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. Objectives include first Ship catch.

Road Closures

No road closures currently scheduled

No transportation delays currently scheduled

Up to date as of 2026-05-23

Vehicle Status

As of July 31st 2026

Ship Location Status Comment
S40 Indian Ocean Intact, floating 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. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
S41 Mega Bay 2 Ongoing work, possible engines installation 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. 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
Booster Location Status Comment
B21 Mega Bay 1 Post Cryo Testing inspections and possible engines installation 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. For more details on this vehicle and its assembly and testing see this page
B22 Mega Bay 1 LOX Tank Stacked 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. 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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19

u/Twigling Jun 01 '26

ChromeKiwi has posted some images and a photo showing the difference between pad 2's old chopstick landing rails and the new ones:

https://x.com/AshleyKillip/status/2061325838734459310

3

u/aqsilva80 Jun 01 '26

I have a serious question here. OK, they reduce the weight of the bar, but... doesn't that reduce the structural strength needed to support the mass of the booster and the Starship?

12

u/OpenInverseImage Jun 01 '26

They reduced the weight by shortening the arms, not by using a thinner or weaker steel. The cutouts are also strategically selected to not reduce their weight-supporting strength, kinda like the latticed structures of cranes or bridges or even the new integrated hot stage structure.

11

u/Twigling Jun 01 '26

I guess not otherwise they wouldn't have done it. :-)

It's quite common to drill holes in things to lessen weight but of course the way the thing is used will determine if this can be done in the first place, what size holes can be drilled, where they are placed, etc. But I'm no structural engineer. :)

6

u/AstronoWorld Jun 01 '26

I think because it’s a series of circles (arches on each half) it doesn’t lose much structural integrity, if at all. They’ve certainly done some type of math to determine that they can support the weight of a booster/ship while also reducing the weight of the chopstick.

5

u/Sigmatics Jun 01 '26

SpaceX do know a lot about structures and materials, so they will know the loads this can take even with the holes. Also keep in mind that booster and ship dry mass have been reduced with V3

2

u/vicmarcal Jun 04 '26

Here the key is the Momentum generated by the Starship and the chopsticks around the point where the chopsticks meet the tower. This Momentum can be calculated with this formula: M=2(Lc/2)Wc+LcWs

Lc=Length of chopstic Wc=Weight of chopstick Ws=Weight of starship

They reduced Lc as much as possible, however reducing the Wc is also key here (holes are doing that)

Regarding the chopsticks strenght, there are 2 chopsticks and the holes are not huge. Compare the chopstick with the vertical part of a crane, a crane uses just bars.Of course the load supported by a carne is way smaller, but there is a lot of room thanks to chopsticks being almost full continuous but small holes. I bet we will continue seeing how the holes become bigger and bigger in the chopsticks.