Starship flight test 11
Eleventh launch of SpaceX Starship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 included additional tests of the Raptor engines.[6] SpaceX stated that the ship had 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]
| |
| 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] |
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
| 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 | N/a |
| +01:03:52 | Starship is subsonic | N/a |
| +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] | ||