List of Starship launches

This article is about launches of the Starship vehicle. For the suborbital flight tests of the upper stage, see List of Starship upper stage flight tests.

Since April 2023, SpaceX Starship vehicles have flown 4 times, with 2 successes and 2 failures. SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. SpaceX aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's reusable launch system development program and plan to colonize Mars.

SpaceX Starship during IFT-2

There are currently three planned versions of Starship: Starship 1, Starship 2, and Starship 3. As of September 2024, vehicles of different versions are expected to be flightworthy when integrated. As of August 2024, only Starship 1 vehicles have flown.

Both Starship's first and second stages are reusable, and can be caught via the arms used to assemble the rocket at the pad.

Nomenclature

SpaceX calls the entire launch vehicle "Starship", which consists of the Super Heavy first-stage booster and the ambiguously named Starship second-stage. To avoid confusion, "Starship" in this article refers to the second-stage, while the complete launch vehicle will be referred by the particular prototype booster and ship serial number. For example, the integrated flight test 1 booster was Booster 7 (B7), the spacecraft was Ship 24 (S24), and the launch vehicle stack is referred to as Ship 24/Booster 7, or S24/B7.

Statistics

Starship vehicles have been launched 4 times over 1 year, resulting in 2 full successes (50%), and two in-flight failures (IFT-1, IFT-2).

Starship 1 has been launched four times between April 2023 to June 2024, and will be replaced by Starship 2 after another two flights.

Launch sites

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2

2023

2024

2025

•   Starbase, OLM-A
•   Starbase, OLM-B
•   Kennedy, LC-39A
•   Cape Canaveral, SLC-37

Launch outcomes

2.5

5

2023

2024

2025

•   Failure
•   Partial failure
•   Success
•   Planned

Booster landings

1

2

2023

2024

2025

•   Precluded
•   Ocean failure
•   Tower failure
•   Ocean success
•   Tower success
•   No attempt

Ship landings

1

2

2023

2024

2025

•   Precluded
•   Ocean failure
•   Tower failure
•   Ocean success
•   Tower success
•   No attempt

Booster Version

1

2

2023

2024

2025

•   Block 1
•   Block 2
•   Block 3

Ship Version

1

2

2023

2024

2025

•   Block 1
•   Block 2
•   Block 3
•   Depot
•   Starship HLS
•   Starship Crew

Past launches

2023

Flight No.	Date and time (UTC)	Version, Booster	Version, Ship	Launch site	Payload	Payload mass	Orbit	Customer	Launch outcome	Booster landing	Ship landing
1	20 April 2023 13:33:09	Block 1 B7	Block 1 S24	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 1	—	Transatmospheric	SpaceX	Failure	Precluded	Precluded
	The first integrated flight test of Starship was the first flight test of the full launch vehicle with both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage integrated. If all early parts of the test were nominal on the test plan, the booster would ultimately make a powered splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, and the ship would enter a transatmospheric Earth orbit before reentering and impacting the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. Three engines were shut down before the booster lifted off the launch mount, with at least three more engines shutting down during booster powered flight. The vehicle eventually entered an uncontrolled spin before stage separation due to loss of thrust vector control. The flight termination system detonated with the intent to destroy the vehicle immediately, but the vehicle remained intact until T+3:59, more than 40 seconds after activation of the flight termination system. SpaceX declared this flight a success, as their primary goal was to only clear the pad. The launch resulted in extensive damage to the orbital launch mount and the infrastructures around it, including the propellant tank farm.
2	18 November 2023 13:02:50	Block 1 B9	Block 1 S25	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 2	—	Transatmospheric	SpaceX	Failure	Failure (ocean)	Precluded
	The second integrated flight test of Starship had a test flight profile similar to the first flight, with the addition of a new hot-staging technique and the introduction of a water deluge system as part of the ground support equipment at the launch pad. During the first stage ascent, all 33 engines fired to full duration. Starship and Super Heavy successfully accomplished a hot-staging separation. After initiating a flip maneuver and initiating boostback burn, several booster engines began shutting down, due to filter blockage. One engine failed explosively, with the damage caused resulting in a loss of the booster. The upper stage ascended normally for another six minutes. A leak in the aft section developed while a planned liquid oxygen venting was underway, triggering a combustion event that interrupted communication between the craft’s flight computers, causing full engine shutdown. The Autonomous Flight Safety System detected this mission rule violation and activated the flight termination system (FTS) as the ship reached an altitude of ~148 km and velocity of ~24,000 km/h.

2024

Flight No.	Date and time (UTC)	Version, Booster	Version, Ship	Launch site	Payload	Payload mass	Orbit	Customer	Launch outcome	Booster landing	Ship landing
3	14 March 2024 13:25:00	Block 1 B10	Block 1 S28	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 3	—	Suborbital	SpaceX	Success	Failure (ocean)	Failure (ocean)
	The third integrated flight test of Starship included a full-duration burn of the second-stage engines, an internal propellant-transfer demonstration, and a test of the Starlink dispenser door. If the test sequence had progressed further, additional tests would have included an in-space relight followed by a hard splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1 hour 4 minutes after launch. The booster successfully propelled the spacecraft to staging, with 13 engines successfully ignited for a boostback burn, though 6 engines failed a few seconds before the end of the burn. However, several minutes later, during the landing burn ignition, only three engines ignited, and the booster was destroyed by unknown causes at an altitude of 462 meters above the ocean. The spacecraft trajectory was suborbital, with a 234 km (145 mi) apogee and −50 km (−31 mi) perigee, although the ship did reach orbital speed. A scheduled restart of a Raptor engine for a prograde burn test did not occur, which would have resulted in a 50 km (31 mi) perigee and somewhat later entry into the atmosphere. Minutes into atmospheric re-entry, Ship 28's telemetry cut off, leading SpaceX to conclude the ship had disintegrated prior to its planned splashdown.
4	6 June 2024 12:50:00	Block 1 B11	Block 1 S29	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 4	—	Suborbital	SpaceX	Success	Controlled (ocean)	Controlled (ocean)
	The fourth integrated flight test of Starship was to use almost the same trajectory as Flight 3. It would not test the Pez Dispenser, or in-space relight, though the ship was to relight its engines for a landing burn. B11 was to attempt a landing on a "virtual tower", in preparation for a catch during Flight 5. Launch included a loss of a single Raptor engine on booster, but the booster still managed to perform in accordance to its flight profile and conduct a successful controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft performed a successful re-entry despite severe forward flap damage, with the spacecraft still conducted a successful controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Future launches

Future launches are listed chronologically when firm plans are in place. Launches are expected to take place "no earlier than" (NET) the listed date.

2024

Date and time (UTC)	Version, Booster	Version, Ship	Launch site	Payload	Orbit	Customer
November 2024	Block 1 B12	Block 1 S30	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 5	TBA	SpaceX
	SpaceX plans to return the booster to the launch site and catch it with the tower.

2025

Date and time (UTC)	Version, Booster	Version, Ship	Launch site	Payload	Orbit	Customer
2025	Block 1 B13	Block 1 S31	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 6	TBA	SpaceX
	As of June 2024, the flight profile for IFT-6 is unknown.
2025	Block 1 B14	Block 2 S33	Starbase, OLM-A	Starship flight test 7	TBA	SpaceX
	As of September 2024, the flight profile for Flight 7 is unknown. Flight 7 will feature the first flight of a Block 2 ship.
2025	Block 1 B15	Block 2 S34	Starbase, OLM-A	Unknown	TBA	SpaceX
	As of September 2024, the flight profile for Flight 8 is unknown. Flight 8 will be the second flight of a Block 2 ship.
2025	Unknown	Block 2	TBA	Propellant Transfer Demo 1	LEO	NASA
	Propellant transfer demonstration between Starships. Launches will be 3-4 weeks apart, using the same launch pad.
2025	Unknown	Block 2	TBA	Propellant Transfer Demo 2	LEO	NASA
	Propellant transfer demonstration between Starships. Launches will be 3-4 weeks apart, using the same launch pad.

2026

Date and time (UTC)	Version, Booster	Version, Ship	Launch site	Payload	Orbit	Customer
2026	Unknown	HLS	TBA	Uncrewed Lunar Demo	NRHO, Lunar surface	NASA
	NASA demonstration mission for the Human Landing System prior to Artemis 3, announced in April 2021. An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.
2026	Unknown	HLS	TBA	Crewed Lunar Demo	NRHO, Lunar surface	NASA
	Artemis III will be the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17. An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.
2026	Unknown	HLS	TBA	Astrolab FLEX rover	NRHO, Lunar surface	Astrolab
	Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover will include 1,000 kilograms of customer payloads.

2027 and beyond

Date and time (UTC)	Version, Booster	Version, Ship	Launch site	Payload	Orbit	Customer
2027	Unknown	Unknown	TBA	Superbird-9	GEO	SKY Perfect JSAT
	Superbird-9 is a SKY Perfect JSAT's fully flexible HTS (High Throughput Satellites) based on Airbus' OneSat product line. It will be launched on a Starship launch vehicle in 2027 to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
2027	Unknown	HLS	TBA	ISRU Processing System	LEO	Luxembourg Space Agency
	In April 2023, LSA and a private firm, OffWorld Europe, announced a partnership to develop an ISRU process to extract, process, store and use water collected from the surface of the moon in the form of ice. The project, which is under the oversight of the ESA, will use OffWorld's technical expertise in robotics with a technology demonstration mission slated for launch to the moon in 2027 as part of SpaceX's first Starship HLS mission for the Artemis program. An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.
2028	Unknown	HLS	TBA	Sustaining Crewed Lunar Demo	NRHO, Lunar surface	NASA
	On November 15, 2022, NASA announced it had awarded a contract to SpaceX as part of Option B of the Appendix H contract. This would allow SpaceX to use a second-generation Starship HLS design to conduct a Lunar Gateway-based demonstration mission as part of Artemis IV. An unknown number of refueling flights, estimated to be in the high teens, will be required.
2028	Unknown	Unknown	TBA	Starlab	LEO	Voyager Space/Airbus
	Starlab is a planned commercial space station.

See also

• List of Starship upper stage flight tests
• Artemis program
• List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches