Stage 1 landing confirmed!

Edit: M-vac shutdown.

MECO, stage separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation.

Liftoff!

How so?

Yeah, some actual competition for SpaceX would be great for the industry.

A landing attempt does seem ambitious for the first flight, though they do have landing experience with New Shepard.

T-0 has been pushed to 2025-01-13 08:15 UTC, 03:15 local.

Edit: And launch scrub.

We’re standing down on today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that will take us beyond our launch window. We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt.

T-0 has been pushed to 2025-01-13 06:30 UTC, 01:30 local.

Edit: And T-0 has been pushed to 2025-01-13 06:52 UTC, 01:30 local.

Edit 2: T-0 pushed to 2025-01-13 07:07 UTC, 02:07 local.

Edit 3: T-0 pushed to 2025-01-13 07:27 UTC, 02:27 local.

Edit 3: T-0 pushed to 2025-01-13 07:48 UTC, 02:48 local.

Blue Origin are live.

Starbase activities (2025-01-12):

• Jan 11th cryo delivery tally.
• Launch site: B14 “cowbell” vent covers are replaced. (Anderson 1, Anderson 2, Anderson 3, ViX)
• Chopsticks rise around S33. (ViX, Beil)
• S33 is restacked on B14. (LabPadre, ViX, clwphoto1, Starship Gazer, Priel, NSF, SpacePadre, Mary, Beyer, Gisler)
• S33 heat shield closeups posted by Tyler Gray.
• The booster work platform and the ship transport stand move away from the launch mount. (ViX)
• Build site: Video tour
• The first two scrapped sections of B14.1 emerges from Highbay. (ViX 1, ViX 2)

KSC:

• Pile drilling is observed at LC-39A. (Anderson)

Propellant loading has started.

NSF are live with coverage.

Happy cake day!

T and P are pretty far from each other on a QWERTY keyboard… are the FAA having a laugh?

Starbase activities (2025-01-11):

• Jan 10th cryo delivery tally.
• Launch site: Ship stand rolls out to the launch site and S33 is destacked. Raptor work platform rises, chopstick stabilizer pin movement, ship quick disconnect retracts, destack commences, chopsticks and ship slewed, ship descends towards the stand. Timelapses: (ViX 1, ViX 2, Priel)
• A laser guide is used during stacking operations. (Beil, Hansen)
• The yellow LR11000 crane is laid down. (ViX)
• S33 receives TPS inspections and some fresh paint, B14 pending “cowbell vent” cover replacement. (Beil 1, Beil 2, ViX)
• Build site: Scrapping of B14.1 begins. (ViX)
• Photos of nosecones in Starfactory from cnunez: S36 or S37 (flight 10 or 11), and S38 (flight 12).
• Starkitty is sighted. (ViX)
• Elon: “There will probably be another 10m added to the Starship stack before we increase diameter”

Flight 7:

• SpaceX are now targeting Jan 15th. (SpaceX)

Starbase activities (2025-01-10):

• Jan 9th cryo delivery tally.
• Jan 9th addendum: SpaceX post photos of stacking.
• Priel comparison of V1 and V2 stacking, Beyer and Hansen comparison of V1 and V2 full stacks.
• Launch site: Detonation suppression system is tested. (ViX)
• S33 flaps are tested. (ViX, NSF)
• Chopsticks are tested. (ViX 1, ViX 2)
• B14 and S33 perform a wet dress rehearsal. (NSF full livestream)
• Road is closed, patrol boats are present. (Beil 1, Beil 2, Cornwell / SpacePadre)
• Tank farm venting. (ViX, Beil)
• Cars return to the pad. (Beil)
• Chopsticks open. (Beil)
• Launch mount venting. (Beil, Beil)
• Tower venting. (ViX, Beil)
• Engine chill venting. (ViX)
• Ship LOX tank frost. (ViX, NSF, Beil 1)
• Full propellant load. (NSF, Mary, Beil 1, Beil 2)
• Detonation suppression system is tested. (NSF)
• Timelapses: (LabPadre, ViX, Priel)
• SpaceX photos and video.
• Shana Diez (Director, Starship Engineering) report: “Lots learned and lots of data to work through this weekend. But only a few things left before flight test.”
• Build site: 2-hour road delays are posted for Jan 13th and 14th from 00:00 to 04:00 for transportation from factory to Massey’s.

Flight 7:

• 13.5-hour road closures are posted for Jan 13th through 15th from 09:00 to 22:30 for flight testing activities.
• NOTMAR, NOTAM, and MSIB notices are issued for Jan 13th. (ViX, Gomez)
• Two navigational warnings for the Indian Ocean are cancelled. (Beil 1, Beil 2)
• An amusing typo (ViX, Edwards) was present in the FAA advisory, now corrected, but archived here.

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1877812814993404181

Deployment of 21 @Starlink satellites confirmed

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1877813016034771325

The @Starlink Direct to Cell constellation now has 400 satellites to enable ubiquitous access to texting, calling, and browsing around the world, eliminating dead zones across land, lakes, or coastal waters

Stage 1 landing confirmed! B1067 becomes the new fleet leader with 25 launches and landings!

MECO, stage separation, stage 2 ignition, and fairing separation.

Liftoff!

Hilt happy?

So Much For Subtlety and Funny It Worked Last Time are my two favourites.