Starbase activities (2025-05-23):
- May 21st cryo delivery tally. (ViX)
- May 22nd addenda: Pad B chopsticks testing timelapse. (NSF)
- Timelapse of all Pad B chopsticks testing May 16th through 22nd. (ViX)
- Launch site: Overnight, the chopsticks testing bags were swung to one side and lowered to the ground. Test jig has not been removed. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
- Some of the water bags depart from the launch site. (ViX)
- Pad A chopsticks are raised and perform a few lateral movements. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
- Cryo deliveries continue. (RoughRidersShow)
- Build site: S35 moves from Massey's to Megabay 2. (NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, LabPadre, ViX, Starship Gazer leeward, Starship Gazer windward, Starship Gazer side view)
- S35 is transferred from the static fire stand to the transport stand. (ViX)
- Tag lines are attached to the skeletal remains of the Highbay. (ViX, Golden)
- Starlink simulators move from Starfactory to Megabay 2. (ViX)
- Ship pez door opens. (NSF)
- Cnunez posts a May 21st photo of S37 nosecone in Megabay 2.
- Other: RGV Aerial post a comparison between 2020 October and 2025 May.
- 1-hour road delay is posted for between May 24th between 22:00 and May 25 08:00 for transport from factory to pad. (B14 rollout?)
- 1-hour road delay is posted for between May 25th between 21:00 and May 26 08:00 for transport from factory to pad. (S35 rollout?)
Flight 9:
- Launch webpage is posted. (SpaceX (archive))
- Confirmation of no tower catch for B14. Instead, the booster will attempt a more aggressive reentry profile, and test engine-out capability for the landing burn prior to splashdown.
- Ship objectives include deployment of 8 Starlink simulators, an in-space Raptor relight, and testing of Ship ver2 heatshield and flap design on reentry.
- "Following stage separation, the booster will flip in a controlled direction before initiating its boostback burn. This will be achieved by blocking several of the vents on the vehicle’s hotstage adapter, causing the thrust from Starship’s engines to push the booster in a known direction. Previous booster flips went in a randomized direction based on a directional push from small differences in thrust from Starship’s upper stage engines at ignition." Diagram by Killip.
- Thread from Shana Diez (Director of Starship Engineering). (Tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3)
- 11-hour road closures are posted for May 27th, 28th, and 29th for flight activity. (NSF 1, NSF 2)
Highlights from SpaceX update (archive): FLY. LEARN. REPEAT.
- "The most probable root cause for the loss of Starship was identified as a hardware failure in one of the upper stage’s center Raptor engines that resulted in inadvertent propellant mixing and ignition." This contradicts the on-stream graphic. (Hansen 1, Hansen 2)
- "To address the issue on upcoming flights, engines on the Starship’s upper stage will receive additional preload on key joints, a new nitrogen purge system, and improvements to the propellant drain system."
- "While the failure manifested at a similar point in the flight timeline as Starship’s seventh flight test, it is worth noting that the failures are distinctly different. The mitigations put in place after Starship’s seventh flight test to address harmonic response and flammability of the ship’s attic section worked as designed prior to the failure on Flight 8."
Me too.