Starship flight test 11
 | |
| Mission type | Flight test |
|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Ship 38 |
| Spacecraft type | Starship (Block 2) |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 13, 2025 23:23 UTC (6:23 pm CDT) |
| Rocket | Super Heavy (Block 2, B15-2) |
| Launch site | Starbase, Pad-1 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date |
|
| Landing site |
|
| Orbital parameters | |
| Perigee altitude |
|
| Apogee altitude | 192 km (119 mi)[1] |
| Inclination | 26.5°[1] |
| Payload | |
| 8 Starlink mass simulators | |
| Mass | ~16,000 kg (35,000 lb)[2][3] |
Starship flight test 11 was the eleventh flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle, using Booster 15 and Ship 38.[4] It was the last flight of a Block 2 Starship vehicle, and flew a similar profile to the previous two flights.[5] According to Eric Berger, Flight 11 would include additional tests of the Raptor engines.[6] SpaceX stated that the ship would have some tile experiments, including removing tiles that lack an ablative backup section. The booster, with 24 flight-proven engines, tested configurations planned to be used by Block 3 boosters upon landing before being expended.[7]
Background
[edit]Vehicle testing ahead of launch
[edit]Booster 15
[edit]B15 was rolled back to Mega Bay 1 on March 8 for refurbishment,[8] after having flown on flight 8.[9] It was then rolled to Pad 1 on September 5, and stacked onto the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) on September 6. B15 then performed a 33 engine, 9 second duration static fire on September 7.[10] Booster 15 then rolled back to Mega Bay 1 on September 8.[11] B15 was rolled back to Pad 1 on October 8 and was lifted onto the OLM.[12]
Ship 38
[edit]S38 was rolled to the Massey's test site for cryogenic testing on July 27.[13] On July 30, S38 conducted three separate cryogenic proof tests,[14] followed by a return to the production site on August 1.[14] Engine Installation began on August 14 with two Vacuum Raptors entering Mega Bay 2.[15] S38 rolled out to the OLP-1 at the Starbase Launch Site on September 17, S38 was then lifted onto the Launch Mount for static fire testing.[16] The first attempt at a static fire was aborted as the vehicle began propellant load on September 18.[17] It re-attempted a static fire, but it was aborted for unknown reasons during propellant loading.[18] Ship 38 then conducted a 6 engine, 8 second duration static fire on September 22.[19] On October 11, Ship 38 was integrated with its payload and lifted atop Booster 15.[20]
Mission profile
[edit]The mission profile for flight test 11 was similar to the previous flight test, with the ship splashdown in the Indian Ocean and the booster conducting landing burn experiments over the Gulf of Mexico. Eight Starlink simulators were deployed, along with a relight test.[7]
Flight timeline
[edit]| Time | Event | October 13, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| −01:15:00 | SpaceX flight director conducts poll and verifies go for propellant load | Success |
| −00:53:00 | Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underway | Success |
| −00:46:10 | Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway | Success |
| −00:41:15 | Booster fuel load underway | Success |
| −00:35:52 | Booster LOX load underway | Success |
| −00:19:40 | Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship | Success |
| −00:03:20 | Ship propellant load complete | Success |
| −00:02:50 | Booster propellant load complete | Success |
| −00:00:30 | SpaceX flight director verifies go for launch | Success |
| −00:00:10 | Flame deflector activation | Success |
| −00:00:03 | Raptor ignition sequence begins | Success |
| +00:00:02 | Liftoff | Success |
| +00:01:02 | Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket) | Success |
| +00:02:37 | Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off) | Success |
| +00:02:39 | Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation) | Success |
| +00:02:49 | Super Heavy boostback burn start | Partial failure 12 out of 13 engines relit |
| +00:03:38 | Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown | Success |
| +00:03:40 | Hot-stage jettison | Success |
| +00:06:20 | Super Heavy landing burn start | Success |
| +00:06:36 | Super Heavy landing burn shutdown | Success |
| +00:08:58 | Starship engine cutoff (SECO) | Success |
| +00:18:33 | Payload deploy demo start | Success |
| +00:25:33 | Payload deploy demo complete | Success |
| +00:37:49 | Raptor in-space relight demo | Success |
| +00:47:43 | Starship entry | Success |
| +01:03:30 | Starship is transonic | — |
| +01:03:52 | Starship is subsonic | — |
| +01:05:58 | Landing burn start | Success |
| +01:06:00 | Landing flip | Success |
| +01:06:09 | Landing burn 3 to 2 engines | Success |
| +01:06:25 | Splashdown | Success |
| Source: SpaceX[7] | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report - Latest Issue". planet4589.org. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
- ^ "Consolidated opposition to petitions and response to comments of SPACEX. Exhibit A. satellite dimensions and DAS outputs". May 30, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- ^ Weber, Ryan (August 27, 2025). "The Starship Program rises from the ashes of Block 2 with Ship 37". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
- ^ Weber, Ryan (July 29, 2025). "The Final Two Block 2 Ships leave Mega Bay 2 for Testing". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (September 9, 2025). "SpaceX's lesson from last Starship flight? "We need to seal the tiles."". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
- ^ Berger, Eric (August 29, 2025). "SpaceX got good heat shield data for Starship, so what comes next?". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Starship's Eleventh Flight Test". SpaceX. September 29, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
- ^ The One that Came Back - Booster 15 Returns as Pad B Shapes Up. NASASpaceflight. March 13, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Starship's Eighth Flight Test". SpaceX. February 24, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ SpaceX Performs Final Booster Static Fire on Pad 1. NASASpaceflight. September 17, 2025. Event occurs at 01:14:30. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
- ^ Flight 11: SpaceX isn't Playing Around. NASASpaceflight. September 11, 2025. Event occurs at 0:26. Retrieved September 11, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Wall, Mike (October 9, 2025). "SpaceX moves giant Super Heavy booster to pad ahead of Starship Flight 11 launch (photos)". Space. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
- ^ SpaceX Rolls Starship 38 For Pre-flight Proof Testing at Starbase. NASASpaceflight. July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b "Not one, but TWO Starship Static Fires". NASASpaceflight. August 2, 2025. Event occurs at 6:37. Retrieved August 2, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "It's No Earlier Than the 24th". NASASpaceflight. August 16, 2025. Event occurs at 3:56. Retrieved August 16, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Up Next: Ship 38 Static Fire". NASASpaceflight. September 17, 2025. Event occurs at 9:28. Retrieved September 18, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ SpaceX Performs Static Fire of Final Block 2 Ship. NASASpaceflight. September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Starship Flight 11: Ship 38's second static fire attempt aborted. Cars to the pad, and the SQD arm moved to allow for the sticks to come down, so likely done for the day. Road Open". Twitter. NASASpaceflight. August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ SpaceX Performs Static Fire of Final Block 2 Ship - Third Attempt. NASASpaceflight. September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ SpaceX Rolls and Stacks Starship 38 for Launch. NASASpaceflight. October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 11, 2025 – via YouTube.