Starship Flight 1

Starbase's orbital launch pad had no flame trench, no water deluge, no sound suppression — the structures meant to absorb an integrated Starship liftoff had not yet been built. SpaceX wanted to find out whether the rocket could clear the pad without them.

On 20 April 2023, in the morning at Boca Chica, the first integrated Starship lifted from OLP-1. At 121 metres it was the largest rocket ever to fly, with thirty-three Raptor engines on the first stage. Three did not start; more failed during ascent. By T+85 seconds the vehicle had lost thrust vector control of its centre engines, and at T+3:10 the autonomous flight safety system fired — though Booster 7 and Ship 24 stayed intact for more than forty seconds before breaking apart.

The liftoff carved a crater beneath the launch mount, sent concrete debris into the Gulf of Mexico, and dusted nearby towns. Nearly seven months passed before a second flight launched from the same pad.