VARGON

I LOVE SPACE!!!!!

Orion splashdown procedures according to Mercedes' caption writer

WGI 🤝 SVG @shanevg97 returns to @NASCAR_Trucks with Niece Motorsports in the No. 4 @diecast_b motorsportsauction.com Chevy Silverado at @WGI . #PressTheAttack | #TeamChevy

Artemis II is mission complete - Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy - thank you for inspiring the world.

PS- it’s hard not to love this little guy. I cant let Rise out of my sight…currently tethered to my water bottle.

For the first time in over 50 years, humans saw the Moon from up-close. 🌕✨ Science is beautiful! More photos here: nasa.gov/gallery/lunar-…

Honored to have traveled further than any spread in history 🚀 Taking spreading smiles to new heights ❤️

THE BURNOUT KING HAS ARRIVED IN AUSTIN‼️

Look closely: Replay shows SVG threw deuces after this three-wide pass for the lead. ✌️

NEWS: Extending our partnership with @SafetyCultureHQ! The global technology company is back with @shanevg97 and @RossChastain in 2026. Starting with both COTA races this weekend. 👀

First race of the year for Red Bull on Shane van Gisbergen's car

Thinking about the S̶u̶p̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶o̶w̶l̶ SuperFile car 😏

📷 Our latest Zenith engine demonstrating fuel pump suction performance—testing the limits of our turbomachinery. So far, so good. 👍

New Glenn’s third mission, NG-3, will send @AST_SpaceMobile’s next generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites to low Earth orbit, NET late February. Learn more: bit.ly/49XnQWm

As the year comes to an end at Starbase, the writing team has given me (Ring) the responsibility to write a post regarding Starbase Tracking... I'm not sure where to really start this because this team has amazed me all year long and words are truly hard to find. At the start of 2025, Starbase Tracking had been a thing for only four months... yes, four. The team was pretty strong at the time but we were only tracking Starbase. As far as we were aware and concerned we would never open up to track the Cape or Falcon boosters or anything OTHER than Starbase. As the team continued to grow we started to gain chances to work alongside people, so we did. In April we started to use more and more of @RGVaerialphotos to update the Starbase board. Followed a month later when @FelixSchlang stepped in and provided us flyovers for a good couple of months. To this day we still use RGV in every way we can, and we cannot thank them enough. Moving swiftly along, I decided to really put the foot down and push for a release of the Cape Tracking board. Walking into this we knew it was going to be hard because of the size and limited photos, but we put it together strong. With a release of the Cape board in October we now had two boards under our belt and our team was stronger than ever before. Following this by just days after the release and telling NASASpaceflight they could use our stuff, we joined forces. Now to the current day we have four of our own team members working alongside NSF and couldn't be happier. @NASASpaceflight from the bottom of not just us four, but our entire teams hearts, we thank you. This year has been an absolute blessing for Starbase Tracking and we never imagined we would be where we are today. As of posting this we have: - 4,563 X Followers - 830 Discord Members - 15 Starbase Updaters - 9 Cape Updaters - 9 Discord Updaters - 4 Socials People - 4 Writers To all of you who have supported us, had faith in us, interacted with us, and more... we thank you. We have big plans in 2026 and we can't wait for you to see them. Happy New Years. - Starbase Tracking

The team’s thoughts on 2026 Our team this year has been working hard to track Starship and more. Here's their thoughts on 2025… “SpaceX's progress in 2025 felt like 10 steps forward, 5 steps backwards. They pushed the boundaries and found success, but also saw failure on what I would describe as fundamentals" - @TheCosmicNebu1a, SBTW Writer “Yes, SpaceX did make progress in 2025. It may not be as much as they would have hoped, but they got Block 2 working, stacked 2 Block 3 boosters and stacked 1 Block 3 Ship. They also completed the majority of Pad 2 and have started construction on the GigaBay in Starbase and Florida.” - @lewisknaggs42, 3D Artist “I would say that SpaceX certainly did make progress in areas that are vital for future operations, especially with Pad 2 and Starship Florida development. However, the repeated failures of Block 2 greatly affected what they could do in terms of vehicle design, though they started to bounce back with Block 3 production in the final few months despite losing B18.” - @V4RG0N, Figma Updater “Coming into this year, I had expected a lot from the program; vehicles could land with accuracy, but there were a few problems, so I had expected Block 2 to fix them. Then S33 happened, I thought it was just a glitch in the system, a new ship, a new design, S34 would fix it. Then S34 exploded, then S35 spun out of control. Ok, might’ve been more than a glitch, let's take some time for S36, and then that exploded in the first static fire failure since SN8, I think. Clearly some problems. But then two successful back-to-back flights of S37 and S38 brought my hopes back up; they finally deployed a payload into space, albeit suborbital. So in terms of the program, I don't think much progress was made, purely because of the four consecutive failures in different ways.” - @KangasSpaceroo, SBTW Lead Writer “Yes, they did make progress, a lot of progress. Even tho they had hardships this year, they are now much more experienced and knowledgeable than they were this time last year. Another thing to not ignore is all the groundwork; there is no way we can not call all the pad B, sfc, Gb(s) and Florida pads progress. We may not be as far as we wanted this time this year, but even still, we are much further from where we were” - @CopelandCa2810, Live Updater “Yes, absolutely, re-flying B14 and B15 was a huge milestone and was really cool to see.” - @DarthMac_OG, Figma Updater “Starship made no progress. Block 2 was a failure and did not achieve its goals.” - @Thousand_______, SBTW Writer “In terms of progress - SpaceX made a huge substantial progress if you look deeper than just vehicle flights, with upgrades to the booster and ship and tower overtime; With booster reuse being the first big one as it shows that even after a harsh flight - SpaceX still managed to refurbish and retest a flight proven booster of this scale (which hasn't been done before) - and the smaller upgrades that improved reliability such as igniters upgrades to improve redundancy of the raptors relighting on boost back (Booster 14 & Booster 15) - they even have tested flight profiles simulating the next generation of boosters with the 5 engine landing burn which with the new engine layout makes sense as its more asymmetrical. With Ship there has been its ups and downs but still progress seen, starting with the fire suppression system in the aft side of the ship (with the explosion of Ship 33 & Ship 34) also brought more vent cutouts which were supposed to help counter any issues regarding it - then also the new style of E-TVC which originally ship had its own style but then moved to a more booster standard and it hopefully has improved ship control during the landing burn (as Booster ETVC should be strong) then the most big part was the aerodynamic banking as it showed that this ship can do maneuvers unseen before while only currently simulating a tower catch but soon hopefully an actual catch with a ship! OLIT side is one of the least looked over sides of Starship Progress - with the construction of Pad B has shown all of the data they've gained despite damage to the pad and tower has allowed for changes to be made for the new generation of launch pad - with the newly designed OLM which has the new water deck flame systems allowing for it to survive the harsh effects of liftoff and the newer style of booster quick disconnect's which remove the need of extra hardware. And the newer chopsticks and actuators, which aren't only lighter but proven to be faster with their changes.” - @CyberguruG8073, SBT Founder “I think 2025 was a good year for Starship development, yes there was failures but I'd rather they happen sooner rather than later on when something important could be lost, despite failures SpaceX did also achieve some pretty substantial goals with catching and reusing two boosters, showing the pure resilience of their teams and the shear strength of Ship on reentry with it landing softly with multiple holes in the tanks.” @Space_Mr_Banana, SBTW Writer Overall, these are some pretty good outlooks on 2025 from the team. Now for some thoughts on what we expect from 2026… "2026 is likely shaping up to be an incredible year for Starship, with 2 Gigabay’s planned to be operational, as well as Block 3 desperately needing to prove itself after Block 2's history of repeated failures. Brand new ground infrastructure to support an increased cadence adds even more to the workload, as well as their obligations to NASA with HLS. I don't foresee it being easy, but SpaceX never backs down from a challenge" - @TheCosmicNebu1a, SBTW Writer “In 2026, I expect Block 3 to be successful in the first or second launch. I expect Boosters to be reused multiple times and ships to be recovered - maybe one gets reflown by the end of the year (if first catch is sooner rather than later). I expect both Starbase and Florida Giga bays to have most, if not all, work done on the main structure, and I expect to start to see work on the Florida Starfactory. I think we will get the refuelling demo done, and it will be successful. I expect a couple of launches out of Florida. As to variants - we may see a proper tanker version, and we will see a lot more hardware on the HLS.” - @lewisknaggs42, 3D Artist “For 2026, I expect SpaceX to get a good start with Block 3 development, with no major issues during repeated flight profiles, and mostly successful missions when flying new profiles. I expect that the amount of new infrastructure in Florida will grow even faster than it did in 2025, and hopefully, they will be ready to receive vehicles by the end of the year. I expect to see a lot more visual progress with HLS and, hopefully, hardware for a flight article in production. Overall, I expect 2026 will be what the expectations were for 2025, but done in a more orderly fashion and with less mistakes.” - @V4RG0N, Figma Updater “In 2026, I hope they keep the momentum from flights 10 and 11, though I do have my worries about Block 3 and Raptor 3. Orbital with a payload is the bare minimum this year; moon landing demonstration is the ceiling. I expect to land somewhere in between there.” - @KangasSpaceroo, SBTW Lead Writer “For 2026, I can't wait for the first ship catch and orbital refilling. Maybe we actually will see the first Starship launch from Florida next year too!” - @CopelandCa2810, Live Updater “We will have to wait and see how much block 2 a stepping stone is for block 3.” - @Thousand_______, SBTW Writer “And lastly, the flame trench design (which, with a similar design to Masseys - not fully), but will hopefully improve turnaround time between flights as there is less charring and damage to the OLM, allowing for a faster refurbishment time. - which has shown SpaceX has come far with OLIT side as well) And the biggest change of them all the brand new raptor 3; which is one of the most complex rocket engines - making the older folks believe its a incomplete engine (we love you still Tory) with removing most of the protection shielding (but not fully) and with the newer design doesn't require raptor qd's booster side (said in OLIT part) and makes it more simplified since less hardware is required but also improving costs with simplifying lots of other hardware on the raptor itself.” - @CyberguruG8073, SBT Founder “2026 promises to be a very exciting year. I am very much looking forward to hopefully seeing a full HLS mockup get tested and for the other starship variants (tanker and depot). I expect flight 12 to go well, but probably launch in April after some issues are experienced GSE side. I do think Elon's statement "ship catch flight 13-15" is very possible, and I think they will get reusability down.” @Space_Mr_Banana, SBTW Writer Well well well… 2025 has been a blast, in many ways quite literally. Thanks for sticking with us for all of the events of the past year. Here's to an awesome, record-breaking 2026 that brings humanity that much closer to being a space-faring civilization, and Happy New Year from the Starbase Tracking team! For real-time updates, join us in the Discord: discord.gg/ZbrSYPzDAq To explore our maps yourself and track every movement, check out our Figma, now at both Starbase and Cape Canaveral: Starbase: figma.com/design/2AvC161… Cape Canaveral: figma.com/design/lHRSgzU… #SpaceX #Starbase ,

The results are in—Percy’s still got it 💪 Our Perseverance rover has spent nearly five years exploring Mars, and @NASAJPL engineers have determined it’s in excellent shape and can operate until at least 2031. More about the rover and what it studies: go.nasa.gov/3YL8uii

this scene and the SCORE my god INJECT IT

Starbase This Week (2025-12-07) | Written by @Space_Mr_Banana Full steam ahead on Booster 19, B18 remains removed from Massey’s and Block 3 ship finally starts testing. All that and more in this week’s Starbase this Week! Production Site Starting where all Starships begin, at the production site, more sections of B19 were rolled out of Starfactory (SFC) and into MegaBay 1 (MB1) adding the A5:4, A6:4, part of the transfer tube and the rest of the transfer tube to the booster. That leaves us with only 4 more sections left to roll out for B19: The hotstage ring (HSR-FX:3), F2:4, F3:4 and the aft thrust section (AX:2). With creation there must be destruction, some remains of B18 were lifted off the thrust sim stand and rolled from Massey’s to the Production Site for scrapping this week. It is highly unlikely that any part of B18 will be recycled and reused on future Boosters as most parts will have been damaged in the explosion. Block 3 Ship production is progressing with Nose cone movements inside of SFC: Ship 40, the second Block 3, shifted back over from Cell M to Cell L - opposite from last week S41, now with both of its fwd flaps is in Cell Q, likely receiving finishes to its TPS S46 has received its Methane header tank And a new Nosecone was spotted, S48. Hopefully soon Ship 40 will be rolled out to MB2 to join its older sister S39 as the second Block 3 ship to get stacked. Massey’s The Block 3 ship test tank, S39.1 or TT18 is finally getting tested! After being moved over to the cryo station on December 1st, S39.1 began its first test on the 3rd, curiously this test was aborted but thankfully did not lead to another B18. S39.1 has now completed its 2nd and 3rd tests on the 4th and 5th respectively. Launch Site Not a lot to talk about at the Launch Site this week but more testing at Pad B has been taking place with another deluge test on the 5th and curiously both chopstick actuators were removed from Pad B. SpaceX also released a video on X of a full 6 minute and 40 second verification test of a sea level Raptor 3 engine, this was a test of a Ship Raptor, hopefully soon we start to see more Raptor vacuum engines as right now we have only seen one. But that’s all for this week! How long until S39 rolls to Massey’s? And when will B19 be ready for testing? For real-time updates, join us in the Discord: discord.gg/ZbrSYPzDAq To explore our maps yourself and track every movement, check out our Figma, now at both Starbase and Cape Canaveral: Starbase: figma.com/design/2AvC161… Cape Canaveral: figma.com/design/lHRSgzU… #SpaceX #Starbase #Starship