SpaceX Did Something Never Done in Months on Starship S39! ULA Dead as Doornail |SpaceWeekly #33

SpaceX has rolled S-39 out to Massey for long-awaited testing. B-19 is advancing as well, following water deluge testing at Pad 2 and fresh signals pointing to the next launch window. At the same time, the U.S. Space Force has paused payload launches aboard United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur. New clarity has emerged regarding the recent medical emergency on the International Space Station. And Blue Origin has completed docking adapter tests, strengthening its readiness for future lunar missions and low-Earth orbit operations. Let's dive into the top spaceflight developments of the week in this episode of Great SpaceX. Finally, after months of anticipation, ship V3 has rolled out, returning testing to Massey's. A new phase begins. All eyes are on the pad. But when will it launch? At the same time, the U.S. Space Force has halted launches of ULA's Vulcan Centaur. Temporary pause, or a larger ship? Let's break it all down on today's episode of Great SpaceX. After months of road closures, repeated vehicle transfers, and the constant cycling of Megabay 2's doors, the moment arrived. S-39 moved. Early indicators appeared on the 26th of February when a road closure was scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Daylight transport provides clear visibility and strong confirmation that significant activity is underway. At the same time, the ship's static fire stand was positioned at Megabay 2 signaling readiness. Then, on the morning of February 26th, S-39 rolled out of Megabay 2. The vehicle completed the trip to the Massey's test site in roughly three and a half hours. Upon arrival, it was placed within the newly erected steel framework at the test platform. Clear evidence that Massey is resuming full operations after a prolonged slowdown. Soon after, SpaceX published a series of images on X with the statement, The first Starship V3 has left the build site to begin pre-launch testing. The wording is deliberate. This is not simply another prototype. It's identified as Version 3. Later, Musk reinforced the designation, referring to S-39 as Starship V3 SN1. He also highlighted a central objective. The V3 design will achieve full reusability. That goal defines the trajectory of the program. Beyond official remarks, the rollout signals broader implications. After the S-36 incident last year, activity at Massey was reduced. The site supported cryogenic and tank testing, but static fire operations were largely suspended. Booster B-19 recently became the first Super Heavy to resume testing after that extended pause. For ships, the last official prototype test occurred seven months ago. S-38's cryogenic campaign in July of 2025. S-39 changes that. This marks the return of a full ship prototype to Massey. The site has been upgraded since the incident and restoring static fire capability is essential to increasing launch cadence. Now, consider what S-39 reveals. First, the heat sheet. Compared to Version 2, which flew with select tiles removed and exposed metallic test sections, V3 appears far more complete. The thermal protection system looks fully installed, forming a consistent outer layer. That finish suggests material refinement, such as improved tile composition, upgraded mounting methods, and durability enhancements intended to withstand repeated atmospheric re-entry. The crunch wrap configuration appears to remain, supporting structural continuity and thermal endurance. Next, structural reinforcement. Along the hull, two prominent bracing elements are visible. Earlier versions featured similar components, but V3's appear more substantial, indicating strengthened vertical load paths to handle ascent loads and re-entry forces. Another update is visible beneath the payload door. Refueling interface hardware. These two connection points are believed to be survivability test units, validating structural performance ahead of full orbital refueling integration. In-orbit refueling remains fundamental to Starship's deep space architecture. Near the catching interface, there appears to be a mounting location for Starlink hardware shielded by thermal protection. If cameras are installed on future flights, they could deliver detailed views of heat shield performance and capture point interaction with the launch tower's chopsticks during recovery attempts. Now, the ground systems. The ship's static fire stand, heavily damaged after S-36, is operational again. Whether refurbished or newly built, modifications are likely, especially with the introduction of more powerful engines. That brings us to the testing sequence. Following arrival at Massey, S-39 will likely begin with structural load validation. Next comes cryogenic testing, which involves loading supercooled propellants into the tanks. During Booster B-19's recent cryogenic campaign, SpaceX conducted a full propellant load, producing the most extensive cryo test in years. Frost formation was dramatic, but more importantly, it replicated launch conditions. A similar profile is expected for S-39. Unlike Super Heavy, the entire ship will not accumulate frost. The upper section contains the payload bay, so icing will concentrate along the lower tank segments. Partial fill tests may also occur to validate plumbing, pressure control, and thermal response. After cryogenic validation, S-39 will likely return to Megabay 2 for inspection and engine installation. Once equipped with engines, it will roll back to Massey for static fire testing. Considering inspection intervals and hardware integration, a mid-March static fire is plausible. If testing proceeds without setbacks, a late-March launch remains feasible, with early April as a more conservative target. Attention also turns to the booster. B-19 is expected to perform its static fire at Pad 2 in early March. If successful, it would likely proceed to the launch site ahead of S-39, following established stacking procedures. Ultimately, the schedule depends on S-39's progress. March is shaping up to be intense at Starbase. Two major static fire campaigns. The operational debut of Raptor 3 engines. Validation of upgraded test systems. Preparation for a new generation of Starship flights. This is not incremental refinement. It's a structural reset. Version 3 engineered for full reusability. Are you ready for that? If you are, type fire now in the comment section down below, and then like the video, as well as subscribe to follow the next phase of Starship development. While SpaceX advances at high tempo, a key competitor faces turbulence. In mid-February, United Launch Alliance conducted the fourth flight of its heavy-lift Vulcan Centaur. The payload reached orbit, technically a success. But performance irregularities reappeared in one of the solid rocket boosters, echoing the anomalies seen during the CERT-2 mission in October of 2024. In both cases, deviations occurred in the side boosters. The core stage compensated, preserving ascent, yet recurrence has heightened concern. For commercial missions, margin recovery may be acceptable. For national security payloads, no. The U.S. Space Force responded immediately, pausing all contracted national security launches on Vulcan until the anomaly is fully understood and corrected. That move is significant. Historically, first under Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and later under ULA, government and military launches have formed the backbone of the company's revenue. Under Phase II of the National Security Space Launch Program, ULA holds a substantial mission share. That pipeline is now on hold. Colonel Eric Zarbinsky, the Space Force's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Assured Access to Space, stated, This is a full suspension, not a partial delay. The investigation remains in early stages, with coordination between the Space Force, ULA, and suppliers expected to take months, potentially removing Vulcan from national security manifests for the remainder of the year. Technically, the focus remains on the solid boosters. While neither flight resulted in vehicle loss, both relied on core stage compensation. For high-value defense payloads, dependence on contingency margin is not an acceptable risk posture. The implications extend beyond schedule. ULA does maintain commercial contracts, including Amazon's Kuiper Constellation and Sierra Space's Dream Chaser. But defense and intelligence missions anchor its financial base. Could the aging Atlas V bridge the gap? Not at scale. Inventory is limited, retirement is near, and remaining missions, including those tied to Boeing's Starliner, leave little flexibility. It can't absorb a backlog exceeding 20 Vulcan assignments. If Vulcan remains grounded, the queue will expand rapidly. That creates a strategic inflection point. If national security schedules tighten, reallocation becomes likely. The immediate alternatives are SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy, both already flying defense payloads at high cadence. Blue Origin may emerge later, but operational tempo currently favors SpaceX. Such redistribution could materially influence positioning, heading into Phase 3 of the National Security Space Launch Program. This is not necessarily the end of Vulcan, but it is a pivotal moment. What we witnessed was the most powerful water deluge test ever conducted at Starbase. The test took place at Starship Pad 2, the upgraded orbital launch site engineered specifically to support higher thrust levels and increased launch cadence for SpaceX. The timing is significant. On February 21st, Musk stated, Starship flies again next month, strongly indicating that Flight 12 is targeting March. A statement delivered with that level of certainty typically reflects more than optimism. Inside Megabay at Starbase, B-19 has been undergoing inspection and Raptor engine installation. Engine integration is not merely a matter of bolting hardware into place. While B-19 progressed indoors, Pad 2 has been demonstrating its upgraded capabilities in parallel. The pad campaign leading up to the major deluge test was methodical. Teams conducted liquid oxygen and liquid methane quick disconnect tests to verify clean separation capability during liftoff. These interfaces are critical. They must seal securely during propellant loading and detach instantly at ignition without structural hang-ups. Scaffolding was removed from the OLM, indicating that structural modifications had reached a level of completion suitable for operational configuration. The chopsticks, the large mechanical arms used for booster stacking and potential recovery operations were raised and cycled. Their hydraulic systems and positioning controls require precise calibration to avoid clearance conflicts with the vehicle. Engineers also validated the detonation suppression system. This system mitigates pressure spikes that can occur during ignition, particularly when dealing with methane and oxygen in high-flow environments. Finally, the booster quick disconnect gantry was secured, reducing vulnerability to acoustic and thermal exposure. These activities were not isolated maintenance tasks. They were prerequisites for a full-scale stress test of the pad architecture. On February 16th, that stress test occurred. Water surged through the flame trench in unprecedented volume. The scale alone signaled a shift in philosophy, but the most notable change was not beneath the launch mount. It was above it. For the first time, powerful water jets erupted from the upper OLM structure itself. These jets created a downward curtain, effectively enveloping the launch table and surrounding hardware in a protective cascade. The runoff volume was substantial. Water pooled extensively around the perimeter of the pad, underscoring both flow rate and system capacity. Deluge systems are not cosmetic upgrades. They are acoustic, thermal, and structural protection mechanisms. During ignition, engines generating thousands of tons of thrust produce extreme overpressure and vibrational loads. Without adequate suppression, reflected acoustic energy can damage plumbing, electronics, structural steel, and even the vehicle itself. This upgrade represents a clear architectural shift from Pad 1. The earlier water-cooled steel plate design at Pad 1 mitigated direct thermal stress by distributing exhaust loads across a reinforced surface. However, over multiple launches, discoloration and hardware damage became visible. Clamp arms experienced failures. Quick-disconnect casings exhibited scorching. These were not catastrophic weaknesses, but they exposed areas where margins were narrower than ideal. Pad 2 addresses those vulnerabilities through geometry and volume. Its flame-trenched channels exhaust laterally, redirecting plume energy away from the mount structure. At the same time, the expanded deluge system suppresses acoustic energy, reduces heat flux, and mitigates overpressure both below and above the vehicle, Protecting upper deck components, particularly clamp arms and the booster quick-disconnect, is critical. The vehicle remains within that structural envelope for several seconds after ignition. During that window, components are exposed to peak acoustic loads and turbulent exhaust recirculation. Reducing those stresses improves hardware longevity and shortens refurbishment cycles. Looking ahead, Pad 2 appears close to receiving Booster B19. One fully integrated B19 is expected to carry 33 Raptor engines. Combined, those engines are capable of producing over 9,000 tons of thrust at liftoff. For perspective, that level of thrust exceeds that of any rocket currently operational. Before Flight 12 can proceed, B19 must complete a static fire test. A static fire, if you didn't know already, involves igniting the engines while the vehicle remains secured to the pad. It validates ignition sequencing, thrust vector control response, propellant flow stability, and structural load distribution. Early March presents a plausible window for such a test, assuming engine installation and checkouts proceed without anomaly. Following static fire, integration with Ship 39 would become the next major milestone. Stacking operations require precise alignment tolerances. Interstage connections, avionics, synchronization, and umbilical interface checks must all be verified prior to a full wet dress rehearsal. However, upper stage readiness remains a pacing factor. Ship 39 must complete cryogenic proof testing, ensuring its tanks can withstand propellant loading stresses without structural compromise. Static fire validation at the Massey test site is also required to confirm engine cluster performance under flight-like conditions. Turnaround operations, which involve inspection, refurbishment, and reconfiguration, must align tightly with booster readiness to preserve a March Flight 12 window. In complex launch campaigns, synchronization determines schedule viability. A booster may be ready, the pad may be validated, but if the upper stage encounters delays in testing or refurbishment, the entire timeline shifts. The warm-up phase is complete. Now, execution becomes the decisive variable. If static fire proceeds cleanly, if S39 completes validation on schedule, and if ground systems maintain reliability under full cryogenic load, a March Flight 12 becomes technically credible. At this stage, optimism is no longer speculative. It is conditional. The next ignition will determine whether preparation translates into liftoff. Returning to the launch pad architecture, full and rapid reusability will depend as much on ground systems as on the vehicle itself. For SpaceX, the pad is no longer static infrastructure. It's part of the reusable ecosystem. The first constraint is construction velocity. Pad 2 at Starbase began development in early 2024 after the removal of suborbital Pad B. From site clearing to operational readiness, the timeline stretched close to two years. For a company targeting airline-like launch cadence, that duration is too long. Future expansion cannot rely on multi-year build cycles. The true benchmark will likely emerge at Space Launch Complex 37, where a next-generation Starship pad is expected. Unlike Pad 1 or LC-39A, which are both modified from legacy infrastructure, SLC-37 offers a clearer opportunity to measure how efficiently SpaceX can replicate and streamline the Pad 2 design. A 6-12 month construction target per pad would represent meaningful acceleration and align more closely with rapid deployment philosophy. Design simplification is the second imperative. Pad 2 is a substantial upgrade, but it's also complex. The dense integration of plumbing, suppression systems, structural reinforcements, and quick-disconnect hardware increases build time and maintenance burden. In the long term, SpaceX will need to reduce part count, standardize modules, and adopt a more modular architecture. Reliability improves when complexity declines. One structural element worth reconsidering is the OLM. A permanently welded OLM provides rigidity, but it limits flexibility. A detachable, swappable mount, engineered for rapid removal and replacement, could preserve launch cadence during major refurbishment. In high-frequency operations, downtime becomes the primary cost driver. Modular ground hardware could mitigate that risk. If Starship is to fly often and predictably, the pad must evolve from a custom-built structure into a scalable, rapidly deployable system. The next generation of launch sites will reveal how effectively SpaceX can translate iteration into industrial efficiency. What a surprise. The truth behind the Crew-11 medical event is now public. NASA is rolling the SLS back to the VAB for Artemis II work. SpaceX continues setting records with the Falcon 9, reaching new milestones in launches, booster reuse, and satellite deployment. And on Mars, the Perseverance rover has gained a GPS-like upgrade. Space is never routine. Even after decades of missions and thousands of training hours, it can still surprise us. Last month, it did. Crew-11 was scheduled to remain aboard the ISS until February. Instead, their mission ended early after an unexpected event on January 7th when astronaut Mike Fink experienced a medical issue in orbit. Initially, NASA confirmed an early return, but withheld details due to medical privacy protocols. The astronaut was not identified, and the condition was not described. That changed when NASA updated its statements on X and its website. At Fink's request, his identity was made public along with his account of what occurred. He wrote, On January 7th, while aboard the International Space Station, I experienced a medical event that required immediate attention from my incredible crewmates. Thanks to their quick response and the guidance of our NASA flight surgeons, my status quickly stabilized. The exact medical issue remains undisclosed, but three facts are clear. It required immediate attention, his crewmates responded effectively, and NASA's flight surgeons directed the response from the ground in real time. The timing also clarified another development. On January 8th, Fink and fellow astronaut Zeena Karman were scheduled to conduct USA EVA-94, an extravehicular activity or spacewalk, and that operation was canceled. After further evaluation, NASA determined the safest course was an early return for the crew. Fink explained, NASA determined the safest course was an early return for Crew 11. Not an emergency, but a carefully coordinated plan to be able to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station. On January 15th, we splashed down off the coast of San Diego after an amazing five and a half month mission. This was not a panic-driven evacuation, it was a deliberate decision to access diagnostic capabilities unavailable aboard the ISS. Fink later shared an update, I'm doing very well and continuing standard post-flight reconditioning at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Spaceflight is an incredible privilege and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are. Thank you all for your support. The final line captures the truth. Spaceflight is extraordinary, but astronauts are human. Microgravity, radiation, and stress impose limits. What ultimately matters is the system's response. Here, that system included SpaceX's Dragon. Since its first crewed mission in 2020, Dragon has become NASA's primary transport to and from the ISS, restoring domestic crew access after the space shuttle's retirement. In moments like this, that capability is mission critical. Without a spacecraft ready for return, medical options narrow and risk escalates. Dragon is built for reusability, autonomous docking, and long-term attachment to the ISS as a lifeboat. It can safely re-enter, splash down, and be refurbished, enabling Crew-12's mid-February launch with minimal disruption. Its operational record surpasses other commercial vehicles. Boeing's Starliner has faced delays and Northrop Grumman's Cygnus flies cargo only. Dragon alone has consistently transported both crew and supplies, sustaining continuous U.S. presence in orbit. In January, an astronaut required medical attention. A spacewalk was canceled. A mission timeline shifted. The response was calm and coordinated. The crew stabilized their colleague. Flight surgeons guided the intervention. NASA made a measured decision. Dragon brought them home safely. That is not luck. It's infrastructure, preparation, and engineering maturity converging at a critical moment. With the ISS mission complete, NASA's attention now shifts toward Artemis II. Artemis II will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program launched on the SLS, or Space Launch System. Its goal is to send astronauts around the moon and return them safely, a proving flight before future lunar landings. But a new issue has emerged. Engineers identified irregular helium flow in the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS for short, the upper stage responsible for sending Orion from Earth orbit toward the moon. The ICPS uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen with helium-regulating tank pressurization and propellant flow. Any anomaly in that system raises immediate reliability concerns. NASA responded by rolling the rocket back. On February 25, after a brief weather delay, SLS was transported 4 miles from the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building aboard Crawler Transporter 2. The journey began around 9.45 a.m. and concluded roughly 10 hours later, securing the vehicle inside High Bay 3, where engineers can access and repair components not reachable at the pad. The issue was discovered following a wet dress rehearsal conducted February 20 into early 21. During this full countdown simulation, the rocket was loaded with cryogenic propellants and taken through nearly the entire launch sequence. The test generally supported a March launch until the helium irregularity altered that trajectory. NASA postponed the mission and shifted the target window to April, with potential dates including the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and the 30th. The path forward is clear. Identify the source of the helium anomaly, weather valves, regulators, plumbing sensors, or pressurization dynamics, implement corrective action, and validate the fix. At the same time, teams must continue verifying liquid hydrogen performance and ensure the Orion hatch meets strict human rating standards. Time is tight. An early April launch leaves only weeks for repairs, possible rollback to the pad, and any additional integrated testing. Launch systems are highly interconnected, so resolving one issue does not guarantee system-wide stability. Artemis 1 demonstrated the complexity of SLS operations facing multiple delays, including hydrogen leaks, before launching successfully in November of 2022. Cryogenic propulsion leaves no margin for error. Is April realistic? Technically, yes, if the helium issue proves minor. Programmatically, caution may prevail. NASA will not launch without high confidence. Sending astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years demands precision at every level. The work inside High Bay 3 will decide whether Artemis 2 flies in April or slips further into the year. Do you think an April launch is realistic? Let me know with a yes or a no in the comments section down below. That's wild. Blue Origin has just unveiled a docking system test, a major step toward future lunar missions, and a revival of the long-discussed Orbital Reef Space Station. It's also a capability SpaceX has been refining for years. So how ambitious is Blue Origin's vision, and what does this mean for the growing rivalry with SpaceX? Docking two systems together has always been one of the most demanding operations in human spaceflight. It requires extreme precision in navigation, flawless alignment, and absolute trust in both mechanical and software systems, operating in an unforgiving environment. As space exploration moves beyond routine missions in low-Earth orbit, docking is becoming even more critical. In the near future, it'll enable complex operations such as docking two starships for in-orbit refueling, or linking spacecraft and lunar landers to safely transfer crews far from Earth. Blue Origin is one of the companies selected by NASA to support this next phase of exploration. And that role comes with clear technical expectations. Among them is the ability to perform reliable, repeatable docking operations. Recently, the company shared an important milestone in that effort through an update on X. Blue Origin announced that its Blue docking system team had successfully completed soft-capture system testing at NASA Johnson Space Center's 6th Degree of Freedom Dynamic Test Facility. According to the company, this marked the first time its pressurized docking system had been validated under flight-like conditions, while meeting international docking system standard requirements. This announcement signals that Blue Origin is moving beyond early design work and into more realistic testing environments. The purpose of these tests is to simulate the complex dynamics of an actual docking event, including relative motion, alignment challenges, and system responsiveness. While this represents genuine progress, it's also an intermediate step. Ground-based facilities can approximate space conditions, but they cannot fully reproduce the vacuum, thermal extremes, and long-duration stresses experienced in orbit. The update included test footage showing two docking ports, also known as docking adapters, arranged in a vertical configuration, with one positioned above the other. Blue Origin described this setup as a fully vertically integrated system, offering a glimpse into how the docking hardware is intended to function as part of the larger spacecraft architectures. In the footage, the upper docking port appears fixed in place and yet not fully complete. A visible ring structure surrounds the main body, suggesting that additional components may be added in the final design. These could include protective housings or structural reinforcements designed to shield sensitive mechanisms during launch and operations. The lower docking port, by contrast, appears closer to a flight-ready configuration. Its frame resembles finalized hardware and is supported by semi-fixed pivot rods, allowing controlled adjustment during testing. Overall, the test appears to have successfully validated the basic functionality of the soft capture system. However, it was conducted under normal atmospheric conditions. To more closely reflect real docking scenarios, future tests will need to take place in vacuum chambers and thermal environments. These conditions are essential for evaluating how seals, materials, and mechanical interfaces behave in space. This raises a key question. How significant is this progress for Blue Origin's broader goals? According to the company, the fully vertical integrated docking system is expected to fly first on the Blue Moon Mark II lunar lander before later being used on Orbital Reef and other future vehicles. These destinations, the moon, and a commercial space station are central pillars of Blue Origin's long-term strategy. The initial application will be the Blue Moon Mark II lander designed to support crewed missions under NASA's Artemis program. As a crew-rated vehicle, it must rendezvous and dock with a spacecraft in lunar orbit, most likely NASA's Orion capsule. Astronauts would transfer from Orion into the lander for descent to the lunar surface, then later repeat the process in reverse to return home. This means the docking system must perform flawlessly twice during a single mission. Docking in lunar orbit is far more challenging than in low-Earth orbit. The distance from Earth limits real-time support, and there are no nearby systems available to assist in the event of a failure. For that reason, reliability must be engineered into the system from the very beginning. Blue Origin's docking tests are therefore a crucial foundation, but they are only the start. As development continues, more complete hardware and integrated vehicle testing will be essential. The progress shown so far is meaningful, yet it represents just one step in a long path toward operational readiness. That caveat also highlights a broader imbalance in Blue Origin's portfolio. While Blue Origin has aggressively advanced its lunar ambitions, its space station efforts have remained quieter and less developed by comparison. In 2021, the company's Orbital Reef project, developed with Sierra Space and other partners, was selected by NASA under the commercial low-Earth orbit destinations program. The goal was to build a privately operated successor to the International Space Station in the coming decade. Since that selection, however, visible progress on Orbital Reef has been limited, prompting questions about how central the project has been to Blue Origin's near-term priorities. The contrast with Sierra Space is striking. Sierra Space has consistently demonstrated tangible progress, particularly with its inflatable habitat modules and the continued development of the Dream Chaser spaceplane. Blue Origin, by contrast, has released relatively few public updates tied directly to Orbital Reef. This imbalance is likely the result of deliberate prioritization rather than neglect. Over the past several years, Blue Origin has concentrated most of its resources on two major programs, the New Glenn Orbital Launch Vehicle and its Lunar Lander effort. Both represent enormous technical and financial commitments, leaving limited capacity for parallel development of a commercial space station. That situation is now beginning to change. Much of New Glenn's core development work is nearing completion, and the Lunar Lander program has reached meaningful milestones. As a result, Blue Origin is entering a phase where it must redirect greater attention toward Orbital Reef. This shift is becoming increasingly urgent. The International Space Station is approaching the end of its operational life. China continues to expand its own permanent presence in low-Earth orbit, and multiple private companies are racing to establish commercial alternatives. The recent docking system test appears to be part of this renewed focus. In an update shared on X, Blue Origin stated that the test completed a key milestone under its commercial low-Earth orbit destinations contract. Notably, the company referenced Orbital Reef alongside the Blue Moon Mark II Lunar Lander, reinforcing the idea that the same docking system is intended to support both lunar and space station operations. Docking is a foundational capability for any space station. Crew and cargo vehicles must be able to approach, align, and connect safely and repeatedly. Once docked, astronauts transfer between spacecraft, supplies are delivered, and routine station operations proceed much as they have aboard the ISS. For Orbital Reef, this introduces important integration challenges. Blue Origin does not operate its own crewed spacecraft, meaning the station will rely on partner vehicles. In collaboration with Sierra Space, Orbital Reef is expected to be serviced by the Dream Chaser spaceplane. The docking system must therefore be tested not only in isolation but in conjunction with external vehicles to ensure compatibility and reliability under realistic conditions. While docking in low-Earth orbit is less demanding than in lunar orbit, it still requires high precision. The recent test marks a meaningful step forward, but Blue Origin will need to accelerate progress to keep pace with its partners and competitors. The coming months will be critical in determining the future of Orbital Reef and Blue Origin's long-term role in low-Earth orbit. In many ways, Blue Origin's recent progress appears impressive and reflects a high level of ambition. The company is clearly signaling its intent to compete at the highest levels of human spaceflight. Any evaluation of that progress, however, must account for the continued presence of SpaceX, which remains the dominant force in this domain. In many respects, the capabilities Blue Origin is now demonstrating reflect work that SpaceX has already completed. According to public disclosures and program updates, SpaceX finalized several comparable development efforts in 2024. Placing it ahead of competitors in multiple critical areas. This progress has attracted less public attention because it is highly technical and far less visually dramatic than launches or landings. Even so, its importance cannot be overstated, particularly for crewed lunar missions. SpaceX formally detailed this advancement in a Starship Human Landing System update released late last year. In that report, the company confirmed the completion of 49 milestones tied to subsystems, infrastructure, and operational capabilities required to land astronauts on the moon. These milestones covered a wide range of technologies essential to the Artemis program. Among them was a docking-specific milestone. SpaceX stated that it had completed qualification of the docking adapter that will connect Starship with NASA's Orion spacecraft in space. The system was described as an androgynous docking mechanism, capable of functioning as either the active or passive side during a docking operation. Critically, it is derived directly from the flight-proven Dragon 2 active docking system. This approach closely mirrors Blue Origin's lunar lander architecture, which also requires docking with Orion in lunar orbit. The key difference is timing. SpaceX has already completed this development step for the Starship Human Landing System. Its docking system incorporates both active and passive capability, adding flexibility and redundancy. And it's backed by years of operational data from Dragon missions to the ISS. As a result, even though Starship HLS has not yet appeared in its final flight configuration, expectations remain high. The underlying technologies are mature and supported by extensive real-world experience. Maintaining that advantage, however, will require sustained momentum as competition from Blue Origin increases. To secure its position, especially if competition emerges for Artemis 3, SpaceX must deliver several major milestones in the near term. One of the most important will be a dedicated demonstration of Starship HLS. Before Artemis 3, SpaceX is expected to conduct another uncrewed lunar landing test. If Artemis 3 targets 2027 or early 2028, that demonstration will likely need to occur in early 2027, making the next few years decisive. Docking plays an even larger role in SpaceX's long-term plans. Starships must dock with one another to enable in-orbit refueling, an operation unprecedented in spaceflight history. Whether through direct Starship-to-Starship docking or connections to a propellant depot, these maneuvers will demand extraordinary precision. Testing with Starship V3 is therefore critical. Hardware associated with vehicles such as S-39 is already in place. And SpaceX has confirmed that tanker configurations will use docking probes and Dragon Eye sensors. By building on proven Dragon systems, SpaceX reinforces reliability while pushing orbital docking into entirely new territory. As humanity moves closer to a new era of space competition focused on the moon and beyond, the pace of technological progress is accelerating. Docking system tests may not capture headlines in the same way as launches or landings, but they are fundamental to every ambitious mission architecture. Blue Origin continues to showcase its goals by publicly demonstrating advancements in this area and further progress is likely in the near future. At the same time, SpaceX shows no sign of relinquishing its lead. The company continues to push forward across multiple fronts, including docking systems, while tackling challenges that promise to reshape the future of aerospace. The competition between Blue Origin and SpaceX will play a central role in defining the next chapter of American spaceflight. How these two companies advance, adapt, and deliver on their promises will ultimately shape the strength and leadership of the US in space for decades to come. And that brings us to the end of today's episode. Thank you very much for tuning in, and as always, this has been Kevin from GreatSpaceX. Until next time, keep looking up!