Ship 33 (S33) was the first Block 2 Starship second-stage prototype. It was stacked on Booster 14 (B14), and was launched on Starship Flight Test 7 on January 16. The Ship was lost in the final stages of ascent, around a minute before SECO. S33 was loaded with a total of 10 Starlink Simulators and featured several experiments, such as TPS heat shield tiles with active cooling and other material, but for an apparent reason, none of this was used.
Technical upgrades[]
-> See also: Ship (Starship's Second Stage)
Notable differences currently observed on S33, which are expected to establish the standard for future Block 2 ships, include but are not limited to:
- Shorter payload bay (3 rings instead of 5) to free up more space for oxidizer and fuel (in addition to the further ring being added to the Block 2 ship for a total of 3 rings more propellant), which makes this 1.8 m taller
- New forward flaps (smaller and more pointy, also higher on the fuselage to avoid melting between the flaps)
- New heatshield layout
- Pez dispenser installation after Nosecone and Payload Bay are stacked due to the pez dispenser being partially inside the Nosecone, which is also a more efficient use of space in addition to the aforementioned propellant increase
- Independent downcomers for each Raptor vacuum engine, as shown during stacking on August 19, 2024.[2]
- Redesign in the propulsion system, including a 25% increase in propellant volume, vacuum jacketing of feedlines, new fuel feedline system for Rvac engines, improved propulsion avionics module
- Avionics redesign adding additional capabilities and redundancy: more powerful flight computer, integrated antennas, redesigned inertial navigation, integrated smart batteries, and increase to more than 30 vehicle cameras[3]
- Another visible change includes a redesign of the engine chill lines.
Like ship 31 (S31), S33 has tiles installed on the leeward side of the starboard aft flap.[4] Furthermore, it also is lacking a back heat shield tile.[5]
Catch fitting on S33. c Mary
History[]
Ship 33 was originally the designation used for the final V1 Starship second stage prototype that had most sections spotted and scrapped that was skipped in favor of the new Block 2 Starships. This means S33 has had or will have two of most sections of the vehicle such as a V1 Nosecone and a Block 2 Nosecone; a V1 Payload Bay and a Block 2 Payload Bay and so on.
Following the scrapping of most V1 sections, S33's Block 2 Payload Bay was rolled out for stacking, on the 13th of July 2024, without a door and S33's Block 2 Nosecone was rolled out and stacked on it the following day. A door was then installed on it after being moved into High Bay on 22 July prior to the whole stacked payload bay and nosecone being moved onto the pez dispenser install stand in Mega Bay 2 on the 24th, which had been put in place on the 19th. Between the 27th of July and 23 August, the rest of S33 was stacked. Therefore overall from the beginning of stacking in High Bay of the Nosecone and Payload Bay on July 14 to completion of stacking in Mega Bay 2 on August 23, stacking of S33 took 40 days.
On October 26th, 2024, S33 was rolled out to the Massey Outpost, where it conducted an ambient pressure test, a partial cryo, and two full cryos before being rolled back to Mega Bay 2 between November 1 and 2.
On November 9, 2024, 2 Raptor 2 Vacuum engines and one sea level were rolled into Mega Bay 2 for S33. By November 10, all 6 engines for S33 had been rolled into Mega Bay 2. On December 11th, 2024, S33 was rolled out to the Massey Outpost for engine testing, where it completed a Spin Prime on December 12th and a successful 6-engine Static Fire on December 15th (after an abort on the 14th). It then completed a single-engine static fire on the 16th and was rolled back to MB2 on the 17th.
On the 5th of January 2025, the 10 starlink simulators for S33 were spotted in Starfactory[6][7]. They were then loaded onto S33 on the 7th, prior to rollout on the 9th. Later that day, it was stacked on Booster 14, making the full stack ahead of flight. On the 11th of January, Ship 33 was destacked from Booster 14 for presumably pre-flight inspections. It was restacked on Booster 14 the following day and launched on January 16th, 2025, in which it was lost in totality in upper ascent, as a part of Starship Flight Test 7.
Timeline[]
- 14 November 2023: NC36 (S33 V1 Nosecone) moved to the Sanchez Site
- 24 Nov 2023: NC36 (S33 V1 Nosecone) is scrapped
- 28 Nov 2023: S33 AX:4 moved to the scrapyard
- 4 Dec 2023: S33 ML:4 moved to the scrapyard
- 6 Jan 2024: NC42 (New Block 2 Nosecone initially assigned to S36) base/aft half spotted in Starfactory phase 4.
- 13 May 2024: Block 2 left forward flap delivered to Starbase, presumably for S36
- 13 July 2024: Block 2 PL:3 rolls out semi-tiled without a door from Starfactory to High Bay
- 14 July 2024: S33 Block 2 NC moved into the Highbay.
- 14 July 2024: S33 PL:3 and NC stacked
- 19 July 2024: A stand that appears to be a new design of Pez dispenser is moved into MB2
- 22 July 2024: S33 Block 2 Pez payload door moved into Highbay.
- 24 Jul: S33 lifted off of the HB turntable and moved to MB2 Pez Dispenser install stand in the front right
- 27 Jul: S33 FX:4 lifted onto the MB2 turntable
- 4 Aug: S33 CX:3 moved into MB2 and lifted onto turntable
- 8 Aug: S33 A2:3 moved into MB2 and lifted onto turntable
- 15 Aug: S33 A3:4 moved into MB2 for stacking
- 18 Aug: 4 Methane transfer tubes for S33 moved into MB2
- 23 Aug: S33 AX:4 moved into MB2 and stacked, completing stacking of S33 in 40 days
- 15 Sep: S33 left (PY) aft flap installed
- 17 Sep: S33 right (NY) aft flap installed
- 26 Oct 2024: S33 rolled to Massey's for cryo proofing
- 28 Oct 2024: S33 conducted what appears to be an ambient pressure test.
- 29 Oct 2024: S33 conducted a partial cryogenic proof test of both tanks.
- 30 Oct 2024: S33 conducted a full cryogenic proof test of both tanks.
- 31 Oct 2024: S33 conducted another full cryogenic proof test of both tanks.
- 1-2 Nov 2024: S33 rolled back to MB2
- 9 Nov 2024: Raptor Vacuum 275, Raptor Vacuum 305 and Raptor Sea Level 385 rolled in to MB2.
- 10 Nov 2024: All 6 Raptor 2 engines rolled in to MB2.
- 11 Dec 2024: S33 moved to Massey's Outpost on the Static Fire stand
- 12 Dec 2024: S33 completed spin prime
- 14 Dec 2024: S33 aborted static fire test / cryo proof test
- 15 Dec 2024: S33 completed a 6 engine static fire
- 16 Dec 2024: S33 completed a single engine static fire
- 17 Dec 2024: S33 rolled back from Massey's Outpost to MB2
- 5 Jan 2025: 10 Starlink simulators spotted inside SFC for S33
- 7 Jan 2025: S33 loaded with the 10 Starlink simulators
- 8 Jan 2025: S33 spotted with tiled catch pin [8]
- 9 Jan: S33 moved to the LS
- 9 Jan: S33 stacked on B14
- 11 Jan: S33 destacked from B14
- 12 Jan: S33 restacked on B14
Testing Campaign[]
| Date | Test type | Outcome | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 October 2024 | Ambient Pressure | Success | Ship 33 completed an ambient pressure test. |
| 29 October 2024 | Cryogenic Proof | Success | Ship 33 completed a partial cryogenic proof test of both tanks |
| 30 October 2024 | Cryogenic Proof | Success | Ship 33 completed a full cryogenic proof test of both tanks |
| 31 October 2024 | Cryogenic Proof | Success | Ship 33 completed another full cryogenic proof test of both tanks |
| 12 December 2024 | Spin Prime | Success | Ship 33 completed a spin prime |
| 14 December 2024 | Static Fire | Abort | Ship 33 was loaded with a typical engine testing prop load of LoX and CH4 likely for a Static Fire however no engine test was observed likely indicating an abort |
| 15 December 2024 | Static Fire | Success | Ship 33 completed a full 6 engine static fire |
| 16 December 2024 | Static Fire | Success | Ship 33 completed a single engine static fire 'demonstrating a flight-like startup for an in-space burn' [9] |
26 October 2024 - Rollout[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 00:38 Entered hwy 4
- 02:32 Arrived at Massey's test site
28 October 2024 - Ambient pressure test[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 19:42 Venting from S33 spotted
29 October 2024 - Cryo Proof Test #1[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 18:02 Cryo loading started
- 19:49 S33 detanking after partial cryo load on both tanks
30 October 2024 - Cryo Proof Test #2[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 13:22 Cryo loading began
- 14:38 Both tanks completely topped off with cryogenics
31 October 2024 - Cryo Proof Test #3[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 19:16 Cryo loading on CH4 tank with frost line visible
- 19:23 Cryo loading on LOX tank with frost line visible
- 20:11 Both tanks filled
11 December 2024 - Roll out[]
S33 was rolled out from the production site to Massey's test site. Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 08:43 Lifted onto ship static fire stand
- 09:10 Detached from the 4-point lifter
- 09:48 Exited mega bay 2
- 10:00 Roll out started; previous closure revocation may have been a county website mistake
- 13:54 Arrived at Massey's; SQD being attached
12 December 2024 - Spin prime test[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 20:35 Cryo loading underway
- 20:58 Spin prime test
14 December 2024 - Aborted Static fire[]
A 6-engine static fire was attended. However, it was canceled for unknown reasons (Despite the bad weather, SN11 and SN15 were flown without any problems in similar circumstances) and transformed into genic proof. Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 08:43 Cryo loading
- 09:45 Detanking
Static Fire test. c SpaceX
15 December 2024 - Static fire[]
Ship 33 static fire test. c SpaceX
S33 conducted a 6-engine static fire. Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 13:20 Cryo loading has started
- 14:14:14 Static fire test
Video of the startup demo. c SpaceX
Video of the startup demo. c SpaceX; higher resolution can be found on X.
16 December 2024 - Static fire[]
SpaceX conducted a Single-engine static fire demonstrating a flight-like startup for an in-space burn.[10] Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 16:28 Cryo loading underway
- 16:55 Single-engine static fire test
06-07 January 2025 - Preparations[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 15:43 A DOD 6055 Fire Division 1 Mass Explosion Sign (Orange 1 on left side) has been placed on the entrance to MB2, likely indicating FTS installation has begun on S33
- 17:51 ship transport stand entered mega bay 2
- 20:06 S33 lifted onto transport stand
- 21:44 Mega bay 2 door opened, showing S33 with payload door and flaps open; a stripped back heat shield spotted, like on S31
- 21:57 4-point lifter removed, revealing possible catch pin locations
- --07 Jan--
- 01:58 Test run with Starlink loading tray performed
- 04:10 First Starlink simulator loaded into the payload bay; lifted up to make way for the next
- 05:17 Another Starlink sim was loaded, and a batch of 5 was moved to the mega bay 2
- 10:11 Last Starlink simulator loaded
- 13:40 Flap test
- 13:56 Payload door closed
09 January 2025 - Rollout[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 05:25 S33 left Mega Bay 2
- 05:44 Rollout started
- 06:32 Arrived at the launch site
- 06:39 Moved to the orbital pad
- 06:57 Moved between chopsticks
For further timeline, see Starship 14/33 and Starship Flight Test 7
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://discord.com/channels/577909263012462594/732227281006755922/1301323098657652787
- ↑ Mouser: https://discord.com/channels/577909263012462594/732227281006755922/1275280655407779881
- ↑ https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-7
- ↑ https://discord.com/channels/577909263012462594/732227281006755922/1326011750910267444
- ↑ https://discord.com/channels/577909263012462594/732227281006755922/1326034323111149661
- ↑ https://x.com/StarshipGazer/status/1876139761255211318
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKCL8nPN2Tw
- ↑ https://x.com/BocaChicaGal/status/1877193204920955305
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1869080468160995439
- ↑ https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1869080468160995439