The V1 and V2 era of Starship has concluded after a largely successful 2.5-year run, defined by iterative development through progress, setbacks, and triumphs.
In this timeframe, SpaceX has:
- Demonstrated ten straight reliable ascents of history’s most powerful rocket booster, Super Heavy, frequently with 33/33 Raptor engines but also proving reliable engine-out capability
- Proven hot-staging as a viable technique for a reusable vehicle of this size
- Returned three boosters to Starbase to be caught by the same tower they launched from
- Re-flown two of those boosters
- Demonstrated Raptor re-lights in space and deployment of Starlink satellite simulators
- Completed five soft splashdowns of the Starship upper stage, with four precisely on target
The above would not be possible without the iterative development mindset that makes SpaceX so special. While that development is not over, the future will see a matured Starship design whose reliability and robustness is critical to begin flying operational missions.
In the coming months and into 2026, SpaceX will aim to:
- Complete Pad 2 at Starbase
- Finish builds of the first Starship V3 hardware, which includes the upgraded Super Heavy booster and upper stage Starship
- Demonstrate in-space propellant transfer as to refill Starship on-orbit, a critical feature of the overall infrastructure
- Deploy payloads from Starship, including Starlink satellites
- Return Starship to Starbase for catch by the tower just like Super Heavy
- Re-fly Starship, demonstrating reusability of its heat shield
- Begin flying missions from Florida
The most exciting time to be alive is now.
Turn your profile picture into a Halloween-style spooky video using this Grok Imagine prompt:
"Add a realistic Halloween effect, a witch hat, and glowing Halloween pumpkins in the background"
Another incident of the torture of a farmer that farm murder denialists will ignore: Attackers chained a 70-year-old female farmer and poured boiling water over her. https://t.co/BquZgyc2i4
Rhiannon Whyte was stabbed 23 times with a screwdriver after her shift at a hotel.
The asylum seeker left her bleeding to death.
Another European woman dead at the hands of politicians who refuse to secure our borders and protect our people.
BREAKING: ‘Teens’ who jumped Edward “Big Balls” Coristine avoid jail after DC judge sentences them to probation
Coristine was left with a concussion and a broken nose after he and a female friend were jumped by a group of 10 teens
The 15-year-old boy received 12 months of probation and was placed under strict house arrest
The 15-year-old girl was sentenced to nine months of probation and remanded to a local youth shelter
Their accomplices in the attempted carjacking and assault remain at large
This was a racist verdict by a racist judge.
The simple test to apply is if the races has been reversed, the White kids would be in prison.
Equal justice for all!
NBC livestreamed mid-flight using Starlink on a United Airlines flight.
It's amazing we can now livestream high-quality video with low latency on a plane, all thanks to reusable rockets. 😅