I’m not going to pretend I’m calm when a Starship integrated flight test is on the schedule. I’m the opposite of calm.
I’m the person who sets three alarms, checks the stream an hour early, and still somehow misses the countdown because I’m pacing the room. I’m the one refreshing NSF and SpaceX’s X feed like my life depends on it. I’m the one who holds my breath when the engines light—and doesn’t exhale until the booster is caught (or until we know it’s safe to cry).
Why do these tests keep me up at night?
Because every flight is a reminder of how close we are to something truly historic.
Starship isn’t just another rocket. It’s the vehicle that could take humans to Mars. It’s the one that might make multi-planetary life real in our lifetime. Every test—every hold, every flip, every explosion, every catch—is one step closer or one lesson learned.
I’ve watched every flight live.
- IFT-1: the “successful failure” that proved it could fly.
- IFT-2: the hot staging that made my heart stop.
- IFT-3: the first orbital attempt and that beautiful reentry plasma glow.
- IFT-4: the soft ocean landing that felt like victory.
- IFT-5: the booster catch that made me scream like a teenager at a concert.
The failures hurt. But they hurt in the way that makes you believe harder.
Because every boom teaches us something. Every rapid unscheduled disassembly is data. Every “mostly successful” is progress.
I stay up because I can’t look away. Because I know the people at SpaceX, Boca Chica, Starbase—they’re not sleeping either. They’re pouring everything into this.
And I’m just a fan with a laptop and too much coffee… but I feel part of it.
So yeah, I’ll be up again for the next one. Phone in hand. Heart in throat. Eyes on the sky.
Because some things are worth losing sleep over.
If you’re like me—if Starship keeps you up at night too—drop your favorite test moment below. Let’s lose sleep together.
— The Star Queen 🌟🚀