Flight report · April 20, 2023
Flight 1: First integrated Starship stack clears the pad
On April 20, 2023, Ship 24 and Booster 7 lifted off from Starbase for the first fully integrated flight test. The stack cleared the pad before multiple engine outs ended the attempt short of stage separation.
Starship / Super Heavy · Orbital Launch Pad 1 · Flight 1 of 14
Outcome
Pad clear / ended before separation
- Ship
- Ship 24Failure
- Lost · Lost on flight
- Booster
- Booster 7Failure
- Lost · Lost on flight
Key figures
- Liftoff
- 8:33 a.m. CT · Apr 20
- Pad
- Orbital Launch Pad 1
- Apogee
- ~39 km
- Result
- Ended before separation
01 / 03
The flight
What happened
SpaceX flew the first fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy from Starbase on April 20, 2023. The goal was not a polished orbital profile. It was to clear the pad, gather ascent data, and learn what the stacked system actually did in flight.
Liftoff at 8:33 a.m. CT put Booster 7 and Ship 24 over the Gulf. The vehicle reached about 39 km, then the highest Starship flight yet, before multiple Raptor outs, a tumble, and commanded flight termination on both stages.
02 / 03
Ascent
Getting a 33-engine Super Heavy and Ship stack off Pad 1 was itself a first. The flight validated early ground-system and vehicle interactions that static fires could not fully replicate.
Engine-out behavior and control authority under those failures became the primary lessons heading into Flight 2.
03 / 03
What it unlocked
SpaceX treated the attempt as a data haul: pad deluge and flame-trench redesigns followed, along with vehicle changes aimed at longer burns and stage separation.
Flight 1 proved the stack could leave the mount. Everything after that was about keeping it flying longer.