Starship flight test 11

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Starship flight test 11
Starship lifted off from Starbase during flight test 11.jpg
Mission type Flight test
Operator SpaceX
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Ship 38
Spacecraft type Starship (Block 2)
ManufacturerSpaceX
Start of mission
Launch dateOctober 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
  • Super Heavy: October 13, 2025, 23:29:36 UTC
  • Ship: October 14, 2025, 00:29:25 UTC
Landing site
Orbital parameters
Perigee altitude
  • Initial: −6 to 4 km (−3.7 to 2.5 mi)
  • After relight: ≈50 km (31 mi) [1]
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]
←  Flight 10
Flight 12  →

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]

Contents

Background

Vehicle testing ahead of launch

Booster 15

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

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

The mission profile for Flight Test 11 was largely consistent with that of the preceding test. The spacecraft executed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, while the booster conducted landing-burn experiments over the Gulf of Mexico. The mission also included the deployment of eight Starlink mass simulators and an in-flight engine relight test. [7]

Flight timeline

TimeEventOctober 13, 2025
−01:15:00SpaceX flight director conducts poll and verifies go for propellant loadSuccess
−00:53:00Ship fuel (liquid methane) load underwaySuccess
−00:46:10Ship LOX (liquid oxygen) load underwaySuccess
−00:41:15Booster fuel load underwaySuccess
−00:35:52Booster LOX load underwaySuccess
−00:19:40Raptor begins engine chill on booster and shipSuccess
−00:03:20Ship propellant load completeSuccess
−00:02:50Booster propellant load completeSuccess
−00:00:30SpaceX flight director verifies go for launchSuccess
−00:00:10Flame deflector activationSuccess
−00:00:03Raptor ignition sequence beginsSuccess
+00:00:02LiftoffSuccess
+00:01:02 Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket)Success
+00:02:37Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off)Success
+00:02:39Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation)Success
+00:02:49Super Heavy boostback burn startPartial failure
12 out of 13 engines relit
+00:03:38Super Heavy boostback burn shutdownSuccess
+00:03:40Hot-stage jettisonSuccess
+00:06:20Super Heavy landing burn startSuccess
+00:06:36Super Heavy landing burn shutdownSuccess
+00:08:58Starship engine cutoff (SECO)Success
+00:18:33Payload deploy demo startSuccess
+00:25:33Payload deploy demo completeSuccess
+00:37:49Raptor in-space relight demoSuccess
+00:47:43Starship entrySuccess
+01:03:30Starship is transonic —
+01:03:52Starship is subsonic—
+01:05:58Landing burn startSuccess
+01:06:00Landing flipSuccess
+01:06:09Landing burn 3 to 2 enginesSuccess
+01:06:25 Splashdown Success
Source: SpaceX [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report - Latest Issue". planet4589.org. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Consolidated opposition to petitions and response to comments of SPACEX. Exhibit A. satellite dimensions and DAS outputs". May 30, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  3. ↑ Weber, Ryan (August 27, 2025). "The Starship Program rises from the ashes of Block 2 with Ship 37". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  4. ↑ Weber, Ryan (July 29, 2025). "The Final Two Block 2 Ships leave Mega Bay 2 for Testing". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  5. ↑ Clark, Stephen (September 9, 2025). "SpaceX's lesson from last Starship flight? "We need to seal the tiles."". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  6. ↑ Berger, Eric (August 29, 2025). "SpaceX got good heat shield data for Starship, so what comes next?". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Starship's Eleventh Flight Test". SpaceX. September 29, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  8. ↑ The One that Came Back - Booster 15 Returns as Pad B Shapes Up. NASASpaceflight. March 13, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2025– via YouTube.
  9. ↑ "Starship's Eighth Flight Test". SpaceX. February 24, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  10. ↑ SpaceX Performs Final Booster Static Fire on Pad 1. NASASpaceflight. September 17, 2025. Event occurs at 01:14:30. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  11. ↑ Flight 11: SpaceX isn't Playing Around. NASASpaceflight. September 11, 2025. Event occurs at 0:26. Retrieved September 11, 2025– via YouTube.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ SpaceX Rolls Starship 38 For Pre-flight Proof Testing at Starbase. NASASpaceflight. July 26, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025– via YouTube.
  14. 1 2 "Not one, but TWO Starship Static Fires". NASASpaceflight. August 2, 2025. Event occurs at 6:37. Retrieved August 2, 2025– via YouTube.
  15. ↑ "It's No Earlier Than the 24th". NASASpaceflight. August 16, 2025. Event occurs at 3:56. Retrieved August 16, 2025– via YouTube.
  16. ↑ "Up Next: Ship 38 Static Fire". NASASpaceflight. September 17, 2025. Event occurs at 9:28. Retrieved September 18, 2025– via YouTube.
  17. ↑ SpaceX Performs Static Fire of Final Block 2 Ship. NASASpaceflight. September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025– via YouTube.
  18. ↑ "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.
  19. ↑ SpaceX Performs Static Fire of Final Block 2 Ship - Third Attempt. NASASpaceflight. September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2025– via YouTube.
  20. ↑ SpaceX Rolls and Stacks Starship 38 for Launch. NASASpaceflight. October 10, 2025. Retrieved October 11, 2025– via YouTube.
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