This article provides an overview of all early Suborbital test launches from SpaceX's launch facility at Starbase, Boca Chica. For near orbital flight tests, see Integrated Flight Tests. For operation launches see Operational Launches Overview
Sources: This wiki and Wikipedia[1].
Starhopper[]
The first flight test series was conducted with Starhopper, a test vehicle with a single Raptor engine. During the first two "hops", Starhopper was tethered, so it could not lift off a lot. The first "tethered hop" took place on 3 April 2019, according to Elon Musk[2].
| Nr. | Date and time (UTC) | Vehicle | Launch site | Flight apogee | approx. Duration | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 April 2019 | Starhopper | Boca Chica | <0.3 m | 3 secs | success |
| B | 5 April 2019 | Starhopper | Boca Chica | 1 m | 5 secs | success |
| 1 | 25 July 2019 | Starhopper | Boca Chica | 20 m | 22 secs | landing, success |
| 2 | 27 August 2019, 22:00 | Starhopper | Boca Chica | 150 m | 1 min | landing, success |
Low altitude hops (2. stage tanks)[]
The low altitude test hops included SN5 and SN6 which both successfully ascended to 150 meters and landed again at the launch site. Both prototypes had a fully assembled tank section, but only one Raptor engine has been installed and no nosecone was stacked, instead a mass simulator was used.
| Nr. | Date and time (UTC) | Vehicle | Launch site | Flight apogee | approx. Duration | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 August 2020, 23:57 | SN5 | Boca Chica, SoLS Pad A | 150m | 45 secs | landing, success |
| 4 | 3 September 2020, 17:47 | SN6 | Boca Chica, SoLS Pad A | 150 m | 45 secs | landing, success |
Suborbital test flights (2. stage)[]
After SN5 and SN6's test hops, SpaceX moved on to fully stacked prototypes of the second stage, thus with three engines and a stacked nosecone. Five vehicles have been tested in rapid succession, all with a similar flight profile that included ascend, successive turning off of the engines to a hover position, flipping to horizontal position, flap-controlled descend, engine-reignition, and landing attempt. The ultimate goal was to demonstrate landing capability of the second stage, finally achieved with SN15, although SN10 also landed but subsequently exploded.
| Nr. | Date | Vehicle | Launch site | Flight apogee | approx. Duration | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 9 December 2020, 22:45 (UTC) | SN8 | Boca Chica, SoLS Pad A | 12.5 km | 6 mins, 42 secs | landing attempt, RUD, partial success |
| 6 | 2 February 2021, 20:25 (UTC) | SN9 | Boca Chica, SoLS PadB | 10 km | 6 mins, 26 secs | landing attempt, RUD, partial success |
| 7 | 03 March 2021, 17:14:37 | SN10 | Boca Chica, SoLS Pad A | 10 km | 6 mins, 29 secs | RUD after landing, partial success |
| 8 | 30 March 2021, 08:00:05 | SN11 | Boca Chica, SoLS Pad B | 10 km | 5 mins, 49 secs | RUD before landing, failure |
| 9 | 05 May 2021, 17:24:05 | SN15 | Boca Chica, SoLS Pad A | 10 km | 6 mins, 8 secs | success |
Integrated Flight Tests[]
Main article: Integrated Flight Tests
Integrated flight test, or officially just called Starship Flight Tests, are technically suborbital test launches during which SpaceX tests the Starship design. During these tests, the company continues their iterative approach with each launch vehicle being upgraded based on the learings from previous flight tests. Also, the mission profiles are iteratively adapted, although several flight tests may share similar profiles.
| Starship Flight Test | Date | Vehicle | Launch site | Flight apogee | Mission Duration | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starship Flight Test 1 | 20 April 2023 | Starship 7/24 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 39 km | 3 mins, 59 secs | Failed staging and FTS detonation attempt, RUD, failure |
| Starship Flight Test 2 | 18 November 2023 | Starship 9/25 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 149 km | 8 mins, 6 secs | Booster RUD after stage sep; Ship FTS activation after fire/explosions in aft; Partial success |
| Starship Flight Test 3 | 14 March 2024 | Starship 10/28 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 234 km | 49 mins, 39 secs | Booster hard splashdown; Ship burned up during re-entry; Success |
| Starship Flight Test 4 | 6 June 2024 | Starship 11/29 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 213 km | 1 hour, 5 mins, 48 secs | Booster on target soft splashdown; Ship few kilometres off but also soft splashdown. Full success. |
| Starship Flight Test 5 | 13 October 2024 | Starship 12/30 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 212 km | 1 hour, 5 mins, 43 secs | First successful catch; ship completed it's mission successfully, landing in the Indian ocean |
| Starship Flight Test 6 | 19 November 2024 | Starship 13/31 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 190 km | 1 hour, 5 mins, 40 secs | Successful completion of the ship's mission profile; booster catch attempt was aborted due to issues on the tower. |
| Starship Flight Test 7 | 17 January 2025 | Starship 14/33 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 | 146 km | 8 mins, 26 secs | Second successful booster catch; Ship lost on ascent due to fuel leak |
| Starship Flight Test 8 | NET February 2025 | Starship 15/34 | Starbase Boca Chica, OLIT-1 |