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SpaceX acquired two former deepwater oil rigs in 2020 and renamed them Deimos and Phobos, intending to convert them into offshore launch and landing platforms for Starship. The conversion never became operational: the project was abandoned, and both rigs were later sold. Starship development, manufacturing, testing and launch are now centered at Starbase, Texas.
What were Deimos and Phobos?
They were former ENSCO 8500-series deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs—not purpose-built spacecraft platforms. Their original names were ENSCO 8500 and ENSCO 8501. TechCrunch reported that rigs in the series were designed to drill in water depths of up to 8,500 feet and that the two were near Brownsville, Texas, when SpaceX acquired them in 2020: TechCrunch.
Public-record reporting identified Lone Star Mineral Development LLC as the buyer and linked its registered officer, Bret Johnsen, to SpaceX’s executive team. The reported ownership link explains why the purchase was associated with SpaceX; the cited reports do not establish a publicly disclosed SpaceX balance-sheet purchase entry. The rigs were renamed for Deimos and Phobos, the two moons of Mars.
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Why did SpaceX buy two oil rigs?
The plan was to convert the rigs into offshore launch and landing sites for the Starship/Super Heavy system. A platform at sea could place launch activity farther from populated areas than a launchpad on land. The idea also built on Elon Musk’s earlier public discussion of offshore spaceports and SpaceX job postings for offshore operations, as reported by TechCrunch.
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Buying existing industrial platforms offered a starting point for that concept, but a drilling rig is not a ready-made rocket port. Turning one into a launch site would require substantial modifications and the supporting operations needed for launch, vehicle handling and recovery. The cited reporting establishes the intended conversion, but does not give a complete engineering design or a quantified comparison with land-based launch facilities.
How much did SpaceX pay for the rigs?
Public-record reporting put the price at about $3.5 million per rig, according to ROOM Space Journal in 2021. The Sun Herald later described the transaction as $7 million total in 2023. These are reported purchase prices, not a verified SpaceX financial disclosure.
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Did Starship ever launch from an offshore platform?
No. The two rigs did not become operational Starship launchpads. They were moved for attempted conversion work, but SpaceX abandoned the offshore project. The Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Journal of Petroleum Technology reported that the former oilfield rigs were sold.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The Sun Herald reported that Phobos moved to Pascagoula in 2021 and Deimos followed in 2022 before the plan was dropped. The available reporting supports that they were sold after the conversion effort ended; it does not establish that either platform ever hosted a Starship launch.
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Where does SpaceX launch Starship now?
SpaceX’s public mission page identifies Starbase, Texas, as the site for Starship development, manufacturing, testing and launch. Its current description of offshore recovery refers instead to Falcon: “Depending on the performance required for the mission, Falcon lands on one of our autonomous spaceport droneships out on the ocean or one of our landing zones near our launch pads.” SpaceX mission page
That distinction matters: SpaceX’s use of droneships for Falcon booster landings is not evidence that Deimos or Phobos became Starship spaceports. FAA environmental records document the review history for the Texas launch site and its modifications: FAA Starship records.
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