In flight hardware tests of SpaceX's fully reusable superheavy-lift vehicle
This article is about the test flights of Starship upper stage prototypes. For a complete list of Starship launches, see List of Starship launches.
SpaceX conducted eleven flight tests of prototype rockets for the Starship development program from 2019 to 2021. These tests only included prototypes of the ship, or upper stage, rather than the full two-stage Starship launch vehicle. The scope of these tests ranged from short tethered engine firings[1] to launches to approximately 10 km with landing attempts.[2]
SpaceX began testing with the test article Starhopper in 2019, including two short hops with the article tethered to the ground.[1]Starhopper and two early ship prototypes, SN5 and SN6, then completed untethered flights.[3][4][5] Five ships, beginning with SN8, performed flights to approximately 12.5 km (SN8 only) or 10 km.[6][7] On descent, the ships flipped into a "belly flop" maneuver, falling in the horizontal position with aerodynamic control from the four body flaps. This was to simulate the descent after atmospheric reentry on an orbital mission.[8] After falling to an altitude of about 500 m, the engines relit and flipped the ships vertical for landing on a concrete pad, with varying degrees of success.[9]
The first firing of Starhopper and the first tethered hop (according to Musk[10][11]). The burn was a few seconds in duration and the vehicle was tethered to the ground. The vehicle may have lifted off the ground, but only to a very small height, and it was not possible to see the lift off in public video recordings of the test.[11][12]
First high-altitude flight test. Vehicle successfully launched, ascended, performed the skydive descent maneuver, relit the engines fueled from header tanks, and steered to the landing pad.[27][28] The flip maneuver from horizontal descent to vertical was successful, but a sudden pressure loss in the methane header tank caused by the flip maneuver reduced fuel supply and thrust, resulting in a hard landing and explosion.[27]
SN10 launched and ascended nominally, but experienced a hard landing with a slight lean after the landing, and a fire developed near the base of the rocket.[40] Eight minutes after landing, SN10 exploded,[41] potentially due to helium ingestion from the fuel header tank.[38]
SN11 had engine issues during ascent (according to Elon Musk).[44] Vehicle lost before T+6:00.[45][46] Musk stated that a "relatively small" methane leak caused a fire on one of the Raptor engines during ascent, causing the engine to experience a hard start when relit.[47]
SN15 was a new iteration of prototype Starship with many upgrades over previous vehicles.[50] SN15 achieved a soft landing, with a small fire starting near the base shortly after landing. The post-flight fire was out within 20 minutes, and SN15 was retired by the end of the month.[51][52] It was later scrapped in July 2023.[53]
^Despite making an intact landing and beginning the detanking procedures, the vehicle suffered an explosion several minutes later destroying the vehicle in the process. SpaceX called it a successful landing but later acknowledged a problem with lower-than-expected engine thrust causing a hard landing[38] exceeding maximum leg loads[39] and the vehicle exploded.[35]