Starship

Delays in the Starship program have put the 2027 lunar landing timeline into question.

SpaceX is developing a Human Landing System (HLS) based on the upper stage of its next-generation rocket Starship for lunar landing.

NASA awarded SpaceX the Human Landing Systems (HLS) contract in 2021 followed by a second contract option in 2022, amounting to about $4 billion for the Artemis III and IV missions on the Starship rocket.

The key technical challenge with the next generation of Starship is propellant transfer demonstration.

SpaceX faced three consecutive Starship test failures in 2023, with test flights ending in uncontrolled reentry and some breaking apart over the Caribbean.

SpaceX is working toward the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy for orbital flights, operational payload missions, and propellant transfer.

SpaceX plans major design changes to the Starship upper stage's propulsion system for higher thrust capabilities.

Starship reached its intended altitude and velocity, deploying multiple Starlink satellite analogs before splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

Starship successfully executed a landing flip, burn, and soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Upgrades to the energy storage and avionics systems are being implemented in the next iteration of Starship.

New docking adapters will be added to the exterior of Starship for propellant transfer operations.

The next variant of Starship will support orbital flights, operational payload missions, and propellant transfer.

Starship performed a dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory of future missions returning to Starbase.

SpaceX is currently building multiple vehicles for the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy.

The flight test achieved every major objective, providing valuable data for SpaceX's next generation of Starship and Super Heavy.

The 11th flight test of Starship lifted off at 6:23 p.m. CT from Starbase in Texas.

Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Flight 11.

Data gathered from Flight 11 will inform future Starship missions that will return to the launch site for catch and reuse.