SpaceX Just Did Something No other Company Has Ever Done! Double Starship Pad Down & Up Same Time

SpaceX Just Did Something No other Company Has Ever Done! Double Starship Pad Down & Up Same Time
===
#alphatech
#techalpha
#spacex
#elonmusk
===
SpaceX Just Did Something No other Company Has Ever Done! Double Starship Pad Down & Up Same Time
SpaceX is literally destroying Launch Pad 1 at Starbase. One of the OLM’s six giant legs has already been unbolted and knocked down, and soon the entire system will be turned into scrap metal to make room for a much larger upgrade
And that upgrade is the same kind of overhaul we’re seeing at LC-39A, where a massive brand-new OLM has just been installed over the flame trench, a clear sign that the Cape is gearing up for some truly unique Starship flights as early as 2026.
So where exactly do things stand at both sites? And when will these upgrades be finished?
Let’s dive into it in today’s episode of Alpha Tech.
SpaceX Just Did Something No other Company Has Ever Done! Double Starship Pad Down & Up Same Time
Launch Pad 1 , once the stage for those fiery static-fire tests of both Super Heavy and Starship… once the place where we witnessed eleven legendary flights… once the pad that gave us those breathtaking booster catch attempts , is now being torn apart by SpaceX in the most literal sense.
But this isn’t reckless destruction. What you’re seeing is a full clean-out to prepare for a major transformation next year. It’s not just the vehicles getting upgraded , the pad is too.
The plan is to rebuild Pad 1 into a brand-new version, removing the old six-leg OLM so SpaceX can install a new integrated OLM design that will better support the upcoming Starship Version 3, expected to debut early next year.
And this new OLM structure is a massive, box-shaped system , practically the size of a storage building , so to fit it in, SpaceX has to strip out the entire old OLM and the previous water deluge system as well.
SpaceX Just Did Something No other Company Has Ever Done! Double Starship Pad Down & Up Same Time
That teardown kicked off almost immediately after Starship Flight 11, and it’s been about five weeks now. Each week, the old OLM looks less like a launch mount and more like a pile of twisted steel. Last week, crews removed most of the upper section of the OLM ring and began cutting straight through the lower support beams and the remaining structures connecting the six legs. Some pieces were lifted out cleanly; others were dropped straight onto the dirt pad below with a heavy thud.
It’s obvious they don’t plan to reuse anything. Most of this metal will likely be sold off to a recycler and melted down for raw material. Even the cable chain, the one that routed power and comms to the chopsticks, has already been detached from Tower 1 as crews strip away the old systems.
And Sunday marked the biggest jump in progress yet. Workers used a crane to rip off the staircase engineers once used to climb onto the mount , a pretty clear sign they no longer need to get up there to cut or remove anything. Right after that, one of the six massive OLM legs was pulled over and crashed down. What’s left of the old mount now looks like some kind of steel Stonehenge.
This week, the teams are expected to take down another two or three legs, and by next week, the whole structure should be completely gone. Once everything is cleared, they’ll start burying the old deluge plate, the steel water-spray pit beneath the OLM. It’s still buried under debris from the teardown, but once exposed, it’ll be removed entirely. The new pad won’t reuse any of it because SpaceX is switching to a next-generation deluge system, with water spraying from multiple directions and at much higher flow rates.
Basically, it’s the same setup we’ve been seeing them test over at Pad 2 lately, huge sprays shooting straight into the air. And no, the engineers aren’t just playing with water like kids; they’re checking flow accuracy, making sure nothing’s clogged, and confirming the pumps are behaving the way the controllers expect.
As for Pad 1, there’s still a lot of work ahead. Once demolition wraps up, they’ll need to install the new flame trench, build out the advanced deluge system, assemble the new OLM, refurbish the chopsticks on the tower, reintegrate all the plumbing and propellant pumps from the nearby tank farm, and then run hundreds of system tests before the pad is ready to debut again for the rest of us.

===
Subcribe Alpha Tech: https://www.youtube.com/@alphatech4966/?sub_confirmation=1
===