Booster 20 Completes Cryo, As Ship 40 Nears Static Fire

Date:
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:37:59 +0000

Description:
With the completion of Flight 12 about three weeks ago, all focus is now on The post Booster 20 Completes Cryo, As Ship 40 Nears Static Fire appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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

With the completion of Flight 12 about three weeks ago, all focus is now on Flight 13 and its vehicles, Booster 20 and Ship 40. To date, both have completed cryogenic proof testing and are now set up to complete static fire testing next.





Booster 20

Booster 20 only recently completed cryo proof testing when it rolled out to Masseys on June 5, during which it completed three major tests. Firstly,
there was the gas pressure test, in which only nitrogen and oxygen gases were used to pressurize the lines, tanks, and other components. This is the test
in which SpaceX lost Booster 18.

Next up was a full cryo, where the Liquid Oxygen (LOX) tank was fully filled with LOX, and the Liquid Methane (LCH4) tank was filled with Liquid Nitrogen (LN2).

This full load was held for several hours as teams tested the valves and
other systems under cryogenic temperatures.

The final test was a partial load, followed by a ton of cold gas. The booster may have had frost covering both tanks, but it was mostly just cold because
of the constant venting of cold gas.

Once all three tests were completed, Booster 20 rolled back to Mega Bay 1 on June 10 for engine installation and possibly modifications based on data from Flight 12. It is unknown how long it will take for Booster 20 to complete
this work, but its possible the booster wont be out at Pad 2 until mid-July.

Unlike Booster 19, Booster 20 should have a much quicker static-fire campaign, with maybe a tanking test to start to verify any changes made to
the pad, then complete a 33-engine static fire. It is also possible for
SpaceX to only conduct the 33-engine static fire and then roll back for final flight preparations.

Ship 40

Booster 20s other half, Ship 40, completed its cryo proof testing in early May and has been in Mega Bay 2 for the past five weeks. The ship got its engines around June 5 and 6, as they were barely seen entering Mega Bay 2 due to the Gigabay construction.

With all six engines now installed, SpaceX is just finishing up a few final tasks before rolling out for static-fire testing.

The rollout and static fire of Ship 40 could be as soon as next week, which means an extension of the higher-altitude Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is expected soon. SpaceX has been increasing the height of the TFRs because
of the newer Block 3 vehicles. Ship 40 out at Masseys For Cryo in Early May (Credit: Gage (Rough Riders Show) for NSF)

While out at Masseys, unless SpaceX wants to repeat the engine testing Ship 39 underwent, it is likely that crews will perform only a six-engine static fire and then roll back the Ship.

Ship 39 did not perform a single-engine static fire, and the failure to complete the single-engine relight during flight may have been due to issues caused by the Raptor Vacuum shutting down early.

After static-fire testing is complete, Ship 40 will need to roll back to
Mega Bay 2 for final preparations and, eventually, payload installation.

With how far behind Booster 20 is compared to Ship 40, the ship will likely
be ready and just hanging out in the bay, waiting for the booster to roll out for flight. So Ship 40 may get its payload much sooner than other ships have in the past.

Pad 2

Following Flight 12, Pad 2 barely looked like it had just launched the
worlds most powerful rocket. There are burn mark locations, but that is
easily fixable by adding more deluge to certain areas and adjusting existing deluge systems as well. The only real damage seen is missing paint on the
back of the Booster quick-disconnect hoods, but that is an easy fix.

With the downtime between flights, the launch pad crews are making modifications to the chopsticks and working on the tower as well. Over the last week or so, both landing rails were removed from the chopsticks and replaced with newer, lighter ones with more hole cutouts to reduce mass. Both have since been reinstalled and are now undergoing additional work.

The carriage for the chopsticks has been getting a lot of attention; several of the skates, which allow the carriage to move smoothly up and down the tower, have been removed and either replaced or reinstalled. It is unknown
why crews are doing this work.

It is possible that the skates couldve been damaged during flight by the vibrations, or, for once, SpaceX is doing routine maintenance on their chopstick carriage.

This wasnt ever done on the Pad 1 chopstick carriage; those sticks squealed and didnt sound very healthy for a while. Crews have a decent amount of time to complete this work as Booster 20 has only just finished cryo proof testing and wont need to use the pad for at least a month, if not more.

Flight 13 itself will be a repeat of Flight 12, as confirmed by SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell in an interview with CNBC.

Shotwell also States: We have done an in-space Raptor lighting, so we feel pretty comfortable, But we want another sub-orbital shot on the next flight, and then I hope we at least attempt an orbital injection on flight 14.

And then, pending a successful Flight 14, if it goes orbital, Flight 15
could launch from LC-39A. Obviously, this all depends on Flights 13 and 14 going perfectly and on the Federal Aviation Administration signing off for orbit and to fly from LC-39A, assuming the launch pad is ready as well.

Featured Image: Booster 20 during cryo proof testing at Masseys (Credit: Colleen Liedtke for NSF).



The post Booster 20 Completes Cryo, As Ship 40 Nears Static Fire appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/06/booster-20-cryo-ship-40-static-fire/


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