SpaceX Completes Three Static Fires in Three Days for Flight 15

Date:
Fri, 30 Oct 2026 21:53:38 +0000

Description:
In eight days, SpaceX completed all engine testing for Flight 15, some cryo-proof and catch The post SpaceX Completes Three Static Fires in Three Days for Flight 15 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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In eight days, SpaceX completed all engine testing for Flight 15, some cryo-proof and catch testing for Flight 16, and lifted the top deck deluge plates onto Pad 1s Launch Mount. This past week has been one of the busiest
in Starship program history.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqb6w5FeE

Flight 16

Progress toward Flight 16 has been strong this past week. Ship 43 rolled out to Masseys on Oct. 22 and completed both cryo-proof tests on Oct. 23. The
ship then rolled back to Mega Bay 2 on Oct. 26 to be swapped to a transport stand.

Once on the transport stand, the team rolled Ship 43 out to Pad 2 for ship catch testing. This entailed lifting Ship 43 to catch height, then lowering
it to bring in the Ship Quick Disconnect (SQD). Once in line, SpaceX hooked
up the SQD plate to the ship to test safing procedures for when they eventually catch a ship.

SpaceX also performed this testing with Ship 42 in mid-September. This
testing helps controllers gain experience in ship safing operations and write operations as teams progress. Ship 43 Undergoing Catch Testing

The next catch test SpaceX performed moved the ship to the middle of the chopsticks while it was on the transport stand. Then the chopsticks lifted
the ship without the stabilizers, and the pushers on the landing rails pushed the ship to line up with the stabilizers before hooking in.

This operation is how SpaceX lined up Boosters 12, 14, and 15 when those were caught; teams just havent caught a ship yet, so they are practicing with non-flown ships.

After all of that testing, Ship 43 was rolled back to Mega Bay 2 on Oct. 27 and placed on the back left work stand. Ship 43 will now receive its engines installed before heading back out for its static fire campaign.

Booster 23 rolled back out to Masseys on Oct. 27, but after spending over
two full days at the cryo station, the booster did no visible testing. It couldve done an ambient pressure test, but there were no noticeable vents to show either way. Booster 23 then rolled back to Mega Bay 1 early on Oct. 30. Booster 23 at Masseys for the Second Time

Flight 15

SpaceX made significant progress on Flight 15 in the past week, with both vehicles completing their respective static fire campaigns. On Oct. 24, Booster 22 was rolled out to Pad 2 and installed on the launch mount early that morning. After completing preparations on Saturday, SpaceX ignited all
33 Raptor engines early Sunday morning, Oct. 25, for a full-duration
15-second static fire.

Afterward, Booster 22 was rolled back to Mega Bay 1 in the early morning hours of Oct. 26 and placed on the back right work stand for final preparations before flight. Full duration 33-engine static fire for the Super Heavy booster preparing for Flight 15 pic.twitter.com/7eqbC4h0Fh

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 25, 2026



Ship 42 was rolled out to Masseys during the late-night to early-morning hours of the 26th; during that night, there were multiple closures, and
SpaceX rolled Ship 43 back from Masseys, Ship 42 out to Masseys, and Booster 22 back from the Launch Site. So, three separate vehicle rolls in about seven hours.

Once at Masseys, Ship 42 completed a single-engine header tank static fire
on Oct. 26 to simulate an in-space deorbit burn. To simulate this, SpaceX loads the ship with the required propellant; once the propellant load is finished, teams let it sit in the tanks and warm to the desired temperature before completing a static fire.

Then, on Oct. 27, Ship 42 completed a 60-second six-engine static fire, the normal duration for Block 3 ships. With this engine testing completed, Ship
42 rolled back to Mega Bay 2 and found a full house on Oct. 29 for final flight preparations and inspections. Ship 42 static fires complete. The Starship preparing for Flight 15 performed a full duration, six-engine static fire, and fired a single Raptor engine to simulate a deorbit burn pic.twitter.com/I7Ip89Bmey

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 28, 2026



The vehicles in Mega Bay 2 are as follows: Ship 40 on the front right stand, which was flown on Flight 13 and is undergoing inspections; Ship 42 on the front left stand, which will now get final inspections, its Flight
Termination System charges, and then be loaded with Starlinks before Flight 15.

Ship 43 on the back right stand, as stated above, will now get engines before a static fire test sometime in December; Ship 44 on the center stand, which just got its raceways after final stacking on Oct. 20; and finally Ship 45 on the turntable, which is just the Nose Cone, Payload Bay, and Forward Dome sections as of Oct. 30.

If SpaceX ends up catching Ship 42 and Ship 43, teams will run into a
storage problem unless a few ship stands in Giagabay can be operational in a few months.

Counting up all the moves and testing since Ship 43 was rolled to Masseys on Oct. 22, SpaceX completed 10 ship and booster rolls, five tests where tanks were loaded (three of them static fires), and a full slate of catch testing with a ship. That is one of the busiest eight-day spans in the history of the Starship Program. CADENA Slide Stating the New NET for Flight 15 (Credit: CADENA)

There was also an update from CADENA with Starship Flight 15s no earlier
than date being pushed to Nov. 12. It could keep that date or push even further; there is lots of paperwork required with trying to bring a ship back to the launch site, and that is the current deciding factor for a launch
date.

Pad 1 Progress

In addition to completing several test points for the next two Starship flights, SpaceX is also making good progress on future launch and test infrastructure at Starbase. Pad 1 is still making good progress on the main floor, and one flame trench ramp has been poured with concrete. On the center floor, the team has installed all five A-frame supports and the center ridge cap support into the trench.

In addition, the team has lifted several prefabricated flame trench wall sections into place, along with all four Launch Mount legs. The team is still fully welding these sections together as SpaceX continues to prefabricate the other wall sections off to the side of the launch pad. Pad 1 Progress as of October 23

The tower internals are still completely barren, but SpaceX has made significant progress on the new drawworks housing on the backside of the
tower base. Once completed, SpaceX has to install a new drawworks setup
before the chopstick arms at Pad 1 can become operational again. Even then, the chopstick arms arent even close to ready for use.

Over at Sanchez, the launch mount for Pad 1 has made decent progress as
well; it now has the first two levels nearly fully installed and has had its top deck deluge plate pieces lifted into place over the past week. Next to
the launch mount are the two flame diverter buckets, which appear to be
making solid progress; it is unclear when they will be ready for rollout and installation. The ridge cap is also being fully assembled next to the launch mount.

The new SQD arm is also progressing well; the primary structure is finished, and outfitting will likely begin soon. Pad 1 Launch Mount Progress as of October 23

Masseys

Other than hosting three separate vehicles this past week, Masseys has been getting a partial makeover over the past few months.

The site removed some of the old Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) tanks and brought in three newer, larger tanks to replace them and increase LN2 storage. Alongside these, SpaceX also added two new banks of vaporizers to improve gas
generation at the Masseys tank farm. Masseys as of October 23

With the removal of the old LN2 tanks, SpaceX has started construction on a new Supercrusher to help supplement the current one. Once completed, SpaceX will be able to test even more tanks as teams introduce changes to the Starship program and newer variants of the ship.

SpaceX also got approval to expand Masseys footprint with Masseys 2; this
new plot of land to the east of the current site more than doubles the land area for Starbases testing facility. With this new land, SpaceX could add two more ship static-fire stands and many other test stands; the exact layout is currently unknown.

(Featured Image: Booster 22 Static Fire (Credit: Colleen Liedtke for NSF)



The post SpaceX Completes Three Static Fires in Three Days for Flight 15 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/spacex-static-fires-flight-15/


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