Featured Image: Trevor Mahlmann
Starship SN15 Overview:
SpaceX will attempt to launch Starship SN15 on a medium altitude test flight. This follows the previous test flights of SN8, SN9, SN10, and SN11, which have all exploded on, or shortly after landing. Live updates can be found below.
You can find detailed information on this test flight in the Prelaunch Preview.
| Starship SN15 Milestones | Current No Earlier Than (NET) dates |
|---|---|
| Ambient Pressure Test (completed) | April 09, 2021 -~16:00 UTC | 11:00 CDT |
| Cryo Proof #1 (completed) | April 12, 2021 -~21:00 UTC – April 13, 2021 -~23:00 UTC April 12, 2021 -~16:00 CDT – April 12, 2021 -~18:00 CDT |
| Cryo Proof #2 (completed) | April 13, 2021 -~23:00 UTC – April 14, 2021 -~01:00 UTC April 13, 2021 -~18:00 CDT – April 13, 2021 -~20:00 CDT |
| Static Fire #1 (completed) | April 26, 2021 -~21:57:17 UTC | 16:57:17 CDT |
| Static Fire #2 (completed) | April 27, 2021 -~23:49:06 UTC | 18:49:06 CDT |
| Flight (completed) | May 05, 2021 -~22:24:10 UTC [17:24:10 CDT] |
Live updates:
May 05, 2021 – 19:00 UTC [14:00 CDT]
The road has opened.
May 05, 2021 – 14:35 UTC [09:35 CDT]
The road closure has been extended to May 6, 2021 at 17:00 UTC [12:00 CDT]. Tankzilla is also heading to the landing pad.
May 06, 2021 – 01:25 UTC [May 05, 2021 – 20:25 CDT]
Recover personell are heading to the landing pad.
May 05, 2021 – 23:40 UTC [18:40 CDT]
SN15 has been safed.
May 05, 2021 – 22:36 UTC [17:36 CDT]
Final depress underway.
May 05, 2021 – 22:36 UTC [17:36 CDT]
The fire at the base of the vehicle has appeared to be extinguished.
May 05, 2021 – 22:31 UTC [17:31 CDT]
There is a fire at the base of the vehicle. Water cannons are working to extinguish it. Depress vents have also been seen.
May 05, 2021 – 22:31 UTC [17:31 CDT]
Vehicle is going into safing.
May 05, 2021 – 22:31 UTC [17:31 CDT]
Starship has completed a successful landing.
May 05, 2021 – 22:25 UTC [17:25 CDT]
Liftoff!
May 05, 2021 – 22:22 UTC [17:22 CDT]
Propellant load is complete.
May 05, 2021 – 22:12 UTC [17:12 CDT]
Triventing has started and the engines have begun chilling.
May 05, 2021 – 21:51 UTC [16:51 CDT]
Propellant has begun loading into the vehicle.
May 05, 2021 – 21:38 UTC [16:38 CDT]
Clouds have begun to appear in and around the tank farm.
May 05, 2021 – 21:34 UTC [16:34 CDT]
There is a new estimated T-0 of 22:18 UTC [17:18 CDT]. The recondenser has started again.
May 05, 2021 – 21:09 UTC [16:09 CDT]
The recondenser has started.
May 05, 2021 – 20:51 UTC [15:51 CDT]
The pad has been cleared again as we are awaiting T-0.
May 05, 2021 – 20:15 UTC [15:15 CDT]
The pad is no longer clear. No scrub yet, as there are still around 5 hours left in today’s test window.
May 05, 2021 – 19:32 UTC [14:32 CDT]
The pad has been cleared and Starship is waking up.
May 05, 2021 ~ 18:29 UTC [~13:29 CDT]
Flight Termination System (FTS) pins have started to be pulled.
May 05, 2021 ~ 17:34 UTC [~12:34 CDT]
The road has been closed ahead of an upcoming flight attempt today.
May 05, 2021 ~ 17:18 UTC [~12:18 CDT]
Workers are beginning to leave the pad as they conclude final closeouts.
May 05, 2021 ~ 16:15 UTC [~11:15 CDT]
Workers in a boom lift are unstrapping the flaps on SN15 prior to today’s scheduled road closure.
May 04, 2021 ~15:40 UTC [~10:40 CDT]
SpaceX has scrubbed its Starship flight for today. New NET date is now May 5, 2021.
May 04, 2021 ~11:50 UTC [~6:50 CDT]
The flaps are unchained, being extended ahead of a flight attempt later today.
May 03, 2021 ~23:00 UTC [~18:00 CDT]
Residents have received an alert notice for tomorrow [May 04, 2021] suggesting a flight attempt during this test window.
May 03, 2021 ~21:10 UTC [~16:10 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Thursday, May 6th from the surface up to unlimited altitude.
May 03, 2021 ~15:38 UTC [~10:38 CDT]
There have been two road closures scheduled for Tuesday, May 4th and Wednesday May 5th from 17:00 UTC to 01:00 UTC [12:00 CDT to 20:00 CDT] on both days.
April 30, 2021 ~21:43 UTC [~16:43 CDT]
Residents have received an alert notice for tomorrow [May 01, 2021] suggesting a flight attempt during this test window.
April 30, 2021 ~18:07 UTC [~13:07 CDT]
Residents received an update that no evacuation is necessary as SpaceX has scrubbed today’s flight attempt.
April 30, 2021 ~ 14:22 UTC [~09:22 CDT]
Teams are beginning final pad closeouts.
April 30, 2021 ~ 12:42 UTC [~07:42 CDT]
Police have arrived at the road closure point to begin the process of closing the road ahead of a potential flight today.
April 30, 2021 ~ 03:48 UTC [April 29, 2021 ~22:48 CDT]
FTS is being installed.
April 29, 2021 ~ 21:38 UTC [~16:38 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Sunday, May 2nd from the surface up to unlimited.
April 28, 2021 ~ 21:11 UTC [~16:11 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Saturday, May 1st from the surface up to unlimited.
April 28, 2021 ~ 21:03 UTC [~16:03 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Friday, April 30th from the surface up to unlimited.
April 28, 2021 ~ 01:25 UTC [April 27, 2021 ~20:25 CDT]
Road has reopened.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:50 UTC [~18:50 CDT]
Header tank depress.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:49 UTC [~18:49 CDT]
Static fire!
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:44 UTC [~18:44 CDT]
Venting from the LOX header tank.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:41 UTC [~18:41 CDT]
A second engine vent has started.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:40 UTC [~18:40 CDT]
Siren. T-10 minutes.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:37 UTC [~18:37 CDT]
A single engine vent has started. About 12 minutes from a static fire.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:26 UTC [~18:26 CDT]
Engine chill has started.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:13 UTC [~18:13 CDT]
Propellant has begun loading into the vehicle.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:10 UTC [~18:10 CDT]
Clouds from the tank farm have become visible.
April 27, 2021 ~ 23:00 UTC [~18:00 CDT]
The recondenser is on.
April 27, 2021 ~ 22:44 UTC [~17:44 CDT]
The pad is clear.
April 27, 2021 ~ 19:40 UTC [~14:40 CDT]
Vehicles appear to be leaving the pad area. The road and beach may be in the process of being cleared. Workers no longer appear to be working at height at the launch site.
April 27, 2021 ~ 19:10 UTC [~14:10 CDT]
The crane transport appears to have concluded. The beach was not cleared during the previous (rolling) road closure.
April 27, 2021 ~ 18:10 UTC [~13:10 CDT]
The road is being closed for the transport of a crane from the launch site back to the build site. The crane is on an SPMT and is turning onto the road. Workers were clearly working at height within the perimeter of the launch site.
April 27, 2021 ~ 16:21 UTC [~11:21 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Thursday, April 29th from the surface up to unlimited.
April 26, 2021 ~ 23:53 UTC [~18:53 CDT]
Road is open.
April 26, 2021 ~ 23:50 UTC [~18:50 CDT]
SpaceX vehicles have begun returning to the pad but the road is not yet open to the public.
April 26, 2021 ~ 22:40 UTC [~17:40 CDT]
Thruster testing is seen and heard on the nose and skirt portions of the vehicle.
April 26, 2021 ~ 22:27 UTC [~17:27 CDT]
Starship is detanking.
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:58 UTC [~16:58 CDT]
Dpress venting.
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:57 UTC [~16:57 CDT]
Static fire!
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:51 UTC [~16:51 CDT]
Venting from a new location by the header tank.
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:47 UTC [~16:47 CDT]
Siren has been heard. T-10 minutes.
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:46 UTC [~16:46 CDT]
A trivent has starting meaning that engines have begun to chill.
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:35 UTC [~16:35 CDT]
SN15 has vented indicating that propellants are being loaded into the vehicle.
April 26, 2021 ~ 21:22 UTC [~16:22 CDT]
The recon denser is on and there are clouds coming from the ground farm.
April 26, 2021 ~ 20:28 UTC [~15:28 CDT]
Pad is clear.
April 26, 2021 ~ 20:10 UTC [~15:10 CDT]
Cars have returned to the pad.
April 26, 2021 ~ 19:40 UTC [~14:40 CDT]
Pad has been cleared and all personnel in vehicles have left the launch pad vicinity.
April 26, 2021 ~ 17:17 UTC [~12:17 CDT]
Road and beach have been closed for testing today.
April 25, 2021 ~ 11:03 UTC [~06:03 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Wednesday, April 28th from the surface up to unlimited.
April 24, 2021 ~ 10:51 UTC [~05:51 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Tuesday, April 27th from the surface up to unlimited.
April 23, 2021 ~ 13:59 UTC [~08:59 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Monday, April 26th from the surface up to unlimited.
April 23, 2021 ~ 13:00 UTC [~08:00 CDT]
The road closure has been canceled for today. There will be no testing for Friday, April 23.
April 23, 2021 ~00:21 UTC [April 22, 2021 ~19:21 CDT]
Road has been reopened.
April 23, 2021 ~00:14 UTC [April 22, 2021 ~19:14 CDT]
Depress venting from the LOX and CH4 tanks have begun.
April 22, 2021 ~ 23:59 UTC [~18:59 CDT]
LOX vent.
April 22, 2021 ~ 23:56 UTC [~18:56 CDT]
Large clouds are visible from the area under the vehicle.
April 22, 2021 ~ 23:45 UTC [~18:45 CDT]
SN15 has begun venting from underneath and outside the skirt (tri-vent area).
April 22, 2021 ~ 23:25 UTC [~18:25 CDT]
Cryo Purge
April 22, 2021 ~ 23:20 UTC [~18:20 CDT]
Venting from beneath has become visible.
April 22, 2021 ~ 23:05 UTC [~18:05 CDT]
Venting is now visible from the ground farm.
April 22, 2021 ~ 22:58 UTC [~17:58 CDT]
Pad has been cleared.
April 22, 2021 ~ 22:16 UTC [~17:16 CDT]
The road has closed.
April 22, 2021 ~16:00 UTC [~11:00 CDT]
There is no static fire test today. However, there is a road and beach closure from 22:30-23:30 UTC [17:30-18:30 CDT] for testing.
April 21, 2021 ~15:00 UTC [~10:00 CDT]
The road closures have been shifted around today, there will be no static fire for today, April 21st.
April 21, 2021 ~ 12:28 UTC [~07:28 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Saturday, April 24th from the surface up to unlimited.
April 20, 2021 ~00:00 UTC [April 19, 2021 ~19:00 CDT]
Road closure for Tuesday, April 20, has been canceled. Next NET date for Static Fire is April 21, 2021.
April 19, 2021 ~ 19:20 UTC [~14:20 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Wednesday, April 21st.
April 18, 2021 ~ 23:24 UTC [~18:24 CDT]
A new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) has been posted for Tuesday, April 20th.
April 15, 2021 ~ 14:10 UTC [~09:10 CDT]
The first of three Raptors is currently being installed.
April 16, 2021 ~ 01:00 UTC [April 15, 2021 ~20:00 CDT]
Earlier this evening, all three upgraded Raptor engines (#54,61,66) arrived at the launch pad.
April 15, 2021 ~ 12:57 UTC [~07:57 CDT]
The road closure for tomorrow (Friday, April 16th) has been cancelled.
April 14, 2021 ~ 11:48 UTC [~06:48 CDT]
The road closures for today (Wednesday, April 14th) and tomorrow (Thursday, April 15th) have been cancelled.
April 14, 2021 ~ 01:50 UTC [April 13, 2021 ~20:50 CDT]
Road has reopened,
April 14, 2021 ~ 01:18 UTC [April 13, 2021 ~20:18 CDT]
There is a depress vent from the liquid methane tank and the liquid oxygen tank as well as the nose area. This indicates the end of testing.
April 14, 2021 ~ 00:54 UTC [April 13, 2021 ~19:54 CDT]
The nose has begun to accumulate frost. There are also audible vents from SN15.
April 13, 2021 ~ 23:08 UTC [~18:08 CDT]
Pad has been cleared.
April 13, 2021 ~ 20:45 UTC [~15:45 CDT]
The road has been closed ahead of an upcoming cryo test.
April 12, 2021 ~ 23:45 UTC [~18:45 CDT]
The pad and road have now been reopened ending todays cryogenic proof test.
April 12, 2021 ~ 23:12 UTC [~18:12 CDT]
The final depressurization vent can be observed coming from the vehicle.
April 12, 2021 ~ 22:32 UTC [~17:32 CDT]
Large vents can be observed coming from the liquid oxygen and liquid methane tanks which suggests detanking.
April 12, 2021 ~ 22:25 UTC [~17:25 CDT]
The liquid oxygen tank (bottom) has fully frosted over while the liquid methane tanks begins to do the same.
April 12, 2021 ~ 20:55 UTC [~15:55 CDT]
SN15 has started venting and a frost line has appeared indicating that propellants are being loaded into the vehicle.
April 12, 2021 ~ 18:08 UTC [~13:08 CDT]
Ground venting has been observed at the launch pad site.
April 12, 2021 ~ 17:48 UTC [~12:48 CDT]
All personnel have been cleared from the pad.
April 12, 2021 ~ 16:11 UTC [~11:11 CDT]
The road has been closed ahead of a potential cryogenic proof test.
April 09, 2021 ~ 16:16 UTC [~11:16 CDT]
Road has been reopened.
April 09, 2021 ~ 15:50 UTC [~10:50 CDT]
SN15 showed small vents.
April 09, 2021 ~ 11:06 UTC [~06:08 CDT]
The road has been closed for a possible cryogenic test today.
April 08, 2021 ~ 22:30 UTC [~16:30 CDT]
Fog has descended on the launch pad site and we can’t see the transfer of Starship SN15 from the transfer platform, to the launch platform.
April 08, 2021 ~ 19:30 UTC [~14:30 CDT]
All of the crane “squid” attachments appear to be connected to Starship SN15 and the boom lifts are descending back to ground.
April 08, 2021 ~ 19:20 UTC [~14:20 CDT]
SpaceX workers up on boom lifts are attaching the crane’s attachment chains to Starship SN15’s mounting points. Both boom lifts are still elevated.
April 08, 2021 ~ 18:50 UTC [~13:50 CDT]
Workers are going up on a pair of boom lifts next to SN15 and the crane, to attach the crane’s “squid” chains to the six mounting points on the nose of Starship.
April 08, 2021 ~ 18:00 UTC [~13:00 CDT]
Starship has turned off the public highway and is now at the launch facility. It appears that the “TankZilla” crane is in position ready to lift it later today.
April 08, 2021 ~ 17:20 UTC [~12:20 CDT]
Starship has arrived near the pad. It will soon stop near Test Pad where it will be lifted and later mounted.
April 08, 2021 ~ 16:00 UTC [~11:00 CDT]
The vehicle has begun the rollout to the pad and is out of the highbay.
Do you know any of the ¨Hundreds of improvements to SN15 because all I can see is more heat shield tiles.
Heat shield tiles are one of the improvements, however a lot of a improvements are internal such as engine and tank changes!
Thx for the info!
The upgrades include raptor and avionics upgrades as far as I know.
A new thrust puck,engine version 2.0 and allot of avionics and programming upgrades
Who cares as long as it lands and doesn’t blow up;
A friken lot of people who built it to do exactly that.
Is there any chance sn16 can get fully stacked and have a starship on pad A and pad B or no?
Not likely, but it depends on when SN15 launches.
Is sn20 going to have the bottom side fully covered in tps tiles for possible reentry?
Definitely, sn20 is the first orbital prototype and is will possibly go for reentry from orbital velocity.
Definitely, sn20 will go and try to attempt reentry from orbital velocity.
I did it twice heh.
Great info! just a little suggestion, it would really nice to have a real time clock (in UTC or CDT) at the top of the live updates section. It will make knowing when the updates happened for people live in different time zones just a little easier without time conversion. Thanks and keep up the good work!
I hope some of the improvements work for the engines because on sn8 it turned green,sn9 lost one, sn10 sucked up helium and idk what happend to sn11
Let’s hope there is no fog.
does anybody know the reason they put a Starlink dish on SN15?
prob so they (might) have a backup comms? I’m just guessing though.
I’ve been on pins and needles for the last three weeks waiting for this. I really hope they land this one.
Guess this page could now be updated to when will SN15 relaunch 😀