Starbase – Spaceflight Now

Launch preview: SpaceX to launch Starship Flight 8 following Monday scrub

March 3, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The eighth launch of SpaceX’s fully integrated Starship rocket will largely repeat the mission objectives of the previous flight, which saw the breakup of the Ship upper stage of the Turks and Caicos Islands. SpaceX is currently targeting Thursday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 p.m. EST, 2330 UTC).

SpaceX tentatively targets March 14 for third Starship flight

March 7, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX published a livestream for the mission, suggesting it could launch its more than 400-foot-tall rocket by mid-March. There are still a number of outstanding items before that could happen, including the Federal Aviation Administration issuing a launch license.

SpaceX launches largest rocket ever built, but test flight ends in explosion

April 20, 2023 Stephen Clark

After years of anticipation, SpaceX launched the first test flight of its full-scale Starship rocket Thursday from South Texas, but the mission ended four minutes later as the vehicle veered out of control and self-destructed over the Gulf of Mexico following multiple engine failures.

Live coverage: SpaceX’s Starship rocket explodes on test flight from Texas

April 20, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launched the first full-scale Starship and Super Heavy rocket from South Texas at 8:33 a.m. CDT (9:33 a.m. EDT; 1333 UTC Thursday). The nearly 40-story-tall rocket, the largest ever built, lifted off from the Starbase launch complex and flew downrange before veering out of control and exploding about four minutes into the flight.

Video from Starbase: SpaceX prepares for second Starship launch attempt

April 19, 2023 Stephen Clark

Spaceflight Now’s Stephen Clark reports from Starbase in South Texas as SpaceX prepares the largest rocket in history for a second launch attempt after calling off a launch attempt Monday due to a valve problem.

Elon Musk’s success criteria for Starship test flight: “Don’t blow up the launch pad”

April 19, 2023 Stephen Clark

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, did his best to set low expectations heading into the first test flight of the gargantuan Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket this week. “Just don’t blow up the launch pad,” Musk said.

SpaceX’s Starship test flight delayed until Thursday after valve problem

April 17, 2023 Stephen Clark

SpaceX scrubbed the first test launch of its huge new rocket Monday due to a frozen valve in the pressurization system on the 33-engine Super Heavy booster, delaying the widely-anticipated flight from South Texas until at least Thursday.

How SpaceX’s Starship stacks up to other rockets

April 17, 2023 Clive Simpson

SpaceX Starship is set to propel itself into the record books today on its maiden flight, becoming the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever launched by humankind into space, topping a role call of famous and history-making heavy-lift launch vehicles including the mighty Saturn 5 that first took humans to the moon.

Live coverage: SpaceX scrubs launch attempt for Starship test flight

April 17, 2023 Spaceflight Now

SpaceX called off a launch attempt in Texas Monday for the Super Heavy booster and Starship launch vehicle, blaming a bad valve on the first stage. The next launch attempt for the world’s largest rocket is scheduled for Thursday, depending on weather and a fix for the valve problem.

Video: Sights and sounds from Starbase on eve of Starship launch attempt

April 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

We captured the sights and sounds of SpaceX’s Starbase launch complex in Texas on the eve of the first launch attempt for the fully-stacked Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket on a test flight aiming for near orbital velocity.