| 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]
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]
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]
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]
| 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] | ||