Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
SpaceX is making some unexpected changes to Starbase and even to Starship itself, and what they’ve done to the launch pad will genuinely blow your mind. Before we dive any deeper, make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss future updates.
Starbase looks completely different now, and the easiest way to understand why is to look at how much Starship itself has changed. The earliest full-stack Starship we ever saw, like Ship 20 on Booster 4 back in 2021, was about 120 meters tall. It used the first-generation Raptor engines, which produced roughly 185 tons of thrust each, and the vehicle carried around 1,200 to 1,250 tons of propellant. Those early versions were basically prototypes. The plumbing was simpler, the heat shield was experimental, and the tanks weren’t optimized for mass at all.
Then came the V2 generation. Ships like Ship 24 and Ship 25, along with Boosters 7, 9, and 10, made major improvements. They got the newer Raptor V2 engines, which jumped the thrust up to about 230 tons per engine. The tanks stayed roughly the same size, but the internal structure was cleaner, the engine bay was better protected, and the guidance systems matured. Those were the vehicles used for the first several orbital flight tests.
Now we’re in the V3 era, and this is where everything at Starbase has to be rebuilt. Starship V3 is slightly taller—around 122 to 123 meters, depending on the specific ship—and it holds more propellant, closer to 1,450 tons. That increase alone changes how the vehicle loads, how it balances, and how much thrust it needs.
SpaceX is making some unexpected changes to Starbase and even to Starship itself, and what they’ve done to the launch pad will genuinely blow your mind. Before we dive any deeper, make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss future updates.
Starbase looks completely different now, and the easiest way to understand why is to look at how much Starship itself has changed. The earliest full-stack Starship we ever saw, like Ship 20 on Booster 4 back in 2021, was about 120 meters tall. It used the first-generation Raptor engines, which produced roughly 185 tons of thrust each, and the vehicle carried around 1,200 to 1,250 tons of propellant. Those early versions were basically prototypes. The plumbing was simpler, the heat shield was experimental, and the tanks weren’t optimized for mass at all.
Then came the V2 generation. Ships like Ship 24 and Ship 25, along with Boosters 7, 9, and 10, made major improvements. They got the newer Raptor V2 engines, which jumped the thrust up to about 230 tons per engine. The tanks stayed roughly the same size, but the internal structure was cleaner, the engine bay was better protected, and the guidance systems matured. Those were the vehicles used for the first several orbital flight tests.
Now we’re in the V3 era, and this is where everything at Starbase has to be rebuilt. Starship V3 is slightly taller—around 122 to 123 meters, depending on the specific ship—and it holds more propellant, closer to 1,450 tons. That increase alone changes how the vehicle loads, how it balances, and how much thrust it needs.
