# Starship Ship 36

**Type:** Starship upper stage vehicle  
**Status:** Destroyed (RUD during ground test)  
**Manufacturer:** SpaceX  
**Program:** Starship development  

## Overview

Ship 36 was a Starship upper stage vehicle that suffered a catastrophic failure during ground testing at Starbase on June 18, 2025. The incident led to significant corrective actions in COPV inspection methodology that were implemented in subsequent vehicles including Ship 39 (IFT-12).

## Timeline

- **2025-06-18** — Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly at 11:02:52 PM CDT during propellant loading for planned six-engine static fire test. Vehicle completely destroyed, significant ground support equipment damage. No injuries.
- **2025-06-18** — Root cause identified as undetectable internal damage to Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) in payload bay section. COPV stored gaseous nitrogen for environmental control system.
- **2025-06** — Five corrective actions implemented for subsequent vehicles: (1) reduced COPV operating pressure, (2) additional inspections and proof tests, (3) updated COPV acceptance criteria, (4) new non-destructive evaluation method developed for internal damage detection, (5) external protective covers added to COPVs during integration.

## Technical Details

**Failure Mode:** COPV structural failure under propellant loading pressure → vehicle structural failure → propellant mixing and ignition → energetic RUD

**Root Cause Category:** Systematic screening failure, not individual workmanship defect. Existing inspection methods could not detect internal COPV damage, requiring development of entirely new NDE technology.

**Significance:** The Ship 36 incident represents a systematic failure mode requiring new inspection technology, not just improved quality control. Corrective actions were comprehensive and implemented before IFT-12 hardware finalization.

## Impact

- Delayed V3 development timeline
- Required development of new non-destructive evaluation method for COPV inspection
- Caused significant pad damage requiring repair before subsequent operations
- Informed heightened safety procedures for IFT-12 preparation
- Demonstrated SpaceX iterative development cycle: fail fast, identify root cause, fix systematically