (tethered) 2 0 0 2
Success (untethered) 2 3 4 9
Total 4 3 4 11
1
2
3
4
2019
2020
2021
  •   Success (tethered)
  •   Success (untethered)

Landing outcomes

Landing outcomes 2019 2020 2021 Total
Loss before landing 0 0 1 1
Loss on landing 0 1 1 2
Loss after landing 0 0 1 1
Success (tethered) 2 0 0 2
Success (untethered) 2 2 1 5
Total 4 3 4 11
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 (mm:ss) Launch outcome Landing outcome
- 3 April 2019 Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site <0.3 m (1 ft 0 in) ~00:03 Success —
The first firing of Starhopper and the first tethered hop (according to Musk[18][19]). 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.[19][20]
- 5 April 2019 Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site 1 m (3 ft 3 in) ~00:05 Success —
Tethered hop which hit tether limits.[21]
1 25 July 2019[22] Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site 20 m (66 ft)[23] ~00:22 Success Success
First free (untethered) flight test.
2 27 August 2019 22:00[24][25] Starhopper Suborbital Launch Site 150 m (490 ft)[24] ~01:00[26] Success Success
Starhopper was retired after this launch and used as a water tank at the production site.[24][27][28]
3 4 August 2020 23:57[29][30] Starship SN5 Suborbital Pad A 150 m (490 ft)[29] ~00:45 Success Success
Second 150-meter hop, and first hop of a full Starship prototype.[31][32]
4 3 September 2020 17:47[33] Starship SN6 Suborbital Pad A 150 m (490 ft)[34] ~00:45 Success Success
Third 150-meter hop, and second hop of a full Starship prototype.[33]
5 9 December 2020 22:45[35] Starship SN8 Suborbital Pad A 12.5 km (41,000 ft)[36] 06:42 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.[36][37] 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.[36]
6 2 February 2021 20:25[38] Starship SN9 Suborbital Pad B 10 km (33,000 ft)[39][38][40] 06:26[40] Success Failure
A Raptor failing to start caused SN9 to over-rotate and hit the landing pad. The vehicle was destroyed on impact.[40][41][42][43]
7 3 March 2021 23:15[44][45] Starship SN10 Suborbital Pad A 10 km (33,000 ft)[46] 06:24[47][d] Success Partial failure
SN10 launched and ascended nominally, but experienced a hard landing with a slight lean after the landing, and a fire developed near the base of the rocket.[50] Eight minutes after landing, SN10 exploded,[46] potentially due to helium ingestion from the fuel header tank.[48]
8 30 March 2021 13:00[51] Starship SN11 Suborbital Pad B 10 km (33,000 ft)[52] 05:49[e][51] Success Failure
SN11 had engine issues during ascent (according to Elon Musk).[53] Vehicle lost before T+6:00.[54][55] 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.[56]
9 5 May 2021 22:24[57] Starship SN15 Suborbital Pad A 10 km (33,000 ft)[58] 05:59 Success Success
SN15 was a new iteration of prototype Starship with many upgrades over previous vehicles.[59] 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.[60][61]

Integrated flight tests (2023–)

The first Starship integrated flight test (IFT) took place on 20 April 2023, marking the beginning of the orbital test campaign.

Launch outcomes

Launch outcomes 2023 2024 2025 Total
Failure 2 0 0 1
Partial failure 0 0 0 1
Success 0 2 0 2
Planned 0 7 1 8
Total 2 9 1 12
3
6
9
2023
2024
2025
  •   Failure
  •   Partial failure
  •   Success
  •   Planned

Booster landing outcomes

Booster landing outcomes 2023 2024 2025 Total
Precluded 1 0 0 1
Loss before landing 1 0 0 1
Loss on landing 0 1 0 1
Partial failure 0 0 0 0
Success (splashdown) 0 1 0 1
Planned (tower catch) 0 0 0 0
Total 2 2 0 4
1
2
2023
2024
2025
  •   Precluded
  •   Loss before landing
  •   Loss on landing
  •   Partial failure
  •   Success (splashdown)
  •   Success (tower catch)

Starship landing outcomes

Starship landing outcomes 2023 2024 2025 Total
Precluded 2 0 0 2
Loss before landing 0 1 0 1
Loss on landing 0 0 0 0
Partial failure 0 0 0 0
Success (splashdown) 0 1 0 1
Planned (tower catch) 0 0 0 0
Total 2 2 0 4
1
2
2023
2024
2025
  •   Precluded
  •   Loss before landing
  •   Loss on landing
  •   Partial failure
  •   Success (splashdown)
  •   Success (tower catch)
Flight Date and time
(UTC) 		Spacecraft, booster Launch site Orbit Duration (hh:mm:ss) Launch outcome Booster landing Spacecraft landing
IFT-1 20 April 2023
13:33:09 		Ship 24
Booster 7 		Starbase Orbital Pad A Transatmospheric[62] 00:03:59[e] 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.[63] SpaceX declared this flight a success, as their primary goal was to only clear the pad.[64] 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[65][66] 		Ship 25
Booster 9 		Starbase Orbital Pad A Transatmospheric 00:08:55[e] 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, due to filter blockage.[67] One engine failed explosively, with the damage caused resulting in a loss of the booster.[67]

The upper stage ascended normally for another six minutes.[68] 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.[67] The Autonomous Flight Safety System detected this mission rule violation and activated the flight termination system (FTS) as the ship reached an altitude of ~148 km and velocity of ~24,000 km/h.[67]

IFT-3 14 March 2024
13:25:00[69] 		Ship 28
Booster 10 		Starbase Orbital Pad A[70] Suborbital
 00:49:35[e] Success Failure Failure
The third integrated 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 "Pez" 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 1 hour 4 minutes after launch.[2]

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 by unknown causes at an altitude of 462 meters above the ocean.[2]

The spacecraft trajectory was suborbital, with a 234 km (145 mi) apogee and −50 km (−31 mi) perigee,[69] although the ship did reach orbital speed.[71]). A scheduled restart of a Raptor engine for a prograde burn test did not occur, which would have resulted in a 50 km (31 mi) perigee and somewhat later entry into the atmosphere.[69] Minutes into atmospheric re-entry, Ship 28's telemetry cut off, leading SpaceX to conclude the ship had disintegrated prior to its planned splashdown.

IFT-4 6 June 2024
12:50:00 		Ship 29
Booster 11 		Starbase Orbital Pad A[72] Suborbital 01:05:57 Success Controlled
(ocean)[f] 		Controlled
(ocean)[f]
IFT-4 was to use almost the same trajectory as IFT-3. It would not test the Starlink "Pez" dispenser door, or in-space relight, though the ship was to relight its engines for a landing burn.[73] B11 was to attempt a landing on a "virtual tower", in preparation for a catch during IFT-5.[74]

Launch included a loss of a single Raptor engine on booster, but the booster still managed to perform in accordance to its flight profile and conduct a successful controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.[75] The spacecraft performed a successful re-entry despite severe forward flap damage, followed by a successful controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.[75]

Upcoming flights

Flight Date and time
(UTC) 		Vehicle Launch site Orbit Booster landing Spacecraft landing
IFT-5 NET August 2024[76] Ship 30/Booster 12[77] Starbase Orbital Pad A Unknown Planned
(unknown) 		Planned
(ocean)
After the successful booster splashdown during IFT-4, Musk stated that SpaceX would attempt to catch B12 with the tower on Flight 5.[78] Kathy Lueders informed local residents that SpaceX was still evaluating a catch attempt during a June 2024 community event. In July 2024, SpaceX released a teaser video with animation of a catch attempt on Flight 5.[77] If the catch is attempted, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will require SpaceX to request a license modification.[79]
IFT-6 TBD TBD Starbase Orbital Pad A Unknown Un­known Un­known
According to NASASpaceflight, Ship 31 and Booster 13 are expected to fly on Flight 6.[80][81] As of July 2024, the flight profile for IFT-6 is unknown.

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[48] exceeding maximum leg loads[49] and the vehicle exploded.[45]
  5. ^ a b c d Time until vehicle telemetry loss
  6. ^ a b A controlled "ocean landing" denotes a controlled atmospheric entry, descent and vertical splashdown on the ocean's surface at near zero velocity, for the sole purpose of gathering test data; such boosters were destroyed at sea.

See also

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