SpaceX finally Selected New Barge to Save & Bring S40 Back to Starbase! Recovery Now Breakthrough…

It's S40 again, everyone. I hope you're not bored with the news about it because its journey has been full of dramatic twists. And now the floating phase may finally be coming to an end. A massive barge appears to have beaten the other candidates and could soon have the honor of bringing S40 one step closer to Starbase. So, which vessel is it? And what will the next leg of S40's journey look like? Let's find out on today's episode of Great SpaceX. It's safe to say that SpaceX is currently demonstrating its global reach. On one side of the earth, teams at Starbase are actively preparing for flight 14. And on the other side, in the eastern Indian Ocean on Christmas Island, a place you probably haven't ever heard of before, another team is working to bring the hero of the previous flight, S40, home. And you know what? I've recently found S40's journey strangely similar to my favorite manga, One Piece. Just like the pirate crews in that story, S40 needed a sturdy vessel to survive the harshness of the ocean. It's nice when my work and my hobbies suddenly come together like this. But let's get back to the main story. What can we expect to happen to S40 now? After 24 days adrift, S40 was towed back to Christmas Island by Norman Ranger. SpaceX later announced the milestone on X stating, a team of SpaceX engineers is on their way to conduct additional analysis on the vehicle in calmer waters before attempting to return it to Starbase. At the time, several possibilities were being discussed. One of my most frequently mentioned was Dong Bang Giant No. 2 because of its location and travel route. But now, another candidate appears to have emerged. And that is Forte, a heavy lift vessel. Forte previously departed from Batu Amphar Port in Batam, Indonesia. And the most interesting part is its destination, Christmas Island, where S40 is currently waiting. The vessel departed on the 20th and was expected to reach Christmas Island around the weekend of the 23rd. To make that journey quickly, Forte is traveling at around 13 knots, allowing it to cover roughly 300 nautical miles per day. That speed is particularly valuable because it could minimize the amount of additional time S40 spends exposed to the ocean. And Forte certainly has the size to handle the job. Its cargo deck is approximately 177.6 meters long and 43 meters wide, while its carrying capacity is around 48,000 to 50,000 tons. So, S40 is well within its capabilities. There's another reason Forte may be an excellent choice. It's not just a heavy lift vessel, it's also semi-submersible. That means Forte can partially submerge itself, allowing its cargo deck to sink well below the waterline. Its cargo deck can sit approximately 13 meters below the water surface, while the vessel's submerged draft can reach around 26 meters. And that could be extremely useful at Christmas Island. As we've discussed, the island's port is relatively small and doesn't have the enormous cranes needed to simply lift a roughly 100 ton starship out of the water. Forte's semi-submersible design could bypass that problem entirely. And amazingly, this concept has already been simulated by a friend of mine, Chrome Kiwi. They always come up with crazy ideas that manage to surprise even me. So definitely check out their x-page for more interesting starship knowledge. The basic concept is fascinating. Forte would approach S40, then partially submerge itself, and then the vessel could move underneath and around S40, positioning the cargo deck so that the ship sits directly above it. Then, as Forte rises back toward the surface, S40 would effectively be lifted out of the water and settled onto the cargo deck. Once secured with the appropriate supports and locking points, the ship could begin its long journey home. Of course, we'll have to wait and see whether this is actually the method SpaceX uses. So how will S40 get home once its floating phase is finally over? After reaching Christmas Island, SpaceX will probably need several days to load S40 onto the vessel, install securing points, add protective coverings, and complete the necessary inspections and preparations. There will also be regulatory requirements and route planning to consider. That means the actual journey toward Starbase may not begin until the final days of August. And that's where things get particularly interesting. There are two major route options. One would take S40 eastward across the Pacific, the other would take it westward across the Indian Ocean and eventually into the Atlantic. For the Pacific route, there are again two possibilities. The first would be to continue by sea, pass through the Panama Canal, enter the Gulf, and eventually reach Starbase. The second would involve reaching the US west coast, potentially unloading S40 in California, and then transporting it over land to Texas. The Indian Ocean route also offers two possibilities. One would take the vessel around the Cape of Good Hope before turning north through the Atlantic toward Starbase. The other would take it through the Suez Canal in the Mediterranean and then westward through the Atlantic. Each option comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. The California route could increase costs because it would require switching from maritime to land transportation. There's also the question of whether suitable infrastructure and transport equipment would be available to move S40 safely over land. The other three options would keep the entire journey on water. However, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope would add significant distance. The Suez route could shorten the journey, but it would involve passing through the Suez Canal and navigating areas with additional geopolitical and security considerations. And then there's the Panama Canal. Its lock system could present another logistical challenge depending on Forte's dimensions and the final configuration of S40 on its deck. As for travel time, Forte has a maximum speed of around 14 knots, but once S40 is loaded aboard, it would probably travel closer to 11 or 12 knots. At that speed, the journey back to Starbase could take roughly a month and a half, and only a few days difference between some of the maritime routes. Personally, I think the Cape of Good Hope route could be an interesting option. Yes, it would probably take longer than some alternatives, but the additional travel time may be relatively small compared with the potential benefits of avoiding complicated canal operations, overland transportation, and certain security or logistical challenges. After everything S40 has already survived, perhaps the safest approach is simply to give it a long, uninterrupted journey home. But what do you think? Which route would you choose to bring S40 back to Starbase? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. And during S40's return journey, SpaceX may also achieve several major breakthroughs. The latest update indicates that Flight 14 will not attempt to catch the ship, likely because SpaceX wants to further validate both the vehicle and the catching system before taking that step. Musk has stated that the first ship reflight attempt will take place later this year or early next year, meaning the first catch could happen within the next few months. That also means S40's successors will continue building on everything S40 has accomplished. With Flight 14 even without a catch attempt, we could still see something very interesting. S41 is expected to reach orbit and could potentially return towards Starbase without actually being caught by Mechazilla. As I mentioned in the previous episode and many of you agreed with, I believe SpaceX could guide the ship back towards Starbase before redirecting it slightly offshore to land in the Gulf near Boca Chica. If that happens, it would demonstrate that Starship can accurately return to the Starbase area while also allowing the vehicle to be recovered relatively quickly, potentially within hours or a day of landing. And everything goes perfectly. S41 could even make it home before S40. So what comes next? If Flight 14 is successful, subsequent flights could begin focusing more heavily on the ship catching objective. And once SpaceX successfully catches the ship, the vehicle could be rapidly brought down, inspected, refurbished, and prepared for another mission. The big question is when that will happen. Flight 14 appears to be targeting mid-September according to the latest update available as I'm making this video. That makes a mid-October Flight 15 look increasingly difficult given SpaceX's current pace. So it's entirely possible that S40 can make it back to Starbase before the first ship catching attempt. But whether the catch happens before or after S40's return, the data collected from S40 will remain extremely valuable. S40 is the first ship prototype to survive a sea landing, giving SpaceX a unique opportunity to study what happens to the vehicle after spending an extended period in the ocean. As SpaceX stated, a team of SpaceX engineers is on their way to conduct additional analysis on the vehicle in calmer waters. And once S40 is loaded onto its transport vessel, access to the vehicle should become much easier, potentially allowing engineers to conduct even more detailed inspections. That means future flights could benefit from S40's condition whether they launch before or after it reaches Starbase. Perhaps this is also one of the factors behind Flight 14 taking longer to prepare than originally expected. Either way, S40 could have a surprisingly large influence on the Starship flights that follow. The return journey of S40 will likely become one of the most unusual chapters in Starship history. After completing its mission on Flight 13, S40 has demonstrated remarkable resilience. That resilience doesn't just highlight the durability of Starship. It has also given SpaceX an extraordinary opportunity to bring the vehicle home and study its condition after surviving a landing at sea. Behind that achievement is an incredibly complex recovery operation. The SpaceX team has had to track S40, assess its condition, monitor ocean conditions, and determine how to transport a massive spacecraft back to land. With Christmas Island offering only limited infrastructure, finding a suitable vessel like the Forte could be one of the most important pieces of the entire operation. If everything goes according to plan, S40 will be loaded aboard the vessel, securely restrained, and begin a journey spanning thousands of nautical miles back to Starbase. That would make S40's recovery a truly unique operation in aerospace history, and perhaps years from now, we'll still remember S40 as one of the most remarkable ships ever built. However, SpaceX certainly doesn't want this to become routine. Recovering a Starship from the middle of the ocean requires enormous amounts of time, manpower, logistics, and money. Once Starship begins flying at a much higher frequency, this simply won't be an efficient way to operate the fleet. SpaceX's ultimate goal is to catch the ship with the Mechazilla tower as quickly as possible. Instead of allowing the vehicle to splash down thousands of kilometers away and then sending recovery vessels after it, SpaceX wants the ship to return to Starbase, be caught, lowered, inspected, and prepared for its next mission with minimal delay. And there's an even bigger goal on the horizon. SpaceX is also pursuing the possibility of offshore Starship launch and recovery systems. Offshore platforms could dramatically expand operational space, reduce dependence on land-based infrastructure, and eventually allow Starships to launch, land, refuel, and fly again at an unprecedented pace. So S40's journey is about much more than simply bringing one spacecraft home. It could represent a transition between the way Starship operates today and a completely different future. One day, instead of searching for a Starship drifting somewhere in the ocean, SpaceX could simply catch it moments after its mission is complete. And that future may be getting closer with every flight. Stay tuned for the latest developments on S40, Flight 14, and the future of Starship. In any case, folks, if you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to leave a like, subscribe to GreatSpaceX, and ring the notification bell so you never miss the latest updates on Starship, SpaceX, and humanity's exciting journey into the future of space exploration. Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one.