SpaceX Starship

On this page: News Update! | Starbase | Raptor Engines | Hot Staging | Thermal Protection | Hot Staging | Environmental Assessment | Starship Under Development: Version 2 | Version1 | Starship Test Flights | Upper Stage Tests | Early Starship Prototypes |

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Starbase in South Texas

Boca Chica, Wow!

Boca Chica started out as a vacation spot for those who could afford second homes. A small village located near the mouth of the Rio Grande, also known as Rio Bravo de Norte. It is a swampy area and also sandy because it is part of the river's delta. Most of the water that feeds into the sea at this location is provided by the tributary, Rio Conchos. In the dry months, the flow from the river may stop completely.

SpaceX moved into Boca Chica in 2014, and began building its rocket manufacturing area, often called the build area, and its launch site. Today a towering high bay structure in the build area stands around 280 ft. (85 meters) tall. It was built to hold giant Starships and tall rocket boosters. Starship is 160-feet tall and 30m in diameter, the booster is somewhat smaller in diameter, but it stands 230-feet tall. Together they stand almost 400-feet tall. That's 120 meters in metric! The build site also includes a midbay that is 150-feet or 45m high. There is also a low bay building. The SpaceX complex has grown steadily over the last seven years. Other structures include long buildings called, tents, that allow SpaceX to build nose cones, the stackable rings that make up sections of Starship and Falcon Heavy, and more. Near the build area, there is a scrap yard, a fuel production site and other buildings.

North of the build site, SpaceX installed two 9 m (30 ft.) S-band tracking station antennas at the site in 2016 to 2017. These antennas were formerly used to track the Space Shuttle during launch and landing. SpaceX acquired the antennas from NASA and they had to be "certified" by NASA before they could be put into operation. In 2018, they became operational for tracking crewed Dragon missions. Today this area is called the SpaceX South Texas Tracking Station.

Early tests of Starship were conducted on a simple launch pad, with large cranes that moved the vessels into position for the launch, but Falcon Heavy and Starship require a more robust system. SpaceX has built an orbital launch mount (OLM) that is supported by the launch and integration tower, affectionately called "Mechazilla". Mechazilla is 469 feet tall or 143m, it has two 36-meter long arms made of tubular steel beams. These arms, called "Chopsticks", move up and down along a rail track on the tower. There are 4 giant electric motors that allow the arms to move. The arms can move toward each other, a motion that is controlled by hydraulic cylinders. The plan is for Mechazilla to catch the returning booster after it has performed its launch service and returns to land.

The booster is fueled through a quick disconnect system on the OLM and the Starship is fueled through a quick disconnect arm that is installed on the integration tower. Ground Support Equipment (GSE) at the Orbital Launch Site (OLS) includes 90-foot tall tanks holding liquid methane and liquid oxygen, the propellants used by Starship and Super Heavy. The tanks were made on-site by SpaceX and have the diameter of the Starship. There are eight tanks, counting one tank that holds water. These are protected by mounds of dirt that surround the GSE separating them from the orbital launch area.

Since the first integrate flight test left a significant amount of damage at the orbital launch site, SpaceX has been busy repairing the damages and beefing up the protection for the ground support equipment and water collection. SpaceX has successfully installed a complex water deluge system that will prevent the kind of damage that occurred during the first test. This system includes water-fed steel plates that will cool the engines and avoid injury to the launch mount while the Falcon Super Heavy is firing. Three large water tanks feed the water into the steel-plate system during launch. The system was tested on August 6, 2023 and SpaceX released a video of the test, showing off the water deluge system. Raptors fired for 2.74 seconds and 4 engines shut down during the test.

SpaceX has also decided to convert the Starship to include "hot-fire" system, igniting the Starship stage before the booster ceases to fire near the end of the mission. This method has been used previously to launch other space missions.

For more information, check out Astra's Starship page.

Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, announced plans to incorporate a new city in the area of Boca Chica, Texas, in March of 2021. Although no such city has yet been chartered, the area near Boca Chica and South Padre island has already been dubbed, "Starbase" by Elon Musk and SpaceX fans. Starbase is actually 2 separate locations, with Starship and Falcon Heavy Boosters being manufactured in one area and launch pads with support equipment in another.

The creation of the South Texas Tracking Station, the build site, and the orbital launch site two miles up the road has spurred growth in the surrounding area. The closest city is Brownsville, TX, a small city with around 100 thousand inhabitants. It is the location of a USA-Mexico border crossing. Across the border is the city of Matamoros, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The greater metropolitan area of these two cities is over 1.3 million. But the SpaceX facility is 20 miles away from Brownsville, down country roads.

There are 3 good reasons why SpaceX decided to build their spaceport in the remote area of Boca Chica. They are location, location, location!

Because of the latitude 25.6 degrees N, launches from Starbase are close to the equator and the site is located in the continental United States of America. It is a remote location and just off the Atlantic ocean so that launches from Starbase do not compromise populated areas.

There are many more details of SpaceX, Starbase, and the future Starship out there on the web. Check out the SpaceX Information Resource Links at Astra's Stargate for resource pages and to find a lot more information on SpaceX and rockets. We follow the YouTube channels of Everyday Astronaut, Marcus House, Scott Manley, and others for SpaceX and space exploration for updates and information.

Elon Musk is working toward his desire to launch humans to Mars. (Himself included, of course!) SpaceX has grown a whole new rocket booster and second stage in preparation for lunar landing and then on to Mars.

SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy

Falcon Super Heavy is the booster that is intended to take the SpaceX Starship to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This behemoth is the most powerful rocket on Earth today, although it still must prove its strength. On April 20, 2023, the Falcon SuperHeavy Booster #7 was launched, carrying the Starship on the first integrated flight test. Although the SuperHeavy showed what it could do, the upper stage, Starship SN24 was not able to separate successfully. Repeated flights have helped to push the development of Starship forward using rapid reiteration.

Thermal Protection System

Starship uses ~18,000 hexagonal heat shield tiles to protect it during re-entry called the "Thermal Protection System" or TPS. This system must work flawlessly. There are hundreds of unique tile shapes and sizes that cover the belly of the vehicle, protecting Starship from the heat of re-entry. In an attempt to make the tiles easier to service, most of them are the same shape. They are about 12-inches across and have a hexagonal shape, fitting together like a honeycomb. Tiles use mechanical pins that allows them to move a bit without "chipping." Some areas of Starship also use adhesive, but this is used as minimally as possible. The nose cone is a bit more difficult to cover and there are flap hinges that need more attention.

After Starship flight tests, SpaceX decided to add a white thermal blanket beneath all of the pinned tiles. This blanket, sometimes called, "felt", fills the gaps between the tiles. This can protect the steel from the heating in the small gaps between tiles. The TPS is still undergoing testing and there may be changes to improve the system in the future.

2024 Environmental Assessment

In July 2024, the FAA released the full environmental assessment for increasing the number of launches approved for SpaceX prototype testing entitled, Draft Tiered Environmental Assessment for SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy Vehicle Increased Cadence at the SpaceX Boca Chica Launch Site in Cameron County, Texas. The environmental impacts include air quality, wildlife, climate, hazardous materials, land use, natural resources, noise, social impacts, water resources, etc. The assessment includes testing, take offs and landings.

There are two interesting items in the assessment that sparked our interest here at Astra's. On the included map of the launch site at Boca Chica, an air separation unit is included on northwest corner. (pp.8) This unit would allow SpaceX to extract oxygen and nitrogen from the air. Secondly, it is mentioned that the Brownsville Public Utilities Board is discussing the installation of a public water line from Brownsville to Boca Chica that will help remove truck traffic on the main highway. (pp.9)

This report outlines the amount of time allotted to static fires, number of launches (with only 1 night launch allowed), SuperHeavy and Starship landings, access restrictions, jettisoning the hot-stage ring, and ocean landing. Importantly, landing off the coast of Australia will include a landing platform. This will enable SpaceX to recover the Starship and make further studies of the testing. Starship will be transported in a horizontal position on an ocean platform that will require a port in Australia. Horizontal transport of Starship and even the SuperHeavy booster would be a plus. It would require a large barge to haul Starship back to the United States.

+ + Access the full text of the 143-page Environment assessment.

Starships under Development

Starship Version 2

Announced by Elon Musk in April 2024, a second version of Starship is being developed for testing. Also referred to as Starship Block2, or simply Starship 2,the specifications given for Starship version 2 in the comparison chart below. Some changes include a different forward flap design, a 25% increase in propellant capacity, a new interstage ring integrated on the SuperHeavy booster, and more thrust. The vehicle will be 10 ft. or 3.1 m taller than the previous V.1 with a payload capacity of at least 100 tons to orbit if reused. The engines to be used will be Raptor 3.

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Starting with Starship S33, the following changes are mentioned in the SpaceX web release of Starship's Seventh Flight Test page listed below. The final Starship Block2 is expected to utilize the Raptor 3 engine that is still in development. The changes here have been made to S33 due to fly on Integrated Flight Test-7.

The forward flaps were redesigned and positioned forward on the nosecone. By moving them 20 degrees, they are further away from the heatshield. They are smaller and lighter, decreasing mass. The new placement reduces drag and increases the volume of the payload bay. The flaps can be better stowed against the vehicle during re-entry. The hinges have been made stronger as well. The heat tiles are smaller, better fitted to the vessel.

The payload bay area is smaller, because it now uses one motor instead of two to deploy Starlink satellites. The dome of the methane tank was redesigned, and it takes up more room than it did before.

One additional ring added to the Starship making it 1.8 m taller that helps to bring the propellent load from 1200 metric tons to 1500 metric tons, while the size of the methane and oxygen tanks both were increased. Redesigns to the propulsion system include, vacuum jacketing of feedlines, a new fuel feedline system from methane tank to the vacuum Raptors, and improved propulsion avionics modules. Starship's avionics have been redesigned adding additional capabilities and redundancies. There is a more powerful flight computer, integrated antennas that combine Starlink, Global Navigation Satellite System, and backup RF communication functions into each unit. SpaceX redesigned navigation and star tracking sensors. Additional engineering cameras were addded so that the system now contains over 30 cameras.

The chart compares the Starship prototype tested on ITF-3 using Starship SN8 and SuperHeavy Booster #10 to the expected Starship Version 2 (starting with S33) and Starship Version 3.

Starship's Seventh Flight Test

#ImaRocketFan - Astra

Starship Version 1

After Starship's second integrated flight, Elon Musk shared on "X" that SpaceX is planning to start building Version 2 of Starship. In his post he showed the last of the Version 1 Starships on site at Boca Chica. These ships are "V1": Starships SN26, SN28, SN29, SN30, SN31 and SN32. The second version of Starship (upper stage) should carry more propellant, have less dry mass, and increased reliability. The new version may have nine Raptor engines instead of six. Version 2 will no doubt include improvements made by SpaceX using data collected from flights of the V1 vessels.

Testing of Upper-stage Starship Prototypes

Find our reviews of the upperstage prototype tests available at Astra's Stargate by clicking on the link below. Each flight is described in detail with images and links to resources.

SN15 | SN10 - SN11 | SN9 | SN8

Starhopper | SN1 - 4 | SN5 | SN6+