---
title: 'SpaceX Tries to Save Ship 40 as Flight 14 Nears | Starship Update'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=OWqDG2gNPko'
video_id: 'OWqDG2gNPko'
date: 2026-08-05
duration_sec: 1486
---

# SpaceX Tries to Save Ship 40 as Flight 14 Nears | Starship Update

> Source: [SpaceX Tries to Save Ship 40 as Flight 14 Nears | Starship Update](https://youtube.com/watch?v=OWqDG2gNPko)

## Summary

This video provides a comprehensive update on SpaceX's Starship program following the successful Flight 13 launch, focusing on the recovery of Ship 40, preparations for Flight 14, and progress on launch infrastructure at Starbase and in Florida.

### Key Points

- **Ship 40 Landing Footage** [00:39] — SpaceX released drone and flap camera footage of Ship 40's flip and landing burn, showing precise control and a fire after tipping over, likely from venting methane.
- **Ship 40 Recovery Effort** [02:08] — SpaceX is recovering Ship 40 from the Indian Ocean using vessels Go Australis, Norman Ranger, and Skimmer Tide. The ship drifted over 400 km before recovery began.
- **Starlink V3 Satellite Imagery** [04:09] — Starlink V3 satellites captured images and a time-lapse of Ship 40 in orbit, showing the heat shield condition and attitude maneuvers.
- **Heat Shield Damage** [05:14] — Satellite imagery revealed missing tiles and damage around the aft section of Ship 40, which occurred earlier in flight, not just splashdown damage.
- **Flight 14 Timeline** [06:04] — Hazard notices and planning conferences suggest Flight 14 may target August 20, but the date is tentative and could slip.
- **Pad 2 Post-Launch Repairs** [07:57] — Pad 2 survived well, but SpaceX is installing additional burn plates in the flame trench, possibly due to thermal stress from Booster 20's static fire.
- **Booster 21 and Ship 41 Progress** [09:53] — Booster 21 completed cryogenic testing and is receiving engines; Ship 41 is also progressing, with potential for a ship catch on Flight 14.
- **McGregor Raptor Testing** [11:02] — 24 Raptor 3 test firings occurred in two weeks, including a 140-second test matching a full ascent burn duration, likely for Booster 20's engine.
- **Mega Bay 2 Vehicles** [13:28] — Ship 42 is fully stacked, awaiting testing after Ship 41. Booster 22 is under construction and could be the first Block 3 booster caught by chopsticks.
- **Star Factory Nose Cones** [14:48] — Multiple nose cones are in production, including Ship 43 and a new test article Ship 43.1 for structural testing.
- **Retiring Test Tanks** [16:05] — SpaceX is retiring several structural test tanks, including Ship 39.1 and Booster 18.3, but continues testing a booster landing tank.
- **Ship 43.1 Test Article** [17:35] — Ship 43.1 is a new structural test article with a PEZ dispenser rig, catch pins, and portholes for testing header tanks and payload bay loads.
- **Florida Launch Sites** [19:48] — SpaceX stacked the first tower at SLC-37A and began chopstick testing at LC-39A, with the Gigabay at Roberts Road progressing.
- **Pad 1 Upgrades** [22:09] — Pad 1 is being modified for Starship V3, with parallel work on the flame trench, service structure, and new quick disconnect arm.

### Conclusion

SpaceX is rapidly advancing its Starship program, with recovery of Ship 40, preparations for Flight 14, and significant infrastructure upgrades at Starbase and Florida, indicating a strong push toward higher launch cadence and eventual ship catches.

## Transcript

launched 10 days ago, but SpaceX's mission is nowhere near finished as the company is now trying to recover ship 40 out at sea. In the meantime, teams are the launch pad for the next flight, [music] which could be happening this
month. SpaceX also recently finished its second Starship launch tower on the we'll talk about that and a whole lot more in this Starship update.
13 footage that SpaceX has recently released because it's well worth a mention. Just a few days after ship 40's landing, SpaceX released two clips of the flip and landing burn from that flight. The drone footage clearly shows
just how well the ship remained under control throughout the flip. It's also pretty cool to see the Raptor exhaust pointed directly at the drone. Watching it maneuver, you could almost picture it coming in for a catch on the tower. It
lights its engines, rotates to the vertical, and as it completes the flip, also translates sideways, down selects two engines, and gently lands on the water. As we now know, the ship did not explode after tipping over, but it's
still incredible to watch every time. Also, take a close look at the engine section and how the sea level Raptors gimbal back to their neutral position while the ship is floating in the water. The second clip shows the same flip and
landing maneuver, but this time from the flap camera. This angle gives us a much better view of the fire that broke out after the ship tipped over. Towards the end of the clip, we can even see flames rising from the middle of the ship,
likely as the main tanks began venting and releasing methane gas, which then ignited. The Starlink account on X also shared another brilliant perspective of the landing, this time from one of the boys in the landing zone, which also
captured the two drones that SpaceX had deployed to the area. Following the confirmed that SpaceX was sending another ship to recover the vehicle from the ocean. It makes sense as they can learn an enormous amount by inspecting a
recovered vehicle rather than just letting it sink, losing all of that information. He later posted a clip of the ship floating in the water and precise enough for it to have been caught by the tower arms. With ship 40
still afloat, it continued drifting over the following days with SpaceX's recovery vessel Go Australis following closely behind. In total, ship 40 drifted more than 400 km before recovery operations could begin. For context,
that's floating farther than the distance between London and Paris or New York and Washington D.C. SpaceX then dispatched a pair of vessels, Norman Ranger and Skimmer Tide, which have now rendezvoused with Go Australis and ship
40 in the Indian Ocean. Norman Ranger was the first to arrive with Skimmer Tide reaching the area around half a day later. It does appear that operations are finally underway. Thanks to marinetraffic.com satellite tracking, we
can see that the drift west has stopped and all three vessels are sailing east. The most likely situation is that Norman Ranger is currently towing ship 40, but there's also a chance that Skimmer Tide is also helping out. If they continue
their one-knot pace, it'll take them over a month just to reach Australia. make sure to press that subscribe button and follow us on the socials to stay in Australia will be the final resting place for ship 40. However, with enough
time and resources, SpaceX could, in theory, transport the vehicle all the way back to Starbase. Will it happen? We'll just have to wait and see. transporting it back to the United States or should SpaceX inspect it in
Australia and then scrap it? Let us know what you think in the comments. Maybe SpaceX could offer ship 40 as a gesture of goodwill to an Australian museum kind of as an apology after they accidentally scattered some Dragon trunk debris over
the country a few years ago. In addition to the impressive landing footage, SpaceX also released images captured by the Starlink version 3 satellites deployed on flight 13. First, there was a pair of images shared by Starlink on
X. One shows the other Starlink version 3 satellites with their solar arrays deployed with some even firing their ion thrusters. The other image shows ship 40 as seen from one of the cameras aboard one of those satellites. It almost has
an eerie appearance with most of the ship in darkness and only partially illuminated. The second piece of media was arguably even more impressive, a time-lapse created from images taken by four different cameras on the same
satellite all looking back at ship 40. Although the time-lapse lasts for around 1 minute, it actually represents roughly 6 minutes of real time following the time-lapse, we can see the attitude maneuver the ship performed to present
its heat shield to the satellite cameras. We can also see the flaps sequence, likely allowing the cameras to capture them from every angle possible. become active, most likely in preparation for the in-space Raptor
relight, which was due to take place around 4 minutes after the time-lapse of that Raptor relight from the satellite's perspective and is saving it for the future. Oh, they could just show it right now. That would also work. One
particularly interesting detail is how well the ship's heat shield held up despite the higher aerodynamic pressures encountered during ascent. The only area that appears even slightly concerning is around the aft section where a few tiles
appear to be missing and there seems to be some damage around the lower rim of the aft end. We had already seen similar damage to the ship's aft section after splashdown in footage from SpaceX's drone cameras, although at the time it
could have been dismissed as splashdown damage. However, the satellite imagery shows that this damage had already occurred earlier in the flight, so it is clearly something SpaceX will need to investigate ahead of future missions.
flights, let's talk about flight 14 of the key indicators we look for when a paperwork. There are always hazard notices issued around the world, some
covering the launch and others the landing. One source we regularly check is Compass, which stands for CANSO Operational Messaging Platform for Air Traffic Flow Management Sharing and Synchronization. I suppose NASA is not
the only organization that enjoys coming up with extraordinarily long backronyms. platform is very useful for air traffic managers coordinating operations that require temporary airspace closures, particularly over parts of the United
States and the surrounding region. It provides information on which areas of airspace will be closed, when those closures will be taking place, and a While none of the flight 14 hazard notices have appeared yet, the platform
is also used to publish planning conference material every few days as different organizations coordinate upcoming airspace restrictions. These presentations sometimes highlight major rocket launches well in advance,
particularly those expected to have a greater impact on air traffic than routine launches. We saw this with Blue Origin's New Glenn, for example, and flight 14 has also appeared in these
planning conference presentations. Before flight 13, the slides listed the 13th of August as the tentative launch date. Naturally, following the outcome of flight 13, that has now shifted to the 20th of August in the latest
It would not be surprising if that date continues to move as SpaceX progresses work on both the pad and the vehicles before settling on a firm launch date. SpaceX has not yet confirmed whether they intend to catch the ship on this
next flight, but flight 13 clearly went well enough for that option to now be under serious consideration. It would therefore not be be if flight 14 slips slightly, simply because SpaceX wants to proceed as
cautiously as possible before attempting to catch ship 41. Returning to the present with flight 13 launched, SpaceX wasted no time moving straight into launch pad inspections and repair work. Looking at the aftermath of the flight,
there are both positives and negatives. On the positive side, the launch pad appears to have come through in a remarkably good condition. At least visually, it looks to be largely intact and all of the burn walls around the
perimeter of the pad survived this time, which is certainly an improvement. The less encouraging news is that SpaceX does not appear to be entirely satisfied with the flame trench just yet. In the days following the launch, we saw access
teams could inspect the walls and the flame diverter. Then, a few days later, we saw burn plates being lowered into the trench where they were likely welded These burn plates are designed to protect the most heavily stressed
sections of the wall that are exposed to the intense heat from the booster intended to take the brunt of the thermal damage, allowing them to erode if necessary while preserving the structural integrity of the trench
itself. The fact that SpaceX felt the need to install additional burn plates suggests that some areas experienced higher temperatures than expected. path documentary where they welded different metal samples to the trench
walls to see if they would melt? Well, it looks as though they may have gone above sharpie this time. What is particularly interesting is that this work was necessary after this flight rather than after the previous one.
There is, however, one major difference between the two missions that could explain it: booster 20 static fire. That test was the longest static fire ever performed by a super heavy booster, and it would not be surprising if it placed
additional thermal stress on the flame trench walls, prompting SpaceX to install more of these burn plates. Aside from the work inside the flame trench, parts of the pad, including the chopsticks. In recent days, we have seen
several components being removed from the tower arms for reasons that are not yet clear, although it could be in preparation for the potential ship catch on the upcoming flights. While all of that is going on at pad two, teams
continue making progress on the vehicles inside the megabay with booster 21 appearing to have completed a successful cryogenic test campaign last week. The vehicle is though likely receiving its engines and being prepared for its
be surprising if it follows a similar flow to booster 20. That vehicle emerged ready configuration and completed its static fire roughly a week before the launch date that was being targeted at the time. If booster 21 follows the same
roll out for another couple of weeks if SpaceX is indeed aiming for the final 10 days or so of the month for flight 14. As for ship 41, it completed its could be ready for flight ahead of
receiving its engines over the past week or so and may not remain inside megabay two for much longer. We will be keeping a close eye on road closures and other is due to roll out to the Massey's test site for engine testing. We still know
very little about the exact profile of flight 14, but the ship will most likely return to the megabay after engine testing so it can undergo payload integration. Speaking of engines, McGregor is where every Raptor engine
begins its career whether or not it ends after testing or goes on to fly aboard a nitty-gritty of what's been happening at the test site in this week's McGregor minute. Over the past two weeks as of Saturday evening, SpaceX has conducted
24 Raptor 3 test firings. Of those 24 tests, 19 took place at the Raptor vertical test stand with the remaining five carried out at Raptor South. Perhaps the most notable test took place on the 19th of July and lasted around
140 seconds. This test is particularly significant because during SpaceX's revealed that the company had tested one of booster 20's engines for the full duration of an ascent burn before reinstalling it on booster 20 ahead of
>> We have pulled a bunch of those engines off as we said. We tested one on a test stand up at McGregor. Helps screen for any other issues that might be hiding full booster ascent burn. >> We believe this was that test because it
was the only firing that lasted around 140 seconds or 2 minutes and 20 seconds, which matches the duration of the ascent burn. It also occurred in the days between the first and final launch attempt. So, it checks out. Most of the
other Raptor vertical test firings lasted for around 105 seconds, which now appears to be the standard duration for a verification test at this stand. Two more tests lasting more than 200 seconds in duration each were also performed on
this test stand. A longer burn time might mean these are set to be installed on a future ship rather than a booster. Meanwhile, no test at the Raptor South Stand lasted longer than 20 seconds, which has also become fairly typical for
that stand in recent weeks. It's unknown exactly what they want to test with such short durations, but they're the engineers, not us. One interesting point is that the Raptor vertical and Raptor South Stands are not the only engine
test stands at McGregor. SpaceX also has the Raptor North Stand, although it has not been used for around 3 weeks, perhaps for a reason related to this bright flash observed on its most recent run. As for the Raptor 3 engines we have
spotted around the site, most are still carrying serial numbers in the 100s, including Raptor 3 serial numbers 194, 199, and 179 amongst others. We have also seen the occasional engine with a serial number in the 200s, although they
are still a rarity, but hopefully not for long. Raptor testing continues at a the vehicles these engines are likely destined for? With flight 14 scheduled have one less booster and ship, making room for the next vehicles to progress
those though, let's first look at the vehicles currently under construction inside Mega Bay 1 and Mega Bay 2. Inside Mega Bay 2, alongside Ship 41, is Ship 42, which has been fully stacked since shortly after Flight 13 concluded as the
final after section was rolled into the Mega Bay on the morning of Friday. With Ship 42 fully stacked with all sections, the after flaps and raceways, it should not be long before it is ready for testing at Massey's. However, the main
roadblock for Ship 42's testing is its sibling, Ship 41. It is likely that Ship 42 will not roll out for cryogenic testing until Ship 41 has completed its static fire testing. The booster that is scheduled to fly alongside Ship 42 on
Flight 15 is Booster 22. This vehicle hasn't been fully stacked yet inside received its liquid oxygen landing tank to go alongside the transfer tube, as well as its after and second forward sections. Booster 22 could end up with a
although perhaps not quite as much as Booster 21. This is because if Booster 21 successfully completes a soft splashdown in the ocean on target, Booster 22 would become the first Block
3 booster to be caught by the chopstick arms. Arguably, the fact that SpaceX is booster could become a bottleneck for Starship operations in Florida, but more on that later. The Star factory is where SpaceX builds all the individual
sections of a booster or ship before moving them out to the Mega Bays for the ship nose cones that we can currently see inside the building. Starting with Ship 43, this nose cone is sitting fully tiled on top of its
payload bay, complete with both forward flaps. One pattern we have been seeing is that new ships tend to roll out to Mega Bay 2 around the time that the previous ship moves out for cryogenic testing. This means Ship 43 is likely
waiting for Ship 43.1 and Ship 42 to roll out to Massey's before stacking begins. Wait, what's Ship 43.1? We'll talk about that in a second. Another nose cone has recently been moved into one of the thermal protection system pin
the pins that the heat shield tiles attached to. Meanwhile, in the other bay, another nose cone is receiving some of its tiles and ablative layers. A notable nose cone spotted by Caesar is a new one with no header tanks and a small
circular hole. It is difficult to tell what this could be for or whether it is another Pathfinder nose cone. We will just have to wait and see. So, stay tuned. Finally, another nose cone has appeared next offices. This one hasn't
got a methane header tank just yet, but it does have the liquid oxygen header was carrying out structural testing on quite a few test tanks to verify design choices for vehicles beyond flight 14. Now, let's go into why I said was.
SpaceX has been slowly retiring the collection of test tanks they have at Massey's. Some of them date back to before ship 36 exploded, which is now over a year ago. Starting with ship 39.1, which is the ship after test tank,
rolling it back to the production site where it may well reach the end of its lifespan in Sanchez. Having completed 16 visible tests over more than a year, it structural test article. It is interesting that ship 39.1 was rolled
back from Massey's before the booster after test tank, booster 18.1. Especially considering booster 18.1 is the oldest of these test tanks and has appeared to be sitting idle at Massey's since February. [music] The test article
with perhaps the most history is booster 18.3, which is used to test the forward section of the version 3 booster, including the hot stage ring. After completing a total of 20 tests plus a failure on the 10th test that required
part of the test article to be repaired, it appears that its campaign may finally be over as teams removed booster 18.3 from the super crusher. The super crusher is the large truss structure used to apply forces to tanks during
structural testing. However, don't get carried away just yet. Structural testing is not completely finished as one active test tank remains in the form of the booster landing tank that SpaceX is testing at Masseys. So far, the
landing tank has only completed three known tests inside the nosecone cage, meaning it could still have quite a bit of life left and we could soon be adding one more test article to that short list. Just recently, a brand new
structural test article rolled out of the Star factory and into Megabay 2, a nosecone plus its payload section labeled ship 43.1, qual. May I introduce to the Starbase cinematic universe the ship 43.1 test tank. It appears to be
preparing to test a number of different things. After arriving at Megabay 2, ship 43.1 was lifted and placed over a black frame which has the base of a PEZ dispenser attached to the bottom of it. Once ship 43.1 was positioned over the
PEZ testing rig and it was secured in place, a forward section was moved into tank. At the bottom of the forward section is an adapter plate for the crusher, meaning there should be no additional parts required this test
article. The PEZ system is just one of the things this nosecone will be points where hydraulic pistons could be connected to apply forces to the tip and header tanks alongside the external piston points. Ship 43.1 also has a
porthole around the area where the header tanks are located. This porthole may be used to apply forces directly to the header tanks. While ship 43.1 does not have any tiles on the main body, it does have tiled catch pins installed. As
we discussed earlier, there is a good possibility that SpaceX may attempt a ship catch on flight 14. Before attempting that, it is likely that catch points and the overall ship nosecone structure, which could explain
why ship 43.1 has catch points. But, what's the explanation for the header tanks and the PEZ system? For the header tanks, SpaceX may be testing design changes in preparation for future ships, including tankers and HLS vehicles, for
example. It is also possible that they want to carry out longevity tests on the ahead of orbital flights where the headers could be under stress for several days at a time. When it comes to
validating new designs while also testing how the PED dispenser and ship forward dome hold up with a fully loaded payload bay during stressful parts of flight such as Max Q. It probably won't be long before this test article makes
the trip to Massy's as SpaceX will want it tested before flight 14, especially if they are targeting orbits and a ship catch. I still have to pinch myself every time we mention they might actually seriously try a ship catch next
flight. Moving away from Starbase just for a moment, it is always important to launching from in the future. Starting with Space Launch Complex 37A, SpaceX recently completed the stacking of the first of two launch towers at the
Complex 37 site with the lift and installation of the ninth tower module. This is a major milestone and it allows teams to begin the work needed to make the tower operational while focusing on excavating the flame trench alongside
it. Launch Complex 39A is where the first Starship launches from the Space Coast will take place and this week SpaceX began the first major chopstick testing in preparation for those initial flights. This testing included raising
the tower before lowering them and finally conducting some fast-moving opening and closing tests. It is worth noting however that this is not full speed testing. That comes later. Alongside chopstick testing, SpaceX has
once again conducted drainage testing of the flame trench and drainage system in part of a Starship launch as demonstrated earlier in the video. One of the major factors determining a fast launch cadence out of Florida will be
the completion of the Gigabay at Roberts Road. Until then, Florida will only get every vehicle will have to be transported to the Cape from Starbase on SpaceX's barge Marmac 31. For some time now, SpaceX has been finishing the
installation of the exterior cladding on the Gigabay and we also know they have been working on the inside thanks to footage shared during SpaceX's first attempt at launching Starship flight 13. During the stream, they shared footage
of the 420-ton crane moving inside the bay and they also confirmed that they are setting up the first integration stands to support the first Starship vehicles to arrive in Florida from Starbase. I guess until the Cape has a
star factory, the Gigabay is more of a maintenance stop rather than a fully Florida's Gigabay might be ahead in construction compared to Starbase's Gigabay, it at least has a star factory next to it. Over the past few weeks,
assemble the final level of the building. Cladding installation has also continued up the sides of the bay and it now reaches halfway up the building. On the rear side of the Gigabay, teams have started installing the hardware for the
two back doors that will provide access to the transfer aisles for equipment and those future Starship pads at the Space Coast, we of course cannot forget about our good old friend Pad 1. As you may know, it is being modified with the new
launch pad design which will allow it to support Starship version 3 launches. Unlike Pad 2 or LC 39A, this upgrade work is being carried out entirely in parallel to speed up the process. For example, a few episodes ago, we showed
structure frame offsite and then installed it in place next to the trench. While that assembly work was happening, SpaceX was also working on excavating the trench and preparing the foundations for pouring the rats around.
even after the service structure frame was installed and will likely take some time to complete. Teams have already set up scaffolding to access the service structure frame so it can be outfitted with all the piping and control systems
launch and catch operations. But as mentioned before, they are carrying out While all of that is happening in the trench, teams have been pre-assembling beside it. They have also been
pipes for the launch pads for the deluge system. Next to the pad, we have also housing that will be installed on the rear of the tower base. This will help raise and lower the carriage system that holds the chopsticks. Crews have also
which will look very similar to the one on tower two. Over the past week, pad one has also lost the remaining section of its ship quick disconnect arm, which was an older design and will be replaced by a new one. The parts for the new
quick disconnect arm have been arriving and were delivered to the Sanchez lot. confused and accidentally delivered parts to the launch site, as we saw this past week. We all have days like that. At Sanchez, teams are also starting to
launch mount and flame bucket with more and more components arriving. Once assembled, these will be rolled to the pad for installation. Plus, we cannot though the storage tanks are currently being used by pad two, they will be
shared with pad one. SpaceX is currently in the process of modifying some of these tanks and adding new storage locations. Why, you may ask? Well, if in which pad one's flame trench is facing, you might understand why. Some
overall propellant capacity, allowing SpaceX to support more operations without needing as much refilling. Apart from that, teams have also started commodities will be routed from the sub cooler and pump area out to pad one. As
I said, all of this work is happening in parallel, so hopefully it means pad one will be back online sooner than you might [music] expect. Work is in full Starship program in order to increase production and launch cadence [music]
needed for Starship's future. Fingers crossed, we get some testing soon. [music] I've been Ryan Caten from NSF. Thanks for watching and goodbye.