Ship 20

History

The first component of Ship 20 was spotted on 7 March 2021, being the leg skirt.

It was reported by NASASpaceFlight.com that SN20 with BN3 would attempt an orbital test launch by 1 July 2021.

According to a filing with the FCC for the planned test flight, BN3 & SN20 would launch from Boca Chica with the Super Heavy booster then performing a partial return, touching down 20 miles/32.1 km off shore. SN20 would continue on its flight path between the islands in the Caribbean before performing an expendable splash down landing 100km north of Kauai in Hawaii. The soft landing is scheduled to take place after Starship performs a successful bellyflop, flip and landing manoeuvre.

In late June SN20 was re-designated from SN20 to Ship 20, with stacking operations underway in the Mid Bay not long after. The launch appeared to take on new urgency with Elon Musk ordering several hundred of SpaceX’s employees at Hawthorne to relocate to Boca Chica to speed up the development of Ship 20 and Booster 4, along with the Orbital Launch Platform to have the Starship system on the pad by 5 August.

Milestones

All dates & times are local unless otherwise indicated.