Jay Peters
Who needs a Starship launch when you can pre-order a Starship torch?
You’ll just need to put down $175 and cross your fingers the torch will actually arrive in Q3 2023. Then it can sit right next to your Boring Company flamethrower.
Space Archive
Archives for April 2023
Richard Lawler
No word yet on a time for another attempt.
But according to Elon Musk, another try for the Starship launch will happen in “a few days.”
Richard Lawler
Starship launch scrubbed.
Elon Musk tweeted that the issue stopping SpaceX’s first Starship orbital test flight is a frozen pressurant valve.
As the SpaceX livestream ended, we were told that it would take about 48 hours to recycle before making another attempt, so we’ll stand down for a couple of days, at least.
Richard Lawler
Starship launch canceled, now a “wet dress rehearsal.”
SpaceX’s first attempt at launching Starship to orbital velocity won’t happen today after a pressurization issue with the first stage. According to SpaceX’s livestream, today’s proceedings are now a “wet dress rehearsal” with the countdown ending at T-10 seconds.
Richard Lawler
Reliving some Starship hits and near-misses.
On the SpaceX livestream for today’s test flight, as the countdown to 9:20AM ET continues, they referenced earlier sub-orbital test flights.
That included the SN8 (below) high-altitude test that ended explosively and drew some attention from the FAA for violating SpaceX’s license before everything was eventually resolved.
Richard Lawler
An alternate angle on Starship.
Besides the official SpaceX livestream, you can also stay tuned to NASASpaceflight on YouTube. They’re some of those SpaceX fans who stop by to keep an eye on each launch and have their own feed live from near the Texas pad.
Richard Lawler
The Starship test flight livestream has begun.
The YouTube stream is live for “the world’s most powerful launch vehicle.”
The countdown now says we’re fewer than 40 minutes out from the launch, which is still scheduled to take place at 9:20AM ET. You can get all the watch details and the video feed right here, or stay tuned to our post for updates and the live video feed.
Nilay Patel
Some people have been waiting for Starship to launch for a very long time.
A little under an hour to go before the first Starship launch, which means you have enough time to watch our video (or read our story) about the small community of people who’ve uprooted their lives to live near Starbase in Texas. A huge day for them!
Thomas Ricker
Starship launch now targeting 9:20AM ET.
Scheduled liftoff is now: New York: 9:20AM / San Francisco: 6:20AM / London: 2:20PM / Berlin: 3:20PM / Moscow: 4:20PM / New Delhi: 6:50PM / Beijing: 9:20PM / Tokyo: 10:20PM / Melbourne: 11:20PM
Thomas Ricker
Musk sets expectations low for Starship launch.
The SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter CEO speaking live on Twitter Spaces Sunday night:
“If we get far enough away from the launchpad before something goes wrong then I think I would consider that to be a success. Just don’t blow up the launchpad... The chances of us triggering an abort and having to postpone the launch are high.”
Richard Lawler
SpaceX’s first Starship test flight is targeting 9AM ET for liftoff.
Your Monday morning plans could include a groundbreaking rocket launch — SpaceX and Elon Musk are ready to attempt a first integrated Starship launch that’s scheduled to take place around 9AM ET.
The countdown’s first check-in should come two hours prior to liftoff, so keep an eye on our stream for any updates to the plans.
Richard Lawler
SpaceX updates its Mars mission demo reel.
It’s been a few years since Elon Musk and SpaceX showed off early designs of Starship and proclaimed it would enable humans to travel to Mars.
You should go back and watch that 2016 reveal, then check out this five-minute CG video SpaceX just posted, again showing the Starship launching, refueling, and reaching an outpost on Mars. The video’s still all renderings and possibilities, but with an orbital flight test for Starship possibly around the corner, it feels a little different.
