Starship Barge identified ahead of Starbase to KSC transports

Date:
Thu, 01 Jan 2026 22:30:20 +0000

Description:
SpaceX is gearing up for a new chapter in its ambitious Starship program,
with the The post Starship Barge identified ahead of Starbase to KSC transports appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

SpaceX is gearing up for a new chapter in its ambitious Starship program,
with the company confirming the successful trial run of a specialized transport barge for moving massive Starship vehicles from its Starbase facility in Texas to launch sites on Floridas Space Coast.

NSFs Julia Bergeron identified the Marmac 31 vessel, leading to confirmation from SpaceXs Vice President of Launch, Kiko Dontchev. The development follows months of speculation after Dontchev first outlined the companys transportation strategy in September.

That information was part of a plan conceived years ago, requiring Elon Musk to confirm the initial Starbase-to-KSC shipping plan after enthusiasts initially claimed vehicles could not be transported horizontally, which is
the only viable procedure for shipping a 237-foot-tall booster. Probably Q2 next year, with vehicles initially transferred by boat from Port of Brownsville to the Cape

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 21, 2022



Dontchev also clarified that both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage would be tilted to a horizontal position for maritime transit, in response to an artists rendering of a Starship traveling vertically aboard a vessel.

Initial deliveries are a single booster or ship per trip, with the plan to move to multiple vehicles per transit sooner than later, he wrote. Youll
thank me later.

On December 30, 2025, Bergeron spotted the deck barge Marmac 31 delivering hardware to the turn basin near Starbase before docking at Beyel Brothers canal lot.

Bergeron, known for her keen eye on SpaceX logistics, immediately connected the dots and tagged Dontchev: Did SpaceX just deliver a Starship transport barge @TurkeyBeaver? A skirted Marmac may be a good fit. Youll thank me later if Im right.

Dontchev quickly confirmed the sighting, replying: Good eye. Still needs a little work before we put the name on it, but it was a good first trial run
of a transport. Good eye. Still needs a little work before we put the name on it, but it was a good first trail run of a transport

Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver) December 30, 2025



The Marmac 31, a 260-foot by 72-foot deck barge typically used for heavy industrial loads, was recently observed in a modified configurationwith additional work on skirts or reinforcements to securely cradle the
cylindrical tanks and fuselage sections during the voyage.

SpaceX has already delivered numerous tank sections and other components related to the Starship program by barge, but this trial marks the first dedicated test for full vehicle transport.

Notably, this sea transit is no stranger to the space program. Rocket stages have been transported to KSC since the early days, such as during the Apollo era, then later with the Shuttle External Tank on Pegasus, before that barge was modified to accommodate SLS core stage deliveries. ULA also uses its own ship to transport stages to the East Coast.

Like Pegasus, the modifications to Marmac 31 may also include an enclosure on deck to protect the Starship vehicles during transport on the open seas. One other notable synergy is that SpaceXs first Starship arrival from Starbase will likely follow the trusted route up the Banana River and into the KSC
turn basin, before being offloaded under the gaze of the historic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

With Starship targeting frequent launches from both Starbase and the historic Launch Complex 39A (and potentially SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral, establishing a reliable and cost-effective supply chain between Texas and Florida is essentialat least for the interim.

SpaceX is busy building huge facilities at Roberts Road, not least the Gigabay, which will be joined by the East Coasts own Starfactory, allowing vehicles to be built just up the road from the KSC and Cape launch sites. One fun note related to the recent confirmation is the likelihood that the vessel will gain a name aligned with the rest of the SpaceX seafaring fleet.
Humorous suggestions range from Youll Thank Me Later (a direct callback to Dontchevs earlier post) to Size Matters and No Roads Needed.

Although Elon Musk may have already decided, aligning with Dontchevs posts. Watership to transport spaceship from Starbase to Cape Canaveral

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2025



As SpaceX prepares for increasingly complex flight tests and aims for orbital refueling demonstrations in 2026, reliable logistics will be key to
sustaining the pace. The successful trial of the transport barge represents
an importantif less glamorousstep toward making Starship a truly reusable, inter-site operational system.

That also raises one additional question: which will be the first vehicles to take the sea journey? SpaceX could opt to send a future new booster, such as Booster 21 or 22, per viable timelines, or potentially a caught Booster 12.

That decision will likely come after the first flights of the Block 3 Starship, with Flight 12 believed to be no earlier than March, giving SpaceX some time to complete the preparations on the Marmac 31.

Lead image via NSFs Space Coast Live cameras.





The post Starship Barge identified ahead of Starbase to KSC transports appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/01/starship-barge-ksc-transports/


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