December 2023 in Starship Development History

Welcome to the first of many monthly RGV updates. This article will cover developments from the 12th of December 2023, through to the 29th. 

If you’re wondering why we’re starting with December, it is because what used to be “Starbase Flyover Update #27” was never posted to YouTube. Rather than let our hard work go to waste, we’ve decided to start this new series in what hopefully becomes a trend in written form content for the RGV Aerial Photography channel.

Massey's Test Site.

Special shout out to Proky for creating these labeled maps for all 4 sites at Starbase. 

Here's what it looked like in our previous flyover on December 12th 

Have a look at the changes visible in this image from December 29th. 

There are many, so let’s get into it

Starting at the top half of the site, we can see that soil stabilization work ahead of the slurry wall has continued. You might be asking yourself “what is a slurry wall?” Well, it’s commonly used to act as a barrier to exclude water for a large excavation.

 

Formwork for the concrete guides for the digging of deep trenches by the newly arrived specialized crane with the clamshell digging attachment has begun. Once the trenches have been dug, recently constructed rebar cages to the left will be lowered into the trench to reinforce the slurry walls. Extra water tanks have arrived to support this ongoing work. 
A long pad of concrete has been poured right at the top of the site. 

We can see the foundations that were previously prepared nearby have been concreted over with threaded anchor bolts in a circular shape sticking out are now waiting to receive the tanks which can be seen here on the recently arrived barge in the port of Brownsville from KSC. It is believed that these will be used to store methane. 

A new evaporator can also be seen. 

Our next area of interest is the construction of formwork adjacent to the new subcoolers that appeared a few weeks ago. We can see that work on this structure has developed dramatically, with the mounting hole layout on the raised concrete pad indicating that this is where the methane pumps will be housed above ground as opposed to the OTF where they were installed mostly underground.

 

We can see the 2 pumps, housings and motors next to the white tent.

The lids for vaults going under the tanker access road have been removed, and new pipe racks staged which could mean that we may soon see LOX and LN2 plumbing heading over there too.

For the LOX side, Newly installed centrifugal pumps near the tanks are for the new hippos, completing the ground support tank farm requirements for static firing the Ships. 

To finish the top half of the site, the triangle area in the upper left corner has been tidied up and used for various soils and possible waste water storage. Also, a new gravel roadway has been laid.

Moving down from here, we can see that the B7.1 test tank has been completely scrapped.

Another one of Irma’s amazing photos gives us some more clues to the stresses that the S24.2 payload test article endured during its recent visit to the torture chamber that we like to call the Nosecone jail. On the far left, the Pez door is now slightly crooked in its mount, and if we add that to the compression deformities near the lower weld lines on the right hand side of the article, it looks like it was slightly bent to the right. Was this a failure, or just another test to destruction?  

Speaking of the nose cone jail, after S24.2 had been removed, its top section was lifted off and mounted onto the other nosecone jail section for temporary storage. 

This drone shot from the 23rd of a partly scrapped S24.2 shows some internal workings of the payload door including the guide rails and accumulator tanks.

Looking back at the photo from the 29th, we can see that it has been scrapped with only a few parts remaining on one of the trailers seen above the can crusher. 

Shifting to the right a little to the building currently under construction we can see that it has progressed nicely and has had more steel added to the exterior walls forming doors and windows, including a larger one at the near side and if we look closely, an even larger doorway on the far side. The internal framework at the front of the building was finished creating several rooms, they could be offices which rules out the possibility of this building being used for a new control centre for Starship launches. 

Packs of cladding, and rolls of insulation were  delivered with only part of the far wall and roof to have insulation and cladding finalised.  

From this angle we get a better look at the rear door for the work area. Looking around, there’s still no sign of the bridge crane for that building. 

 

On the 15th, Mauricio’s sister, Irma, captured this ground photo of the wall cladding in place.

 

Looking above the tent next to the mysterious building we can see that a new concrete pad has been constructed. It was unknown what would go here but we sure kept an eye on it.
We were also unsure what the strange-shaped steel objects are lying nearby

Additionally, on the circular concrete pad that was spotted previously, we can see that a water tank has been constructed to support the amenities nearby.
The seepage area closer to the entrance looks like it's in for a tidy-up with bundles of instant turf ready to lay.

Moving back over near the tank farm we can see the crane that was recently digging pilings at the Sanchez Site, is now in use here. Crews have been busy making up the steel rebar sections and creating deep pilings'

Looking left of the tank farm we can see new concrete has been poured for the boundary roadway and black road base laid further down in the parking lot.

Just before the flyover on December 29th, booster 12 rolled to the test site and later in the day, Ship 30 followed. This pair will undergo cryogenic proof and thrust load testing before moving on to having engines installed and should be paired up again for Flight 5 of the Starship Super Heavy orbital test flight campaign.

Sanchez

Here's a labeled map by Proky of the site for those unfamiliar with this layout.  

 

We’ll get started over at the fabrication building on the west side. The containers that formerly occupied the concrete slab on the left side of this image were moved to the dirt lot to the upper right. Later, the white ones showed up and now include a tent structure between them; and a portable office nearby. 

Cryo pipes and fittings staged outside these 2 doors have moved inside indicating that it could be up and running as a workshop for cryo plumbing fabrication, replacing the previous fabrication building near the tracking station.
Outside of that, the only other notable difference is the new concrete slabs were poured right behind the building.

Before moving any further into the site, check out the conduit near the main entrance.  It’s seen rounding the corner in our previous flyovers in front of the fabrication building and has now been extended beyond the entrance. Cuts can be seen in the concrete where it was removed and the bundles of conduit laid. At this point it seemed likely that this would continue on its current path to meet the conduit being run from the opposite direction near the front of Starfactory, but more on that later. 

Moving back inside the stand construction lot, the first ship engine installation stand has gone and has been spotted fully assembled inside Mega Bay 2. We’ll have more on that later in this episode
A second ship engine installation stand can be seen under construction now with parts near the inventory tent arriving for a 3rd one.

Work on the second Booster transport stand had advanced with most of the 20 clamp arms installed. 
The safety rails on top can be seen in this ground shot from the 23rd. 

Parts for a 3rd transport stand are being staged near the 2nd one.
To round out this little area, yet another mystery platform has shown up, this time with the triangular-shaped frames that we have seen previously. 

The concrete slabs continue to grow in anticipation of the arrival of tower sections in the coming months. Near where the old gas wells reside, we can see footings for at least 3 tower sections, bringing the total to 5 with the other 2 on the left. 
More areas were being filled with concrete further expanding the tower section storage area and the driveway for the spmts loaded with giant rockets and accessories. 
Also, we can see the arrival of hundreds of drainage pipes, likely to be laid where the thin pieces of concrete are missing.

Crews loaded the first tower section, segment 7, to be delivered to Starbase onto a barge at the KSC turn basin on December 15th, as well as the 2 vertical tanks destined for Massey’s. These could be seen at the Port of Brownsville waiting to be transported to Starbase.

Shifting to the old ASU site we can see that significant ground-clearing work has continued including concrete getting broken up.

The assembled Booster engine shielding sections that include the vertical dividers have been placed near the inventory tent with the individual pieces that make them up, on the other side. This indicates they are manufacturing these parts on-site. If you want to see how these parts are used in the jigsaw puzzle that is the booster aft section, be sure to check out this video by Zack Golden from CSI  Starbase.

These parts were spotted by members of the ring watchers during our regular Show and Tell for RGV Patreon and YouTube members. Please consider becoming a member so you too can join in on the discussions.   
Remember to keep an eye out for them when we get to the build site shortly.

Moving over to the new concrete fortress by the substation, crews can be seen adding insulation to the roof. If this is to become a data center or house critical electrical infrastructure, keeping the building cool will be important. A portable HVAC unit can already be seen behind the building feeding air into the upper floor where crews are likely working. Next to the unit, we can finally see doors have been added. The Starlink ground station terminals and most of the support equipment have also been installed.

Over at the water purification lot, we see trench work extending from one of the well heads toward the new metal basins above. Further down, we see large diameter black piping still lying above ground, which extends down beyond the concrete fortress. A pipe coming from a horizontal bored trench can be seen here In the lower corner of this photo which leads towards more directional boring work heading to the new village area. 

In the rocket garden, booster 10 sat atop its shiny new transport stand with SPMTs underneath while it waited patiently for its turn to roll down to the Launch Site. As it turns out, the wait would soon be over. In the early hours of December 18th, Booster 10 finally rolled down highway 4 in a similar festive fashion as Ship 28. It seems SpaceX were really getting into the holiday spirit.   

We mentioned S26’s impending doom in our last episode. That may not actually be true as it turns out. As with many things at Starbase, and with SpaceX in general, some things aren’t always what they seem. After being connected to the crane in the early hours of December 8th, the ship was subsequently disconnected just 3 days later on the evening of December 11th and returned to its former resting spot next to S31. It’s likely that crews needed access to the inside of the ship, requiring support from the crane while it was depressurized. To make things even more interesting, crews were seen in lifts on December 15th working near the weld seam that connects the payload bay to the forward dome section. This is one of the areas that was impacted by the testing of S24.2 in the test cage at Massey’s. What looked to be reinforcing plates were welded to the exterior of the ship throughout the day. Also, 2 rows of structural stringers have been welded along the bottom of its payload section. During this operation, the lower sockets for the stabilization arm were welded over, leaving little chance for this Ship to be lifted onto a booster by the chopsticks.
Could this have been in preparation for the ship to be used as a test article of potential upgrades to future ships? Check out this article by The Ringwatchers @Ringwatchers on X for more details on this development.

Finally, in the background behind S26, we see work is progressing quickly on the new steel structure beside the water tank. This building was covered in no time once the exterior panels arrived.
Crews have installed red pipework from the tank to the building indicating a fire sprinkler system, possibly for the office space above the MB1 and 2 . 

Just a little further back, the load spreader that was used by the yellow LR11000 crane to lift the cryo shells over the vertical gse tanks back during the OTF’s construction has been moved to the storage facility near Massey’s.

Build Site 

Now entering the Build Site, where work on Megabay 2 is nearing completion, and Starfactory’s expansion is plugging right along.  
Here’s a quick comparison from Dec12th

To the 29th.

Refer to Proky’s map of the various facilities here as we make our way around.

Let's start at Megabay 2. At the bottom right of the structure, we see a shed has been built after we saw concrete being poured there previously. 
Unlike the much taller shed seen behind Megabay 1, this structure will likely not be large enough to store Raptors, but rather inventory or tooling, perhaps.
That building will likely be located on the left side of this angle of Megabay 2, seen by the groundwork and conduit located at the corner.
We also notice that window installation progressed to cover all  of the future office space.

These windows on Megabay 2 are much taller than the ones we see on MB1. 

Mega Bay 2 received its first engine installation stand on December 16th. Part of the process was captured here on Lab Padre’s Rover 1 cam, where the top of the stand was hoisted into place. 

 

The new stand can also be seen in the front left corner in this flyover 

Another thing to note is the counterweight tray used to lower the LR11000 crane’s main boom has returned and is getting loaded with weights which means that they are almost finished the construction of Megabay 2.

Moving to Megabay 1, in this ground shot from the 15th, it’s as if the renderings seen in CSI Starbase videos have been turned into real life with a view of Booster 11 sitting in the back right of the Bay atop the Second Engine Installation Stand, as it receives engine shielding ahead of its full complement of 33 Raptor 2 engines. Hiding on the left is Booster 12.

 

 

The other resident, Booster 13, had its aft section moved into this bay for stacking under the LOX section on the 16th of December. 

B12 finally made its way out before dawn on December 29th, destined for Massey’s ahead of its Cryo test campaign.  
A huge shout out goes to the RGV remote camera team for capturing these great time lapses from our very own on site cameras.  

The ventilation louvres have been spotted high on Megabay 2 in preparation for door installation. Unfortunately, it seems like we won’t have this view for much longer.
The work platform for the 3rd engine stand in MB1 was seen entering on the evening of the 17th, with the actual top ring following soon after and then finally assembled. 

A new work platform made from grey steel connects all 3 stands 

The Highbay is home to Ships 32, 30 and 29 from left to right. Ship 29 would soon move. 

In the early morning of Thursday December 14th, Ship 28 was moved out of the Highbay and rolled to the Launch Site, sitting atop some rather festive SPMTs. At this point, Ship 28 already has all six Raptor engines installed, 

It was headed to the Launch Site for engine testing before its IFT-3 launch with Booster 10. Many thanks to Andrew from Rocket Future for being on-site to capture this footage.

On the 29th, B12 made a run for Massey’s. 
Ship 29 also started to move. After making a turn onto Highway 4 and Remedios Avenue, the ship took an unusual route around the far side of Mega Bay 1 before briefly stopping in front of Mega Bay 2. 
It was the first ship to enter the new bay to prepare for placement on the brand new engine stand. 
Later Ship 30 also made its way to Massey's to join B12 in a round of Cryo and thrust simulations. 

Meanwhile at the Starfactory’s ongoing expansion area, additional steel was seen staged on December 12th at the former location of Tents 1 and 2. 
We also notice an additional concrete pour has occurred, with more to come where the vapor barrier is laid out.

Here we can finally see where some of the conduit work coming along highway 4 from the Sanchez site is headed.

Looking at the ground shots from December 15th, the grey latticed pillars we saw on the ground during the flyover are now being raised vertically, and we speculate their massive size could mean heavier loads for the bridge cranes.

Fast forward to December 29th and we see crews are making quick work of that steel staged here in the weeks prior. Even more interesting is the appearance of these large footers being prepared near the fence that parallels the highway. It appears the grey columns being erected currently will not make up the exterior wall for this end of the building, but instead be interior columns. The concrete slab in the upper left continues to inch closer and closer to tent 3. 

A mysterious triangular stand and nearby circular platform was seen on previous flyovers.

This ground photo shows them assembled together on a stand to form what looks like a nose cone jig that, given its height, could even incorporate some of the payload rings.

The old jig previously spotted in the Sanchez scrapping area has also found its way into this Starfactory area.

Before leaving the Starfactory, we caught a rare sight these days of a Booster aft section receiving its header tank outside the factory walls; suggesting this operation will be carried out in some of the newer higher areas once they are complete. 

Meanwhile over at the Boca Chica village, several new houses have been constructed over the past several weeks, and others are in various stages of construction. It can be assumed SpaceX has bought out most of the land in this area for employee housing, with the exception of these green plots of undeveloped land. 

Remember how we saw the area around this fabrication building being cleared over the last few weeks? We now see it has been completely demolished. This building wouldn’t be given a 2nd chance like the one moved to Sanchez, as crews wasted no time packing the steel into dumpsters and hauling it off for scrap. SpaceX wasted no time using this space for additional tiny home storage and making more parking spaces along the road front.  
Next up, we’ll take a look at the launch site, where we’ll dive deeper into Booster 10 and Ship 28 testing and the scrapping of suborbital pad A. 

Launch Site

 

Here’s a labelled map to serve as a reminder of the different areas at the launch site. 

This is the Site on December the 3rd

Compare the differences here with an image from December the 29th.

We’ll get started at the new gate by the suborbital tank farm. All form work has been removed since the pouring of the concrete beam spanning the gap between the two border walls at this entrance. Work to paint the new beam had begun during our flyover on the 12th, with a primer coat visible on the left side. 

As seen in this ground image from December 15th, painting has concluded and the beam is now black to match the surrounding walls. Crews can be seen pouring the new concrete slabs that will support traffic flow in and out of the entrance. And with that, the grand opening of the new gate, titled D1, was announced over the PA system in the afternoon hours of December 16th. 

On December 23rd, the beam was topped with letters spelling out SpaceX with a matching font. This sign will be lit at night to match the Gateway to Mars sign. 
Shifting our attention over to suborbital pad A, multiple aerial work platforms can be seen hovering around the legs of the stand. What we were seeing in this image from December 12th was the beginning of the end for this historic test stand. 

Former host to many of the first iterations of Starship , including the infamous SN4 explosion, the test stand was cut into pieces and scrapped by the afternoon of the 13th.

All that can be seen in this image from December 15th is the crumbled concrete footings where the stand used to sit. 

The stand used an adapter to hold booster 3 when it performed the first ever booster static fire at Starbase. 
Since hosting S26 at the beginning of 2023 for its cryo campaign, the stand has remained unused and became obsolete following many upgrades performed over at pad B. With the possibility of ship engine testing at Massey’s becoming more likely, it appears SpaceX may be preparing for future developments at the suborbital site. The theories for what may go here are wild, ranging from a second launch tower and OLM, to a larger air separation plant, or even a large tank farm to support future multiple pads. What do you think they might do here? Let us know in the comments below.
Over at pad B we can see the stand was empty during our flight on the 12th, but it wouldn’t be empty for long. 

Seen in this ground image from the 15th, S28 sits on the test stand following the festive rollout that took place just before sunrise on the 14th. 
We wouldn’t have to wait long to see the test campaign get underway. Saturday, December 16th, was likely SpaceX’s final weekend closure for 2023,  it was scheduled from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m which allowed just enough time for what many thought would be a spin prime for all 6 of the ship’s engines. After filling the LOX tank nearly to capacity and engine chill lines activated, the anticipated spin prime occurred just before the clock struck noon local time. All indications are the test was successful, marking a good start for what would be a speedy test campaign for the next flight article.

After completing the spin prime on the 16th, S28 performed its first static fire on December 20th, as seen by our cam near the beach. 

This incredible SpaceX drone footage from overhead clearly shows the staggered firing of the 6 engines. 

This wouldn’t be the end of testing for the ship, however. After returning from the Christmas holiday on the 29th, S28 would roar back to life on pad B. According to SpaceX, who shared this drone footage,  it was a single engine static fire representing a flight-like startup for an in-space burn. 

Focusing our attention up toward the orbital tank farm expansion site, we see a new mystery tank that arrived just a day before our flyover. Seen here on the build site RGV cam the morning of the 11th

The tank made its way to the center of the launch site,  and remains there for now. The left end of the tank has a flange for vertical mounting. It’s not clear at this point where the tank might be installed.
Behind the newest tanks in the expansion lot, extension of the protective wall may be on hold until the additional tanks destined for this location arrive.
Moving over to the water tank farm, the trench seen in previous flyovers is still visible in front of the supply manifolds and tanks. Until we’re able to get a better overhead image, it’s difficult to see if any changes have been made with this trench.
Meanwhile, the small lot adjacent to the farm remains a mystery with what appears to be residential plumbing placed in the trenches. With the absence of drilled piles or any indication of ground fortification, it’s hard to imagine anything substantial occupying this small plot. 

In this latest view from December 29th, we see formwork in place around the perimeter with concrete now being poured at the time of writing.

Let’s move on to the upgrades for the orbital tank farm now. Crews were still hard at work performing plumbing work on the LOX and methane sides of the tank farm, with scaffolding still visible around the hippos on the 12th.
On the methane side, we can see the plumbing for the inlet piping on the hippos is in place for all 4. However, it’s not as obvious on the hippo furthest to the right,. 
If you look closely, you can see the feed for this last hippo is from a different location than the other 3. It’s currently not clear why it was plumbed this way.

Over on the LOX side, it appears the supply plumbing to all 8 hippos is in place. The status of the upgrades to the farm became more clear on December 16th during the closure used for S28’s testing. Sounds of pumps coming to life and loud venting were heard at times throughout the week, but what appeared to be a dedicated large-scale test of the upgrades occurred while S28 was preparing for its own testing.

Fully frosted LOX hippos were on display as cryo dumped from the vent near the berm, expelling any debris and contaminants that had entered the plumbing while the work was being performed. Once all the plumbing up to the fluids bunker was adequately purged, cryo was sent to the OLM and vented for the first time since IFT2 back in November.

Before moving on to the OLM, we can see in this ground photo the HVAC duct work for the electrical bunker still needs repair work. 

Over at the OLM, crews have brought out the paint once again to protect the exposed steel from the salty air. Welding work to repair any cracks or add additional reinforcements to the legs also continues.

Replacement of the BQD liquid oxygen and methane hoses began while these ground photos were being taken on the morning of the 15th. It’s unclear why these were removed, unless SpaceX is taking an abundance of caution following these first few flights, or perhaps upgrading them. Who doesn’t like shiny new flex hoses, anyway? 

Looking up at the ship QD arm and QD itself, it looks like repairs to the extension mechanism have been completed, with the face of the QD now raised and straight once again. Further down the arm near the connection to the tower, scaffolding surrounds the steel framework. It’s unclear if this is for inspection purposes or maybe paint work. 

Work on the water supply valve access vault appears to be complete, at least from this vantage point. While it’s still unclear why the work was performed, it’s possible erosion or damage to the lining of the vault had occurred during IFT2. It appears the vault was widened or reinforced on all 4 sides.

Late in the afternoon of December 15th, the LR11000 crane was observed moving to an unusual location. After the storage shed was demolished along the front of the site near the tank farm, gravel was brought in and leveled. The LR11000 then crawled into this location next to the highway, directly in front of the tank farm expansion lot. Remember that mention of the load spreader used for the cryo shells located at the storage site near Massey’s?  Is it possible SpaceX is preparing to remove a damaged cryo shell for either scrap or repair? Crews were spotted on some of the 24/7 livestream cams inspecting the welds around the lifting hooks of multiple tank shells, further reinforcing this idea. Let’s face it, this tank shell has just about had enough, right?
As it turned out, the crane may have been moved here in anticipation of the upcoming test campaign of S28 and B10 
Either way, the crane eventually returned to Pad B after the ship testing was completed. 

B10 would make its way to the launch site on December 18th, just 4 days after S28. Rudolph the Reindeer led the way, joined by Frosty, a Christmas tree, and Santa Claus dancing on the corners of the SPMTs as it slowly rolled down highway 4.

 

SpaceX posted this update on X later in the day on the 18th, confirming the next vehicle combination for IFT3.

The RGV cam near the beach captured the lift of B10 on December 19th. 

What was on pace to potentially be completed testing for both vehicles prior to Christmas hit a snag when testing for B10 didn’t exactly go to plan on December 21st. Despite testing of the orbital tank farm upgrades in a limited fashion in the days prior, some of the GSE wasn’t willing to cooperate when the booster was partially loaded with LOX and methane. Tests of the detonation suppression and engine bay purge systems were performed despite the hiccups. Instead of detanking the LOX back to the tank farm, it was dumped out from a vent on the OLM.

After performing repairs and testing to confirm effectiveness over the Christmas break, SpaceX would try testing B10 once more on December 29th, the same day S28 performed its single engine static fire.
A little over 2.5 hours after S28’s static fire, after what was seemingly a record pace for propellant loading, B10 performed a 10 second static fire. This was the first test of the steel flame deflector plate since IFT2 in November. 

SpaceX later posted this footage on X, confirming a test of Super Heavy’s 33 raptor engines ahead of flight 3. 
The fact SpaceX decided to skip performing a spin prime prior to the static fire may be a sign of confidence in the booster’s build quality and subsystems on the OLM. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues for future boosters, and if it also gets adopted by ships too. 

So, how did the launch site hold up to the lengthy static fire? In the flyover just hours after the static fire, some minor damage could be seen near the center of the launch site. The smaller vertical tank that was transported to the site a few weeks prior was shaken off its temporary holding pads, rolling several feet toward the deluge farm. Over near the lot next to beside the deluge farm, a shipping container can be seen lying on its side after falling off the concrete. 

Zooming in toward the launch pad, however, all appears to be in good shape following the lengthy test. Time to get the paint rollers out and get back to work to prep for IFT3.
Also visible is the newest tank delivered on the 28th, which filled the gap between the first 3 tanks on the left and the 2 to the right.

Just a day later, on December 30th, B10 was removed from the OLM and placed back on its transport stand.
 

A few days later, it was moved back inside Mega Bay 1.  After the LR11000 had also crawled back to pad B, a possible sign S28 was to be removed and loaded onto a transport stand on the morning of Jan 3rd soon as well. Both vehicles likely need thorough inspections, plus tile work and lift hook removal from S28 prior to flight.

And that's it for December 2023 in Starship Development History.
Thank you for choosing to fly with RGV Aerial Photography, and I hope you all enjoyed the images.
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