Starship flight test 11


Starship flight test 11 was the eleventh flight test of a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle, using Booster 15 and Ship 38. It was the last flight of a Block 2 Starship vehicle, and flew a similar profile to the previous two flights. According to Eric Berger, Flight 11 included additional tests of the Raptor engines. 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.

Background

Vehicle testing ahead of launch

Booster 15

B15 was rolled back to Mega Bay 1 on March 8 for refurbishment, after having flown on flight 8. It was then rolled to Pad 1 on September 5, and stacked onto the Orbital Launch Mount on September 6. B15 then performed a 33 engine, 9 second duration static fire on September 7. Booster 15 then rolled back to Mega Bay 1 on September 8. B15 was rolled back to Pad 1 on October8 and was lifted onto the OLM.

Ship 38

S38 was rolled to the Massey's test site for cryogenic testing on July 27. On July 30, S38 conducted three separate cryogenic proof tests, followed by a return to the production site on August 1. Engine Installation began on August 14 with two Vacuum Raptors entering Mega Bay 2. 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. The first attempt at a static fire was aborted as the vehicle began propellant load on September 18. It re-attempted a static fire, but it was aborted for unknown reasons during propellant loading. Ship 38 then conducted a 6 engine, 8 second duration static fire on September 22. On October11, Ship 38 was integrated with its payload and lifted atop Booster 15.

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.

Flight timeline