Ship 34 (S34) was the second Block 2 Starship second stage prototype. Stacking of S34 commenced on September 19th, 2024 in High Bay and was completed on November 18th, 2024. The ship conducted a very long static fire, which lasted about 57 seconds.
S34 flew with Booster 15 (B15) on Starship Flight Test 8. The booster was successfully caught despite suffering engine failures. S34 later developed a fire in its aft section at roughly the same time frame as S33 with a hot spot being observed on one of the Rvac engine bells, a short moment later, the latter failed catastrophically followed up by subsequent failures on all 3 Sea-level engines leading to a loss of attitude control. S34 proceeded to tumble while the 2 remaining RVac continue to fire. The ship then disintegrated and reentered over the Caribbean.
Brief mishap investigation update by SpaceX prior to Flight 9 revealed that, unlike Ship 33, the ship actually mitigated harmonic response. The major issue that haunted S34 was a faulty engine joint that brought leaked fuel and caused fires to the false ceilings. Nitrogen purges wasn’t able to protect the raptors and eventually lead to an energetic event, detachment of raptor SL and a RVac and loss of attitude control.
History[]
Some parts were originally potentially spotted for a V1 S34 such as a Nosecone and aft skirt, however their assignment was unclear and they were subsequently scrapped or moved towards the scrap yard. See The Nosecone Exodus for more details. In addition, an eDome section labelled S34.1 was previously scrapped and a CH4 Header Tank previously designated for S34 shipped out of Starbase to McGregor for testing. As spotted on 23 September 2024, the weld seam between the nosecone and payload bay was much improved.[1]
On the 19th of September 2024, Ship 34's Payload Bay and Nosecone were rolled out of Starfactory to the High Bay and stacked. On the 23rd of September, the stacked Nosecone and Payload Bay were rolled back into Starfactory. On October 8th, the stack was moved into Mega Bay 2 for further stacking operations. The final aft engine section of S34 was rolled into Mega Bay 2 on November 17th and stacking was completed on November 18th 2024 in a total of 60 days.
On the 15th of January 2025, S34 was rolled out to the Massey Outpost for cryogenic proof testing, where it first conducted a cryogenic proof test of its CH4 tank, followed by a separate full cryogenic test, both on the 17th. Another full cryogenic was completed on the 18th and then S34 was rolled back later the same day.
On the 28th of January 2025, engine installation was confirmed to have commenced on S34 with one RVac moving from Starfactory to MB2. Another RC stand was also removed indicating more engines may have been installed while the door was closed potentially prior to the 28th.
On the 10th of February 2025, Ship 34 was moved to the Massey Outpost for Static Fire testing. This was conducted on the 12th, with the longest full duration static fire (~57 seconds). Ship 34 was then moved back to Mega Bay 2 on the 12th/13th February 2025.
Timeline[]
- 6 Jan 2024: NC43 base/aft half spotted in Starfactory phase 4
- 14 Aug 2024: Old S34 CH4 Header Tank spotted being sent to McGregor for testing
- 19 Sep 2024: S34 PL:3 moved to the High Bay
- 19 Sep: S34 NC moved into the high bay
- 19 Sep: S34 NC stacked on PL:3
- 23 Sep: S34 N:3 moved from HB to SFC
- 8 Oct: S34 N:3 moved from SFC to MB2
- 12 Oct: S34: FX:4 moved to MB2
- 21 Oct: S34 CX:3 moved into MB2
- 1 Nov: S34 A3:4 moved into MB2
- 4 Nov: S34 Raptor Center Transfer tube moved into MB2
- 12 Nov: 2nd and 3rd Rvac downcomer for S34 also installed on the jig.
- 17 Nov: S34 AX:4 moves into MB2
- 18 Nov: S34 N:17 stacked onto AX:4, completing the stacking for S34 in 60 days
- 15 Jan 2025: S34 lifted onto thrust simulator and rolled to Massey's Outpost for cryo proofing and rolled out to Massey's test site for its cryo proofing
- 17 Jan 2025: S34 completed two cryos one of its CH4 tank and one separate full cryo later
- 18 Jan 2025: S34 completed a full cryo
- 18 Jan 2025: S34 rolled back from Massey's Outpost to MB2
- 28 Jan 2025: S34 engine installation confirmed to have commenced
- 30 Jan 2025: 1st aft flap installed on S34
- 2 Feb 2025: 2nd aft flap installed on S34
- 10 Feb 2025: S34 rolled to Massey's Outpost for Static Fire testing
- 12 Feb 2025: S34 completed the first long duration static fire (60 seconds)
- 12/13 Feb 2025: S34 moved back to Mega Bay 2
- 1 Mar: S34 lifted onto transport stand and four Starlink simulators installed
- 2 Mar: S34 rolled to the Launch Site
Testing Campaign[]
| Date | Test type | Outcome | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 January 2025 | Cryogenic Proof Test | Success | Ship 34 completed a cryogenic proof test of its CH4 tank |
| 17 January 2025 | Cryogenic Proof Test | Success | Ship 34 completed a full cryogenic proof test of both tanks |
| 18 January 2025 | Cryogenic Proof Test | Success | Ship 34 completed a full cryogenic proof test of both tanks |
| 12 February 2025 | Static Fire Test | Success | Ship 34 completed the first long duration (57 seconds) static fire of a ship |
15 January 2025 - Roll out[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 09:51 S34 Lifted onto thrust simulator inside mega bay 2
- 13:01 S34 left mega bay 2
- 14:01 Roll out underway
- 16:02 Arrived at the cryo station at Massey's test site
17 January 2025 - Cryo proof test[]
SpaceX conducted a cryogenic proof test during which both tanks were completely filled with cryogenics.[2] Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 12:58 Tank farm activity
- 13:29 CH4 tank started to being filled
- 16:15 Both tanks half full
- 17:23 Topped off with cryogenics
- 20:17 Detanking
18 January 2025 - Cryo proof test[]
SpaceX conducted a cryogenic proof test during which both tanks were completely filled with cryogenics. Timeline according to LabPadre stream:
- 09:13 Tank farm activity started
- 09:56 Major tank farm activity
- 10:25 Frost / condensation started to appear on CH4 tank
- 10:26 Frost / condensation started to appear on LOX tank
- 11:25 Condensation on LOX tank nearly completely covering the surface
- 11:45 Condensation levels decreased
- 12:00 Frost started to reappear on CH4 tank
- 12:20 Frost started to reappear on LOX tank
- 12:25 CH4 tank completely frosty
- 12:30 Frost levels on CH4 tanks nearly complete
- 13:35 Frost started to decrease on CH4 tank
18 January 2025 - Roll back[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 20:10 S34 departed cryo stand at Massey's
- 20:40 Entered hwy 4
- 23:39 Entered mega bay 2
10 February 2025 - Roll out to Massey's[]
S34 was rolled out for a static fire Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 23:55 S34 posed on the static fire stand
- 00:38 S34 has exited the MB2
- 00:51 S34 has entered HWY 4
- 01:?? S34 arrived at Massey’s test site.
11 February 2025 - Static fire[]
SpaceX conducted a long duration static fire test of Ship 34 at Massey Outpost. The test lasted approximately 1 minute. According to SpaceX, "the extended firing tested new hardware and cycled the six Raptor engines through multiple thrust levels to recreate different conditions seen within the propulsion system during flight. Data from the test will inform upgrades to the ship’s hardware and flight profile ahead of the next launch."[3] The company also shared a video of a test which can be found here. Timeline according to LabPadre discord:
- 15:38 Tank farm venting, vaporizers active at Massey's test site
- 19:43 Cryo loading confirmed to be in progress
- 20:15 Static Fire test
02 March 2025- Roll out[]
Timeline according to LabPadre discord/live and NSF live:
- 05:07 S34 Payload door closed
- 06:22 SPMTs rolled under S34
- 07:19 S34 left Megabay 2
- 09:57 S34 entered HWY 4
- 10:52 S34 arrived at launch site and is moving towards Pad A
- 11:07 S34 arrived at Pad A
- 14:13 S34 moved between the chopsticks
- 15:19 SQD arm has been retracted
Subsequently, S34 was stacked onto B15. The timeline can be found here.
Gallery[]
