In January 2021, a report described two oil rigs—named Phobos and Deimos—as candidates for conversion into offshore spaceports for SpaceX’s Starship. The report showed photographs of the rigs, but it did not show completed launch facilities. It said the conversion schedule was unclear, and the sources available here do not establish whether either rig was later converted or what its current status is.
What were SpaceX’s reported floating spaceports?
They were two oil rigs that a January 22, 2021, Futurism report said SpaceX had acquired and intended to convert for Starship operations. The rigs were identified as Phobos and Deimos, names of Mars’s two moons. The article included photographs from the ports of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Brownsville, Texas, showing the rigs and nameplates associated with them.
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Those photographs document the rigs and their names; they are not evidence of completed modifications, a finished launch complex, or an offshore Starship launch. The report said it was unclear when conversion work would begin.
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Futurism reproduced a June 2020 statement attributed to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: “SpaceX is building floating, superheavy-class spaceports for Mars, Moon and hypersonic travel around Earth.” That was a statement of intent as reported at the time, not confirmation that the rigs were subsequently transformed into working spaceports.
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Are the rigs the same as SpaceX’s drone ships?
No. A launch platform sends a rocket into flight; a droneship is a sea-based landing location used to recover a booster after launch. SpaceX’s Falcon mission page describes booster landings on autonomous spaceport droneships at sea or on land-based landing zones. That role is different from launching Starship from an offshore platform.
| Infrastructure | Function | What the cited sources establish |
|---|---|---|
| Phobos and Deimos oil rigs | Proposed conversion for offshore spaceport use, as reported in 2021 | The 2021 report described an intended conversion; it did not establish completion or operation. |
| Falcon droneships | Landing and booster recovery at sea | SpaceX describes them as ocean landing locations, not launchpads. |
| Offshore launch platform | Launching from a sea-based facility | The FAA treats this as a distinct project requiring its own design, safety analysis, logistical support, and environmental review. |
The FAA’s LC-39A Starship environmental review also discusses floating platforms in the context of landing and recovery. It distinguishes those activities from developing and operating an offshore launch platform, which would be a fundamentally different project with separate review requirements.
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Did SpaceX turn the oil rigs into Starship launchpads?
The available sources do not establish that it did. The 2021 report described a plan and uncertainty about when work would start. The FAA’s discussion of what a future offshore launch platform would require is not evidence that Phobos or Deimos entered that process. Nor does a lack of later confirmation prove the project was cancelled.
What is known about their current status?
The sources cited here do not reliably establish the rigs’ current owner, location, physical condition, or whether conversion work was completed. SpaceX’s May 22, 2026 Starship Flight 12 page identifies the flight as the first for Starship and Super Heavy V3 and the first Starship flight from Pad 2. That records ongoing Starship development and land-based launch activity, but it does not mention Phobos or Deimos or resolve their status.
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The FAA describes Boca Chica as a coastal, land-based Starship launch site adjacent to public lands on its Starship operations page. That site context likewise says nothing about whether the two oil rigs were converted, retained, or abandoned.
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- Model is a highly Simulated SpaceX Falcon9 Dragon+F9 Starship Heavy Falcon Falcon 9 Biock 5 rocket model. The main body of the first-stage rocket is precision aluminum alloy tube, and the rest of the rocket materials are made of high-quality imported resin-with excellent laser forming ability and long-lasting preservation
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