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SpaceX has not experienced much success with the Block 2 version of Starship since its introduction earlier this year.
What was intended to usher in a new era for the program, including a possible ship catch in 2025, has instead devolved into SpaceX repeatedly attempting to achieve the same objectives that were targeted across several consecutive flights. Ship 37 aims to break this streak during Flight 10, which is set to launch no earlier than August 24 at 6:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time.
Prelaunch Stream:
Launch Stream:
Block 2 Flights So Far
This journey started with Ship 33 and Booster 14 for Flight 7 on January 16, 2025. The full stack lifted off, and Booster 14 performed perfectly, becoming the second booster to be caught.
This would be the only bright spot in this mission, as shortly after the catch, SpaceX lost communication with Ship 33 as fires raged in its attic and engine section. This led to a highly energetic explosion of the ship and a diversion of many commercial flights due to the debris area over the Caribbean. The leaks that caused these fires were due to harmonic vibrations in the ship.
Booster 14 Landing Burn (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)
The second Block 2 ship to fly was Ship 34 paired with Booster 15. Flight 8 lifted off on March 6. This became a repeat of Flight 7, where the booster came back for catch, but the ship was again lost before Second Stage Engine Cutoff (SECO). Once again, the ship had fires in the engine bay, but these were a result of possible preloading issues with the Raptor engine mounts.
Preloading refers to the amount of torque applied to the mounting bolts for installation. This led to propellant leaking into the attic and engine bay and eventually caused a center raptor to explode, taking other engines with it. Ship 34 then spun out of control and exploded.
The most recent flight, Flight 9, was Ship 35 paired with Booster 14-2 as SpaceX attempts to reuse a booster. This flight had at least one positive outcome for the ship: Ship 35 made it past SECO but lost control during the coast phase because the methane tank pressurization line that enters the top of the forward dome failed at the diffuser. This caused a pressurization problem in the payload bay and in the methane tank.
Due to this issue, Ship 35 reentered in an uncontrolled manner and was lost without completing any primary objectives. Booster 14, however, completed a perfect ascent as a reused booster, but was lost during the highly experimental phase of flight that SpaceX was conducting on the glide back and landing burn.
Flight 9 in Flight (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)
Then there is Ship 36, which didn’t fly, but certainly made a name for itself. With being around 10 days away from flight and attempting to complete its six-engine static fire, it experienced an anomaly on June 18, which resulted in the loss of the ship on the Masseys static fire test stand.
The cause was a nitrogen Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) losing integrity and exploding; the resulting explosion ruptured the propellant header tank transfer lines and mixed the Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Methane (LCH4).
This then resulted in the ship completely unzipping and then exploding, resulting in the destruction of the ship, major damage to the Masseys Methane tank farm, the static fire stand, and its flame deflector. Masseys is still undergoing a redesign and repair.
Ship 36’s Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly During Static Fire testing at Masseys (Credit: D Wise for NSF)
Booster 16 and Ship 37
Booster 16 was static fire tested on June 6, when it was slated to fly with Ship 36. However, due to Ship 36’s anomaly, it had to wait to fly until Ship 37 was ready.
Nothing has really changed with the booster during that time, at least externally, compared to the last few boosters. The only difference is two sets of external stringers at the top of the chines, at different levels. It is unknown why SpaceX installed these on the booster, since it’s the only booster that sports them.
Booster 16’s second companion, Ship 37, had an interesting testing journey. The cryogenic proof tests went nominal at Masseys; however, the engine testing was interesting to say the least. With the anomaly of Ship 36 and damage to Masseys, SpaceX had no way to static fire ships until everything was fixed.
So, instead of waiting, and in typical SpaceX fashion, teams fabricated a makeshift stand to integrate with Pad 1 (A)’s launch mount.
Booster 16 on Pad 1 (A) for Launch (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)
This setup included a modified ship transport stand along with a makeshift ship umbilical that tapped into the booster quick disconnect lines. This was used to static fire the ship twice: a single-engine static fire and a six-engine static fire. However, crews had to test Ship 37 again with a spin prime due to swapping out a Raptor Vacuum engine.
As for changes, SpaceX has implemented upgrades to prevent the issues that occurred on Ship 35 and Ship 36. These include strengthening the diffuser at the top of the methane tank, which spreads the pressurization gas, as well as improving procedures regarding the handling and loading of COPVs. Externally, there are no changes of note.
Ship 37 on Pad 1 (A) for Static Fire Testing (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)
Mission Objectives, Timeline, and Launch Windows
The mission objectives for Ship 37 are the same as those of the last three ships that have flown. Get through ascent, have a controlled coast phase, perform an in-space burn, attempt to deploy dummy Starlinks, and have a controlled reentry. As part of the reentry testing, SpaceX is once again trying to test metallic tiles, an actively cooled tile, and tiles missing in multiple locations to stress test the ship.
SpaceX has not been able to get any controlled reentry data on Block 2 through three flights, so teams are hoping that the fourth time is the charm.
Timeline-wise, propellant loading of the ship is now 1 minute and 23 seconds longer; this could be because of the change to COPV loading. The rest of the timeline before launch remains unchanged. As for post-launch, most times are the same with a one-second variation on some events.
Flight 10 Prop load Timeline (Credit: SpaceX)
The only significant difference is that Booster 16 will have a boost back burn that is 10 seconds longer compared to Flight 9. This duration is about the same as with Booster 13 when it completed its offshore divert during Flight 6. As for trajectory, this will once again be a suborbital ballistic trajectory with Ship 37 set to splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Starship Flight 10 is currently set for no earlier than Aug 24 at 6:30 pm Central Daylight Time with a one-hour launch window. Cameron County has backup beach closures that run from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm on Aug 25 and 26, and most of the notices have opportunities going into September.
A lot is riding on this launch as SpaceX could use a win with ship testing before all of the Block 2 vehicles are flown. There is only one more opportunity to fly a Block 2 ship with Ship 38 on Flight 11, before SpaceX transitions to Block 3.
Feature Image: Ship 37 prepares to be stacked with Booster 16, via Ceaser G for NSF.
