Starbase Archive
Older Starbase coverage from February 2026 to May 2026. Page 3 of 4. Headlines link to the outlet that reported them.
SpaceX has set a date for the long-delayed first launch of its next-generation Starship vehicle, which is critical to the company’s ambitions as well as NASA’s lunar plans.
Starship is the fully reusable rocket SpaceX builds and flies at Starbase: the Super Heavy booster plus the Starship upper stage, stacked about 400 feet tall.
SpaceX has released a detailed list of changes for Starship Version 3, the next iteration of its fully reusable super-heavy-lift vehicle. Scheduled for its maiden flight as early as May 19 from...
Starship is the fully reusable rocket SpaceX builds and flies at Starbase: the Super Heavy booster plus the Starship upper stage, stacked about 400 feet tall.
The mission will test a host of changes made to both the launch vehicle and the launch infrastructure as SpaceX prepares to support the Artemis 3 mission in 2027.
Starbase has two launch pads. The newer one was built with a flame trench and water deluge after the first flight tore up the original mount.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), SpaceX announced on Tuesday that its twelfth Starship test flight is expected to launch as soon as next week. The anticipated launch window is scheduled to open at...
Starship is the fully reusable rocket SpaceX builds and flies at Starbase: the Super Heavy booster plus the Starship upper stage, stacked about 400 feet tall.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Here at Avid Space and Lab Padre, we’re committed to bringing you great footage from Starbase, but it’s a duty that’s not without its perils. The sheer power of the...
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Checking things out over at the production facility, Booster 20 is nearing closeout on its primary structures, with the final sections of the propellant tanks and...
SpaceX numbers each airframe rather than each flight, so a headline about Ship 40 or Booster 21 is about one specific vehicle, not the mission number.
As SpaceX prepares for the first flight of version 3 of Starship, the company is facing a new legal challenge from local residents who claim launches damage their homes.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Over at pad two, the final ground-side checks are underway, with crews verifying the readiness of the tower’s propellant handling systems and the launch pad’s...
Homeowners in Port Isabel, South Padre Island, and Laguna Vista allege repeated rocket launches and landings caused structural damage to their properties.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Starting this week with our fabrication updates, in the early hours of Monday morning, Ship 41’s nose cone emerged from Star Factory. A little less than two hours...
Star Factory is the big production building at Starbase where Starship and Super Heavy sections are actually welded and stacked.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Late Friday afternoon, we were given a rare treat as SpaceX posted a long-form video hyping the upcoming 12th integrated flight test of the Starship program. The...
Flight 12 flew May 22, 2026 and graded partial: booster lost, ship splashdown.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Over at the Massey Outpost, Starship 39 continued its test campaign. The ship was loaded with propellants and performed what appeared to be a spin prime test...
Massey's is the test site a few miles inland from the launch pads, where SpaceX pressure-tests and static-fires hardware before it goes anywhere near a flight.
A SpaceX-linked board is already in place as city leaders test a new model for growth, with key questions still unresolved.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), On Tuesday afternoon, Booster 20’s forward dome with an integrated hot staging section was brought out of the star factory and parked in the ring yard area. That...
Star Factory is the big production building at Starbase where Starship and Super Heavy sections are actually welded and stacked.
SpaceX completed a full duration of Starship V3 today clearing the path for Flight 12.
Flight 12 flew May 22, 2026 and graded partial: booster lost, ship splashdown. Ground testing at Starbase runs in a set order: cryogenic pressure tests first, then a static fire where the engines light while the vehicle stays clamped down.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), On Wednesday, SpaceX performed a 12th round of cryogenic testing on the Ship 39.1 test tank as they continue working to ensure the Block III ship designs will...
SpaceX numbers each airframe rather than each flight, so a headline about Ship 40 or Booster 21 is about one specific vehicle, not the mission number.
The company offers few details, with no filings, no disclosed assets, and no clear track record tied to the proposed fund.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), This week at Starbase saw continued production on Booster 20 with the booster’s liquid oxygen propellant tank for landing burns being brought into Mega Bay 1 for...
The bays at Starbase are the tall assembly buildings: boosters and ships get stacked and fitted out inside before rolling to the pad.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Testing at pad 2 continues with water deluge, methane plumbing, and full-speed chopstick tests taking place amid SpaceX’s continuing efforts to validate and make...
Starbase has two launch pads. The newer one was built with a flame trench and water deluge after the first flight tore up the original mount.
The announcement arrives after Flight 11 on October 13 of last year, which concluded a busy 2025 testing campaign. Since then, SpaceX has focused on ground testing, including cryoproofing of Ship 39...
Flight 11 flew October 13, 2025 and graded success: booster splashdown, ship splashdown. SpaceX numbers each airframe rather than each flight, so a headline about Ship 40 or Booster 21 is about one specific vehicle, not the mission number.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), On Monday morning, the B18.3 test tank was rolled out of Mega Bay 1 and parked in the ring yard area. Later that morning, we could see that the test arms had been...
The bays at Starbase are the tall assembly buildings: boosters and ships get stacked and fitted out inside before rolling to the pad.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), On Monday, the letters from the Gateway to Mars sign that used to adorn the launch complex wall before the construction of Pad 2 were brought back to the pad. Over...
Anything beyond Earth orbit is where Starship is actually aimed: the point of a fully reusable heavy-lift vehicle is cargo to the Moon and eventually Mars.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Starting off this week at the build site on Tuesday, a pan from Rovercam caught new steel framing on the exterior wall of Star Factory, likely for structural tie-ins...
Star Factory is the big production building at Starbase where Starship and Super Heavy sections are actually welded and stacked.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), This week, LabPadre saw an integrated Raptor 3 fire up for the first time. Was Booster 19’s first static fire a success? At Starbase, the latest test campaign for...
Raptor is the methane-fueled engine that powers both stages: 33 on the Super Heavy booster, six on the Starship upper stage.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Starting off with this week’s fabrication updates, on Monday morning, part of Booster 20’s transfer tube was spotted being moved into Mega Bay 2 for integration. The...
The bays at Starbase are the tall assembly buildings: boosters and ships get stacked and fitted out inside before rolling to the pad.
SpaceX is targeting April for the debut test launch of Starship V3 "Version 3"
As the process moves into the petition phase, debates intensify over access, jurisdiction, and future land use.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), It’s been an exciting week at Starbase as flight 12 testing ramps up. Even as SpaceX looks towards more long-term goals, both in Texas and Florida, flight 12 is...
Flight 12 flew May 22, 2026 and graded partial: booster lost, ship splashdown.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), As SpaceX pushes towards Flight 12, Ship 39 continues to be tested at Massey’s, and Booster 19 gets loaded with fuel on Pad 2. Now, let’s dig in and take a closer...
Massey's is the test site a few miles inland from the launch pads, where SpaceX pressure-tests and static-fires hardware before it goes anywhere near a flight.
The report noted that several technical milestones still need to be completed before Starship can serve as a crewed lunar lander.
NASA picked a version of Starship as the lander for Artemis, its program to put astronauts back on the Moon, which is part of why the Starbase test campaign draws so much attention.
SpaceX's Starbase city in Boca Chica, Texas is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
Boca Chica Beach is the public beach right next to the launch site, reached by State Highway 4, and it closes for launches and some tests.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public input on a proposed land exchange between SpaceX and the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Laguna Atascosa National...
Starbase is wedged between a state park and a national wildlife refuge, so SpaceX expanding its footprint there means land swaps and beach access fights, not just construction.
SpaceX is pushing back the first launch of the latest version of Starship even as NASA is asking it to accelerate work on a lunar lander version of the vehicle.
Anything beyond Earth orbit is where Starship is actually aimed: the point of a fully reusable heavy-lift vehicle is cargo to the Moon and eventually Mars.
The comment was posted on Musk’s official account on social media platform X.
Financial coverage of SpaceX matters here for one reason: launch and Starlink revenue is what pays for the Starship program being tested at Starbase.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Flight 12 of Starship is drawing closer with new milestones in ship and pad testing. Elon also posted Sunday morning that the first flight of a version 3 Starship...
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Diving in with this week’s fabrication work, SpaceX continues to make good progress on Ship 40. On Saturday, the next section of the rocket’s liquid oxygen tank was...
BOCA CHICA BEACH, TEXAS (ValleyCentral), For the first time in history at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, all nine Texas Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments on Thursday in two...
Boca Chica Beach is the public beach right next to the launch site, reached by State Highway 4, and it closes for launches and some tests.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), This week at Starbase, SpaceX continues its push towards Flight 12 and beyond, with Ship 39 finally poking its head out of Mega Bay 2. Over at the build site, a...
Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
The funds mark another step in the state’s ongoing beach restoration and resilience efforts along the Gulf Coast.
Financial coverage of SpaceX matters here for one reason: launch and Starlink revenue is what pays for the Starship program being tested at Starbase.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Wrapping up the rest of this week’s update with flight 12 on the horizon, SpaceX puts pad 2 through the paces as it looks to ensure that all systems are nominal...
Musk shared the update in a brief post on X, writing, “Starship flies again next month.”
The FAA’s environmental review covers up to 44 launches annually, along with 44 Super Heavy booster landings and 44 upper-stage landings.
Super Heavy is the first stage, the part that does the initial lift and then either splashes down offshore or flies back to be caught by the tower arms.
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral), Propositions passed by voters in McAllen were struck down in court, and the City Commission officially repealed the ordinances. Many McAllen officials opposed the...
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Steelworkers start on Gigabay’s 4th level, bringing it to new heights. Construction on Pad 1’s new launch mount has begun, and heavy testing and construction...
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), The city of Starbase plans to annex roughly 7,100 acres near Boca Chica, including parts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and part of a state...
Starbase is wedged between a state park and a national wildlife refuge, so SpaceX expanding its footprint there means land swaps and beach access fights, not just construction.
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral), Wrapping up the rest of this week’s update, while flight 12 is still being planned, flight 13 vehicles are already in the works, big highway upgrades are happening...
The city’s plan to add 7,133 acres has prompted pushback over potential impacts on public beach access and wildlife refuge land.
Starbase is wedged between a state park and a national wildlife refuge, so SpaceX expanding its footprint there means land swaps and beach access fights, not just construction.
Thousands of acres of wildlife refuge behind Boca Chica Beach and along the Rio Grande River in Cameron County are slated to be annexed by Texas’ newest city, Starbase.
Boca Chica Beach is the public beach right next to the launch site, reached by State Highway 4, and it closes for launches and some tests.
What began as a 1,200-acre annexation proposal in October has ballooned to more than 7,100 acres, raising new questions about how far Starbase intends to grow.