Starship 40 Reaches Christmas Island: Damage and the Trip Home
The short version
Scott Manley reports that Starship number 40 was towed to Christmas Island after about three weeks in the Indian Ocean following its flight. He describes the visible damage, how it was towed, and the chartered semi-submersible vessel meant to carry it back to the US. He also says flight 14 is expected in mid-September without a tower catch.
Full written account
Starship number 40, after about three weeks of traveling, waiting, dodging storms and being tied up and released in the Indian Ocean, reached Christmas Island instead of Australia. Australia had been the expected destination because the recovery ships sailed from there, but with the currents, Christmas Island appeared to be the better choice. It is an Australian external territory with a population of less than 2,000.
Damage seen in local photographs
Much of the imagery came from islanders posting online. The spacecraft shows wrinkling in the skin where the structure has been flexed slightly over several weeks on the ocean. One forward flap is gone completely and the other is largely missing. Tiles near the catch points have been stripped off. The working theory is that cables or a chain wrapped around the vehicle slid forward and struck the fins or flaps; a chain around the circumference is visible in photos, and heat shield damage is visible in others.
How it was towed
In the end it was towed by a line tied around one of the sea level Raptor engines at the back. The engines are mounted securely to the structure and provide loops for securing cables. Another attempt, looping fenders around it in a big lasso, was abandoned after they bashed against the ship.
Images taken down
Several people on X had accounts temporarily suspended and content removed for posting images. The video links this to ITAR compliance, since X is owned by SpaceX. A drone video looking up into the engines and showing the injector plates was taken down, and the video says the nozzles have since been plugged.
The trip home
SpaceX has chartered a semi-submersible salvage and transport vessel whose deck can be sunk below the surface so that the Starship can be moved on top and lifted out of the water, ideally with cradle supports installed first. The destination is not known. The video cites an estimate of roughly $100,000 a day for the ship and 50 days to 2 months to reach the US. Options mentioned include the Panama Canal to Brownsville, or across the Pacific to Los Angeles, possibly followed by transfer to a cheaper ship.
What comes next
Flight 14 is expected in mid-September. It sounds like it will not include a tower catch, and it is unclear whether it will go to orbit or fly another suborbital trajectory.
Questions this video answers
Where was Starship 40 taken?
It was towed to Christmas Island, an Australian external territory, rather than all the way to Australia.
How was it towed?
By tying cables around one of the sea level Raptor engines at the back.
How will it get back to the US?
On a chartered semi-submersible vessel whose deck can be sunk below the surface so the Starship can be floated on.
How long might the trip take?
Estimates cited in the video put it at 50 days to 2 months.
When is the next flight?
Flight 14 is expected in mid-September, without a tower catch of Starship.
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