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Starship Development Thread February 2026
(sh.itjust.works)
submitted
1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
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threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works
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FAQ
- When next launch? (Flight 12) NET 2026-03-08. (Elon)
- When previous launch? (Flight 11) Starship flight 11 launched on 2025-10-13 at 23:23 UTC.
- What was the result? All mission objectives fulfilled. Ship performs successful landing burn and splashdown, despite intentional missing tiles on heatshield. Second successful deployment of Starlink simulators. Booster successfully tested a 13-5-3 engine landing profile.
Previous Flights
Click to expand
- Flight 1: S24 and B7. First full stack launch, RUD before stage separation.
- Flight 2: S25 and B9. Successful stage separation, booster RUD during boostback burn, ship RUD shortly prior to scheduled SECO.
- Flight 3: S28 and B10. Booster performs a successful boostback burn, but experiences RUD during landing burn. Ship makes it past SECO, but loses attitude control and is destroyed on reentry.
- Flight 4: S29 and B11. First successful booster water landing. Ship survives reentry despite burn-through on forward flap, and performs a successful water landing.
- Flight 5: S30 and B12. First booster catch with chopsticks. Ship performs successful water landing.
- Flight 6: S31 and B13. Booster offshore divert due to damage to catch tower during launch. Ship performs successful water landing.
- Flight 7: S33 and B14-1. First V2 Ship launch. Harmonic oscillation on ship causes RUD before SECO. Booster is caught by chopsticks.
- Flight 8: S34 and B15-1. Engine failure on ship causes RUD before SECO. Booster is caught by chopsticks.
- Flight 9: S35 and B14-2. First booster reflight. Ship makes it past SECO, but loses attitude control and is destroyed on reentry. Booster RUD upon landing burn startup prior to planned splashdown.
- Flight 10: S37 and B16. All mission objectives fulfilled. First V2 ship to make it through reentry to landing burn and splashdown. First successful deployment of Starlink simulators. Booster successfully tested landing without one centre engine, using an engine on the middle ring to compensate.
- Flight 11: S38 and B15-2. All mission objectives fulfilled. Ship performs successful landing burn and splashdown, despite intentional missing tiles on heatshield. Second successful deployment of Starlink simulators. Booster successfully tested a 13-5-3 engine landing profile.
Quick Links
Nerdle Cam | Lab Cam | Sapphire Cam | Sentinel Cam | Rover Cam | Rover 2.0 Cam | Rocket Ranch Cam | Plex Cam | NSF Starbase Live
Starship Dev January | Starship Dev December | Starship Dev November | Starship Dev October | Starship Dev September | Starship Dev August
Official SpaceX Starship Update Video (2024-04-06)
Road closures, road delays, and beach closures
Vehicle Status
*As of 2026-02-01
| Ship | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| S39 (this is the first Version 3 ship) | Mega Bay 2 | Fully stacked, remaining work ongoing | August 16th: Stacking started. November 15th: Aft section AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked with the rest of S39 - this completes the stacking part of the ship construction. January 19th: First aft flap installed. January 20th: Second aft flap installed. |
| S40 | Mega Bay 2 | Stacking | November 12th: Nosecone stacked onto Payload Bay. January 31st: Pez Dispenser (on its stand) moved into MB2. February 1st: Nosecone + Payload Bay stack moved from Starfactory and into MB2. |
| S41 to S46 | Starfactory | Nosecones under construction plus tiling | January 19th: Photos of nosecones inside the Starfactory (note that S44 isn't visible because it's been moved elsewhere). January 28th: Latest photos of the nosecones |
| Booster | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| B18.1 / Test Tank 17 | Massey's | Cryo testing | Test article for Booster v3. Parts spotted Feb 24th, Apr 21. Cryo tests start Jun 2nd and 3rd, continue until tank bursts Sep 18th. |
| B18.3 | Massey's / Starfactory | Testing | Parts spotted Aug 27th. Moved to Massey's Sep 20th. Tested to failure Jan 20th. |
| B19 | Massey's Test Site | Cryo Testing | November 25th: LOX tank stacking commenced. December 23rd: The booster is now fully stacked. February 1st: Rolled out to Massey's Test Site for its Pressure and Cryo + Thrust Puck Testing. |
| B20-B22 | Starfactory | Assorted sections under construction | August 12th: B19 AFT #6 spotted. Booster Status as of November 16th: https://x.com/CyberguruG8073/status/1990124100317049319. November 21st: After B18's failure, Mark Federschmidt (one of the members of the Starship booster team) made some tweets which mentioned B19 to B22 being under construction (meaning sections inside the Starfactory). |
Resources
- LabPadre Channel | NASASpaceFlight.com Channel
- NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread
- NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation
- SpaceX: Website Starship page | Starship Users Guide (2020, PDF)
- FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
- FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
- NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
- Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
- Production Progress Infographics by @RingWatchers
- Raptor Tracker by @SpaceRhin0
- Acronym definitions by Decronym
- Tim Dodd: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
- Tim Dodd: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates | Launch Tower | Merlin Engine | Raptor Engine
- Tim Dodd 2024 Elon Musk Interviews: Starfactory tour | Pad tour and post-IFT-4 interview
- Tim Dodd 2025 pre-Flight-9 Elon interview
2026-02-18: