SpaceX did buy two large offshore drilling rigs in 2020, rename them Deimos and Phobos, and plan to convert them into floating launch and landing platforms for Starship. Neither rig ever became an operational spaceport: the conversion project was dropped, and later reporting said both rigs were sold.
What SpaceX bought
The purchases involved two former ENSCO 8500-series deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs, industrial vessels built for offshore oil operations rather than spacecraft. Their former names were ENSCO 8500 and ENSCO 8501. SpaceX renamed them after Deimos and Phobos, the two small moons of Mars.
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Contemporaneous reporting in 2020 said the rigs were near Brownsville, Texas, close to SpaceX’s Starship development activity. The ENSCO 8500 series was designed for drilling in water depths of up to 8,500 feet.
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The intended use was an offshore launch and landing complex for the Starship/Super Heavy system. An ocean platform could place launch operations farther from populated areas, potentially providing a larger safety buffer for very large rockets and their test flights. Elon Musk had previously discussed offshore spaceports, and SpaceX job postings referred to offshore operations.
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The concept was not simply to park a rocket on an oil rig. The vessels would have needed substantial modification for launch equipment, propellant systems, ground support, communications, recovery operations and the structural and safety requirements of Starship.
How much did SpaceX pay?
Public-record reporting put the purchase price at about $3.5 million per rig, or approximately $7 million for both. ROOM Space Journal reported the per-rig figure in 2021, while the Sun Herald described the combined transaction in 2023. These are reported sale prices, not a SpaceX balance-sheet disclosure, and they do not represent the cost of converting the rigs into launch facilities.
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Deimos and Phobos: the known timeline
| Period | What was reported |
|---|---|
| 2020 | SpaceX acquired two former Valaris/ENSCO 8500-series drilling rigs near Brownsville, Texas. |
| After acquisition | The rigs were renamed Deimos and Phobos. The buyer was identified in public records as Lone Star Mineral Development LLC; its registered officer, Bret Johnsen, was linked to SpaceX’s executive team. |
| 2021 | Phobos was reported moving to Pascagoula, Mississippi, for modification work. |
| 2022 | Deimos was reported moving to Pascagoula. |
| After the moves | The offshore Starship spaceport project was abandoned. The Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Journal of Petroleum Technology reported that the former oilfield rigs were sold. |
Did Starship ever launch from an offshore oil rig?
No. Deimos and Phobos never became active Starship launchpads, and no Starship launch or landing took place from either vessel. The rigs were moved for attempted conversion work, but the offshore project was discontinued before it became operational.
Why the offshore concept was difficult
An ocean location offers distance from people, but it also adds major operational demands. The available reporting establishes the concept, not a complete quantitative comparison, so the trade-offs are best understood in practical terms:
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- Safety and regulation: Moving launch hazards offshore can increase standoff from populated areas, but it still requires extensive licensing, environmental review, exclusion zones and emergency planning.
- Construction and transport: A converted rig would need launch-specific hardware and would have to be towed, positioned and maintained at sea.
- Propellant and payload logistics: Fuel deliveries, payload processing, crew access and routine maintenance are generally more complicated offshore than at an established land base.
- Recovery operations: Launch and landing hardware, support ships and recovery procedures must function together in a marine environment.
- Weather and sea state: Waves, wind, storms and ocean currents can constrain work and launch windows even when the rocket itself is ready.
Where Starship operations are centered now
SpaceX’s current public mission description identifies Starbase, Texas, as the center for Starship development, manufacturing, testing and launch. That is a land-based complex, not Deimos or Phobos.
SpaceX still uses offshore recovery infrastructure for some Falcon missions: its mission page says Falcon boosters can land on autonomous droneships at sea or at land zones near launch pads. That is a recovery arrangement for Falcon and should not be confused with the abandoned plan to make oil rigs into Starship launch platforms.
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Federal Aviation Administration environmental records document the regulatory review history for Starbase and subsequent site modifications, but they do not turn the former oil rigs into active launch facilities.
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The bottom line on the oil-rig spaceports
SpaceX really did buy two large oil rigs and prepare them for a possible new role as floating Starship spaceports. The vessels were renamed Deimos and Phobos, reportedly cost about $3.5 million each, and were moved for conversion work. The plan was abandoned, both rigs were later reported sold, and Starship launch activity remains centered at Starbase in Texas.
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