5th orbital rocket to try to land a first stage

So that’d be:

• Falcon 9
• New Glenn
• Zhuque-3
• Long March 12A

Which one am I missing?

Do you count Shuttle SRBs, Electron helicopter catch, or Superheavy?

at the young point for reuse

What’s the young point? I’m familiar with this term.

Are there two Kermits in this photo?

https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2025/12/20251222-2_e.html

the second stage engine’s second ignition failed to start normally and shut down prematurely

Dang. Not the best way for H3 to round out the year.

They like unsalted peanuts, preferably still in the shell.

And shiny trinkets.

Looks like this library has a decent selection.

Done!

Chaotic good?

Scrubbed for the day.

The launch team “observed an issue” with the vehicle’s “built-in checks”.

Stage 1 landing confirmed!

M-vac shutdown.

MECO, stage separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation.

Liftoff!

6x Starliner

Will there even be 6 more Starliner flights before ISS retirement?

Should crosspost this to !stick@sh.itjust.works too.

Abort shortly after engine ignition but before liftoff.

2025-12-12 Starbase activities:

• Massey’s: Overnight B18.3 undergoes its 8th round of testing. (ViX)
• New hoses and truss structure are installed on the ship static fire stand. (CeaserG33, Sorensen 1, Golden 1, Sorensen 2, Golden 2, Sorensen 3, Golden 3, Killip, Killip 2).
• Build site: Tower crane modules are delivered, workers sighted at the ship quick disconnect for Pad 2, and Gigabay construction continues. (ViX)
• Air separation site: A motor for the compressor is lifted into position. It is likely a WEG 3-phase induction motor. (ViX, warp99)

2025-12-13 Starbase activities:

• Build site: S39 is temporarily removed from the central workstation in Megabay 2 to facilitate installation of the methane and oxygen autogenous pressurization raceways. (ViX)
• B19 aft section (AX:2) moves from Starfactory to Megabay 1. (ViX, lewisknaggs42)
• CyberguruG8073 posts a vehicle hardware tracking diagram.
• RGV Aerial post a recent flyover photo of Gigabay construction, and Anderson provides labels.
• Air separation site: A second is lifted into position. (NSF, ViX)

I’ll be on holiday for the next couple weeks. Regular daily summaries should resume around New Year’s.

Stage 1 landing confirmed!

M-vac shutdown and good orbit insertion confirmed.

MECO, stage separation, M-vac ignition, and fairing separation.

Liftoff!

I bet starship is a long way from actual service. Hence trying to cash in on some bullshit hype train

It sounds as though their AI satellites are contingent on the Starlink V3 design, which in turn rely on Starship to launch them, as the sat bus is too large for Falcon 9.

Relevant Elon tweet: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1998872465087541752

Starlink V3 will be 20kW and launched at scale around Q4 next year. No problem to scale that to >100kW if the satellite mass is shifted towards solar arrays and radiators for AI compute, instead of giant phased array antennas for Internet connectivity.

As you mention, it would use the same laser comms system as Starlink to connect to Starlink.

An AI satellite is easier, not harder, than the Starlink V3 design, which is a marvel of engineering created by an epic team of humans. I am so proud of the @SpaceX team.

If they think Starship is a long way from actual service, pursuing AI satellites is a strange move, as it seems these satellites would be dependent on Starship to launch them.

Norminal liftoff, booster landing, and Starlink deploy: https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1999254583240196200

Deployment of 29 @Starlink satellites confirmed

https://bsky.app/profile/rykllan.bsky.social/post/3m7r3ggeeas26

#Falcon9 fairing halves of #Starlink 6-90