Flight 11 was the final launch of the Block 2 variant of Starship. That mission was promising, and both the Booster and Starship survived and splashed down successfully to their respective targets.
Following this mission, SpaceX won’t be launching Starship for a hot minute, taking some time to make some significant changes to both their facilities at Starbase and the launch vehicles.
Changes to Starship
With Block 2 complete, the next Starship flight will debut Block 3. Block 3 is planned to have new tile arrangements, as well as hardware to support refueling operations in low Earth orbit. Block 3 will also use Raptor 3 engines for the first time, which will increase performance significantly during future missions.
Booster’s in Block 3 will only have 3 grid fins, instead of the previously used design with 4. The new design will also serve as catch points for booster landings.
What’s New at Starbase?
Starbase has changed a lot over the past couple of years. New production facilities, employee housing, and other infrastructure continues to grow rapidly. Brownsville and South Padre Island have also banked on the tourism of their neighbor, promoting visiting to witness SpaceX’s progress.
Perhaps the most noteworthy addition is Orbital Launch Pad 2 (OLP-2). Construction began in early 2024, and the pad will support flight 12’s launch. The pad will have some features not present in OLP-1, including a flame trench and a new water-cooled steel plate to help protect the orbital launch mount (OLM) during launch.
Because of improvements in Block 2, OLP-2 is the only Starbase pad capable of supporting a Starship catch, which SpaceX hopes to test as soon as flight 13. OLP-1 is currently being reconfigured as well to support changes that will support the Block 3 variant. Flights 12 and 13 are speculated to launch from OLP-2 while OLP-1 updates are finalized.
What Does All This Mean For Florida?
Work continues at LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for Starship to launch from Florida. In late summer, SpaceX submitted requests for future support of 44 Starship launches and landings from Florida. Potential long-term closures of Playalinda Beach are a part of that deal. The public has expressed mixed reviews about Starship’s potential impacts to Brevard County. Several town halls have been held for the public to ask questions and voice concerns.
Possible Launch Schedule
Work is expected to be completed on both Block 3 and OLP-2 by January or February and should support a launch opportunity around that time. Flight 12 will more than likely follow a similar profile of flight 11.
Flight 13 is tentatively scheduled to be the first mission to conduct a catch of the Starship vehicle. It should also be the first mission to reach orbit. This could obviously be delayed if flight 12 isn’t successful. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk previously posted on X that anywhere between flights 13 and 15 is possible for the inaugural Starship catch attempt. It is not known when SpaceX will catch a Booster again, but should also be around this time.
It is still not clear when Starship will launch from Florida. Many speculate that it could be soon after a successful Starship catch.
