SpaceX Updated New Footage Revealed Unexpected S40 Status after 32 days of Floating!

New images from SpaceX of the S40 recovery have just arrived. Meanwhile, B-21's crucial static fire test is still pending. NASA has also made a major decision regarding Artemis 3, choosing not to carry a payload on the mission. There's more than meets the eye across the aerospace industry right now, so stick around and let's go through all of it on today's episode of Great SpaceX. I'll start with what you've probably been waiting for, SpaceX's latest update on S40. In the previous episode, we talked about the moment S40 was loaded onto the recovery vessel. If you missed that episode, you can catch up on the channel. And if you haven't subscribed yet, now's a good time to do so. That way, you won't miss the daily updates as S40 continues its long journey home. Now, back to S40. Until recently, most of our updates came from local sources and members of the recovery team. But everyone knew that sooner or later, SpaceX would release its own images. And now, they're here. SpaceX has released two updates showing S40 at different stages of the recovery operation. Let's start with the S40 recovery update. The post contains four images, including one showing the Forte partially submerged as it prepared to tow S40 onto its cargo deck. That's the moment we could only observe from distant footage in the previous update. And seeing it up close is seriously impressive. The following images show S40 first from a distance and then in much greater detail sitting inside Forte's cargo deck as the vessel resurfaces. The securing system is particularly impressive, keeping the enormous spacecraft stabilized and preventing it from rolling while the vessel moves across the ocean. SpaceX stated, Starship has now been loaded onto a semi-submersible ship to begin the several-month journey back to Starbase. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX recovery team for battling through challenging conditions to give our engineers access to a wealth of data to continue rapidly developing Starship. This marks an important transition. With S40 now aboard Forte, SpaceX engineers have much better access to the vehicle and can continue their inspection throughout the journey. And that raises an interesting question. Will engineers be able to go inside Starship as well, perhaps even access areas such as the payload compartment? We don't know yet. For now, Forte appears to be preparing for the long voyage, likely taking on additional supplies and equipment. The recovery team may also need temporary structures such as ladders, platforms or scaffolding to make continued inspections easier. At the same time, another major decision has to be made. Which route will Forte take back to Starbase? That's something we'll be watching closely. SpaceX also released another set of images, this time showing S40 while it was still in the water. In these images, engineers can be seen approaching the spacecraft in small boats. For areas near the waterline, they worked directly from the boats. For higher sections, particularly the heat shield, engineers actually climbed onto the enormous vehicle. And these images once again show just how massive Starship really is. Standing next to it, a human looks almost like an ant on the back of a giant whale. Some of the images even capture the recovery team taking a few relaxed moments aboard S40. And I have to admit, I really like the image of engineers sitting and lying across the vehicle while carefully examining the heat shield. It looks surprisingly serene and chill. Would you want to experience that? I definitely would. If you feel the same way, comment plus one below. But relaxing and taking photos are obviously only a small part of the mission. The engineers' real job is much more important. Understanding exactly what happened to S40 during reentry, landing, and its 32 days adrift in the ocean. SpaceX emphasized in this update, SpaceX engineers spent several days inspecting Ship 40 in the waters off Christmas Island. They collected heat shield samples and gained vital insight into how the vehicle handled reentry, with improvements now planned on future vehicles. Clearly, the heat shield received special attention. That's understandable. It's relatively accessible compared with many other parts of the vehicle, and more importantly, it's one of the most critical systems for Starship's future. From the next flight onward, Starship will be operating closer to an orbital mission profile and will have to perform a controlled atmospheric reentry and landing. Even without a megazilla catch attempt, the next ship will need to demonstrate the landing process as accurately as possible. That makes the data collected from S40 extremely valuable. And the close-up images reveal some fascinating details. First, two of S40's forward flaps are missing. The remaining forward flaps show significant erosion after spending more than a month exposed to seawater. Several heat shield tiles are also missing, while sections of ablative material have peeled away, exposing the stainless steel structure underneath. The edges of the heat shield show signs of corrosion as well, and similar effects can be seen around the aft flaps. Higher up the vehicle, we can still see patterns similar to those observed immediately after landing. There are white streaks associated with coolant leakage, along with several yellow-orange streaks. I don't think those orange marks necessarily indicate oxidation. They may instead be evidence of intense heating and combustion, particularly because several of them appear to originate from areas where the heat shield was heavily damaged. And those are the areas that really catch my attention. Some of the tiles appear to have severely been fractured or shattered. Fortunately, these damaged areas appear relatively limited compared with the enormous number of tiles that remained intact. That's encouraging. If SpaceX can learn from these damaged sections and incorporate the results into future heat shield designs, the next generation of Starships could eventually become much easier and faster to inspect and refurbish. We also got a look inside S40's engine bay. Surprisingly, the engines appear relatively clean. It's difficult to know how much of that is simply the result of seawater washing away residue, but the relatively clean combustion of methane-oxygen propellant may also play a role. However, there are still some obvious issues. The edges of the nozzles on one Raptor vacuum engine and one sea-level Raptor appear warped. Several sea-level engines also appear displaced from their original positions, no longer sitting as evenly as they did before launch. As a result of the prolonged time spent in the ocean, we'll need more analysis from SpaceX before drawing any firm conclusions. And that's what makes S40's journey so fascinating. The vehicle has already survived an orbital class flight, atmospheric re-entry, a sea landing, and more than a month in the ocean. Now it's beginning another journey. This time, back to Starbase, where engineers can study it in far greater detail. And I have a feeling, this won't be the last impressive update we get from S40. So make sure you're subscribed, because this long journey home has only just begun. Speaking of Starbase, let's see what's happening with Flight 14 preparations. The focus is now on B-21, the booster for Flight 14. In the previous update, B-21's static fire test was scrubbed due to suspected problems with the Liquid Oxygen Booster Quick Disconnect Arm. A new test schedule was then announced for August 27th and also the 28th. We expected things to return to normal quickly. One positive sign was that although the transport stand had returned to the pad, B-21 itself didn't appear to need to leave the OLM. By the evening of the 26th, the Liquid Oxygen BQD had been reconnected to the booster. The launch platform doors closed and the crew left the platform. All of this suggested that the problem had been resolved. That raised expectations for the test attempt on the 27th. But then, nothing happened. An update on the Starbase City website showed no road delays, confirming that the test would not take place. At the same time, the beach closure date was moved to the 28th. So, the test has effectively been postponed by another day compared with the revised schedule. Perhaps after the issue at the pad, engineers simply needed additional time to inspect the system and make sure everything was stable before attempting such a critical test. Hopefully, everything will be completed soon, giving SpaceX enough time to prepare for a mid-September launch. Next, let's talk about the latest update regarding NASA's Artemis 3 mission. After flying CubeSats on the first two SLS missions, NASA will not include them on Artemis 3, which is currently scheduled for no earlier than mid-2027. At the Small Satellite Conference on August 24th, David Hitt of NASA's SLS Payload Integration Office explained that the decision is mainly due to a major change in the SLS configuration. Artemis 3 was originally planned as a lunar landing mission, but NASA has revised it into a low-Earth orbit test of Orion's docking with lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. Because Orion will remain in low-Earth orbit, SLS will fly without its interim cryogenic propulsion stage or ICPS upper stage. Instead, NASA will install an inert spacer and preserve the final ICPS for Artemis 4. Since the CubeSats are deployed above the upper stage, they cannot fly on Artemis 3. Artemis 1 carried 10 6U CubeSats toward the moon and beyond with mixed results despite successful deployment. Artemis 2 carried four 12U CubeSats from Argentina, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea, primarily conducting space weather and radiation measurements. NASA is still considering CubeSats for Artemis 4 and 5, planned for 2028, while working with payload developers and international partners interested in participating. All four Artemis 2 CubeSats successfully transmitted data to ground stations, although detailed performance results remain with their respective operators. 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 remember there's always more that meets the eye.