Starbase activities (2024-07-11):

• Pad B: First tower section is installed (LabPadre, ViX). Crews working on bolts. NSF livestream, NSF timelapse, Starship Gazer photo 1, photo 2, DeffJeff timelapse, Cargile photo, Gomez timelapse, cnunez photo.
• B12 testing at Pad A: Tank farm starts up, Cowbell venting, frost on LOX tank, more cowbell venting. Tanking test, road is reopened open. Grid fin and ship quick disconnect are tested. NSF timelapse.
• Raptor work table moves towards Pad A.
• Build site: Another B15 forward section is staged outside Megabay 1.
• Road delays for tower segment transportation are posted for July 11th through 19th, all 22:00 to 03:00 the following day.

Other:

• BingoBoca posts some nice labelled maps from RGV Aerial flyovers.

Starbase activities (2024-08-07):

• Aug 6th cryo delivery tally.
• Overnight, B14.1 rolls out to the launch site. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF)
• B14.1 is lifted onto the launch mount. (LabPadre 1, LabPadre 2, ViX, Mary, NSF, Gisler 1, Gisler 2)
• New entrance to launch site is under construction.
• CC8800-1 crane reconfiguration continues. (ViX 1, ViX 2, Starship Gazer, Gisler)
• S30 at Massey’s. Tank farm venting, and spin prime completed.
• 2-hour road delay is posted for August 9th or 10th, for transport from Massey’s to pad. (Return of S30?)
• Starkitty sighted :)

Starbase activities (2024-08-06):

• Aug 5th cryo delivery tally.
• Overnight, S30 rolls out to Massey’s. (LabPadre, ViX, tibininin, NSF, Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3)
• Reconfiguration of the CC8800-1 crane is underway (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3, NSF)
• cnunez posts an image of the build site.
• B14.1 is on the move, likely to the launch mount.

Starbase activities (2024-07-25):

• Jul 24th cryo delivery tally, ViX)
• Pad B: Tower segment #4 is stacked on Tower B. (LabPadre, ViX, Starship Gazer, NSF, Golden, cnunez 1, cnunez 2, cnunez 3, clwphoto1 1, clwphoto1 2, clwphoto1 3)
• Pad A: The LR11000 crane removes one of a recondensers and loads it onto a truck for transport. (ViX)
• S30 still at Massey’s, pending static fire.
• Road delay for transportation operations is posted for Jul 25th 23:00 to Jul 26th 01:00.

Other:

• RGV Aerial post a recent photo of S33 in the Highbay, prior to its move to Megabay 2.

Starbase activities (2024-07-15):

• Jul 14th cryo delivery tally.
• B12 static fire: Sunrise and overpressure notice, NSF livestream. Road closed, tank farm spooling up, chopsticks raised, launch mount venting, prop load begins. Static fire occurs at 10:13, and lasts about eight seconds. (LabPadre, alternate angle, ViX, NSF, Gomez).
• NSF timelapse, Doherty photo, Doherty gif, SpaceX drone photos and videos.
• Build site: Ship transport stand enters Megabay 2. Cnunez posts an S30 tile progress photo.
• Pad B: Probable launch tower winch arrives.
• Brownsville Port: Chopstick rolls towards Starbase.
• Road delay posted for “transportation operations” for Jul 16th, 12:00 to 16:00, possibly for B12 rollback.

Starbase activities (2024-07-16):

• Jul 15th cryo delivery tally.
• Jul 15th addendum: Booster transport stand moves toward Pad A. Booster quick disconnect retracts from B12.
• Overnight, a chopstick arrives at Sanchez.
• Pad B: In the early morning, module 2 is stacked on the tower, and the load spreader is removed. Media: LabPadre, ViX, NSF, Starship Gazer, Doherty, DeffGeff, cnunez, Hammer.
• Pad A: B12 is destacked (NSF livestream, Starship Gazer, NSF timelapse, Doherty), briefly repositioned on the transport stand, rolls to the build site (LabPadre, ViX, NSF, Doherty, cnunez), and enters Megabay 1.
• Transport stand for tower module 2 also rolls back (DeffGeff, Hammer).
• A grackle briefly blocks the view of the cryo deliveries.

Other:

• SpaceX headquarters are moving from Hawthorne to Starbase… due to a transgender protection law? I fail to see how this is relevant to the aerospace industry. Seems like it may have already been in the works for some time, as office construction is well under way.

Starbase activities (2024-08-05):

• Aug 4 cryo delivery tally.
• Lowering of the CC8800-1 crane main boom is completed. (LabPadre, ViX, DeffGeff)
• Crane masts are lowered, and unreeved. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2, clwphoto1)
• Some sort of utility pole structure is erected.
• Static fire stand arrives at the build site and enters Megabay 2 (LabPadre, ViX).
• S30 is set for transport to Massey’s, presumably to test the engine which was replaced.
• 2 hour road delay is posted for 2024-08-06 between 00:00 and 03:00 for transport from production to Massey’s.
• 1 hour road delay is posted for 2024-08-07 between 00:00 and 03:00 for transport from production to pad.
• RGV Aerial post a recent photo of the entire area.

McGregor:

• SpaceX likely running Superheavy catch profiles. Relight test had a 3m 13s gap, same as B11 between boostback and landing burns.

Starbase activities (2024-07-17):

• Jul 16th addendum: Starkitty sighted :)
• Jul 16th cryo delivery tally.
• Overnight, tower module 3 rolls out to Pad B. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF)
• Tower module rolls into position and the load spreader is attached in the around midday.
• At Pad B, a column to support the Drawworks flooring and an angled wall section are moved into place.
• Another elevator shaft section is installed in tower B, and the construction elevator is now operational.
• Pad A: The LR 11000 crane moves towards the launch mount.
• The remaining chopstick is preparing for transport from Brownsville Port to Starbase.

Starbase activities (2024-07-12):

• Jul 10th and 11th cryo delivery tally.
• Overnight, tower segment #2 rolls out to Pad B (LabPadre, NSF, ViX).
• More B12 testing today: Raptor work table moves away from Pad A, road is closed. Still plenty of scaffolding near B12, so static fire is unlikely.
• Tank farm is active (ViX, NSF), chine venting and more venting, launch mount venting and more venting, methane recondensers are active.
• B12 spin prime test (LabPadre, ViX, NSF 1, NSF 2). “Cowbell” venting also visible. Chopsticks lower.
• Ship quick disconnect and engine bay purge tests (LabPadre timelapse). SQD retracts and returns, engine bay purge test 1 and test 2, SQD test 2 (retract and return), SQD test 3 (retract and return)
• Build site video tour: Crews work on tower segments at Sanchez, car park painting continues.
• Massey’s: Crews spotted at the top of a tower.
• Brownsville port: Final tower segment preparing for transport (Doherty, Gomez).
• Road closures for “non-flight testing” are posted for July 15th through 17th, all 06:00 to 18:00.

Other:

• FAA is assessing proposal to increase flight rate at Starbase up to 25 launches and landings per year.

This thread maybe, next thread definitely!

Starbase activities (2024-07-10):

• Jul 9th addendum (ViX, NSF, Doherty): Tank farm offload area is functional again, B12 is lifted onto launch mount, and booster transport stand returns to build site.
• Jul 9th cryo delivery tally.
• S31 moves back into Megabay 2. Ship is lifted from transport stand onto turntable.
• Pad B: Tower segment #1 moves towards the tower base. CC8800-1 crane is lowered, then raised. Load spreader is attached to tower segment.
• Build site morning video tour.
• Amended road closures for “non-flight testing” are posted, and the July 10th 12:00 to 00:00 closure is scheduled.
• Booster quick disconnect retracts from B12 (not B13). Some venting from B12, followed by road reopening.
• Two July 11th closures ranging from 08:00 to midnight are possible, and one July 12th closure from 08:00 to 00:00 is possible.

Other:

• Recent Starship Gazer videos on Tower B construction and S30 heat shield replacement.
• SpaceX publicly responds to a NYT article on the affects of Starbase on piping plover populations. It is somewhat unusual to see an official SpaceX social media account used in this manner. Anyone else remember any similar examples?

Starbase activities (2024-08-08):

• Aug 7th cryo delivery tally.
• Overnight, a 3 ring LOX section moves from Starfactory to MB2, and is mated with existing S33 nose. (LabPadre, ViX 1, ViX 2)
• Test tank 16 and a nosecone spotted in Starfactory. (ViX)
• CC8800-1 crane reconfiguration continues. Looks like it is nearing completion. (ViX 1, ViX 2, ViX 3, ViX 4, ViX 5, Roger S, ViX 6, Gisler 1, Gisler 2, Gisler 3)
• Office construction continues. (Gisler 1, Gisler 2)
• NSF fly over Starbase, and note that SpaceX now has full access to the patch of land between Starfactory and the new offices.

Other:

• First Raptor 3 test fire (Elon 1, Elon 2, NSF)
• Frost comparison from TheSpaceEngineer.
• Gwynne fires a shot at Tory. You might even say she shot well.
• SpaceX states that IFT-5 vehicles are “ready to fly, pending regulatory approval”.
• NSF summary reading between the lines.

Starbase activities (2024-07-20):

• Jul 19th cryo delivery tally.
• New ship lifting jig briefly hoisted to vertical for laser level check.
• Old ship lifting jig and ship static fire stand arrive at the build site (ViX, Doherty). Lifting jig hooks up to Megabay 2 bridge crane, and the jig transport stand departs.
• S30 moves from Highbay towards Megabay 2 (LabPadre, ViX)
• Cnunez posts a photo of the test tank at Massey’s.
• Jul 20th cryo delivery tally.

Starbase activities (2024-07-21):

• Overnight, S30 is lifted onto static fire stand. (NSF, Starship Gazer)
• S30 moves to Massey’s. (LabPadre, ViX, NSF 1, NSF 2)
• S30 at Massey’s and closeups. (Starship Gazer 1, Starship Gazer 2, cnunez 1, cnunez 2)
• Cnunez also posts nighttime photos of Starfactory and office construction progress.
• Starkitty sighted :)

Other:

• New Ringwatchers article: Just Don’t Melt: Flight 5’s Upgraded Heat Shield
• RGV Aerial post recent photos of the launch site, build site, and Massey’s.

Starbase activities (2024-07-13):

• Overnight, final tower segment moves from Brownsville Port to Sanchez (LabPadre, ViX, Doherty, NickyX, Gomez 1, Gomez 2).
• Jul 12th cryo delivery tally.
• Nighttime tanker convoy.
• Action at Megabay 2 (LabPadre, Ringwatchers). Likely a ship v2 test tank.
• Ship v2 payload section enters the Highbay (Starship Gazer, Ringwatchers).
• S30 heat shield replacement continues.
• Pad B: Load spreader detaches from tower segment #1 and attaches to tower segment #2 (Vix, NSF 1, NSF 2).
• Pad A: Chopsticks move to either side of B12 and are lowered. SQD arm swings in. Chopsticks, their arms wide. Scaffolding is being removed from the launch mount.
• RGV Aerial posts recent photos of office construction, Pad A, Pad B, and Massey’s.

Starbase activities (2024-07-14):

• Jul 13th cryo delivery tally.
• Pad B: Overnight, LTR 1220 crane lifts 2nd elevator section into tower.
• Pad A: Scaffolding is removed from launch mount. Movac trucks empty the retention pond and the detonation suppression system is tested. B12 static fire on Jul 15th seems possible.
• Build site: A Starship V2 nosecone rolls from Starfactory to the Highbay. Starship Gazer identifies it as S33.
• LabPadre comparison of Starship V1 vs V2.

Other:

• New Ringwatcher’s article: What’s New on Super Heavy Booster 12?
• Possible new design for launch mount hold-down arms is spotted at McGregor.

Starbase activities (2024-07-18):

• Jul 17th cryo delivery tally.
• Overnight, the remaining chopstick moves from Brownsville Port to Starbase. (LabPadre, ViX, Beyer, NSF)
• Also overnight, the second and third angled wall sections are lifted to Tower B.
• In the morning, tower module 3 is stacked. (LabPadre, ViX, DeffJeff, NSF 1, NSF 2, NSF 3, NSF timelapse, Beyer, Starship Gazer, Doherty, )
• Lifting jig disconnects from tower.
• A large spool of some sort (Drawworks cables?) heads towards launch site. (closeup)
• The chopsticks carriage is preparing for transport from Brownsville Port to Starbase. (Doherty, cnunez)

Other:

• New annotated Starbase maps from Boca Bingo.