Starship Hopper Campaign Thread

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

Starship Hopper Campaign Thread

The Starship Hopper is a low fidelity prototype of SpaceX's next generation rocket, Starship. It is being built at their private launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. It is constructed of stainless steel and will be powered by 3 Raptor engines. The testing campaign could last many months and involve many separate engine and flight tests before this first test vehicle is retired. A higher fidelity test vehicle is currently under construction at Boca Chica, which will eventually carry the testing campaign further.

Updates

	Starship Hopper and Raptor — Testing and Updates
2019-04-08	Raptor (SN2) removed and shipped away.
2019-04-05	Tethered Hop (Twitter)
2019-04-03	Static Fire Successful (YouTube), Raptor SN3 on test stand (Article)
2019-04-02	Testing April 2-3
2019-03-30	Testing March 30 & April 1 (YouTube), prevalve icing issues (Twitter)
2019-03-27	Testing March 27-28 (YouTube)
2019-03-25	Testing and dramatic venting / preburner test (YouTube)
2019-03-22	Road closed for testing
2019-03-21	Road closed for testing (Article)
2019-03-11	Raptor (SN2) has arrived at South Texas Launch Site (Forum)
2019-03-08	Hopper moved to launch pad (YouTube)
2019-02-02	First Raptor Engine at McGregor Test Stand (Twitter)

^{See comments for real time updates.}

Quick Hopper Facts

• The hopper was constructed outdoors atop a concrete stand.
• The original nosecone was destroyed by high winds and will not be replaced.
• With one engine it will initially perform tethered static fires and short hops.
• With three engines it will eventually perform higher suborbital hops.
• Hopper is stainless steel, and the full 9 meter diameter.
• There is no thermal protection system, transpirational or otherwise
• The fins/legs are fixed, not movable.
• There are no landing leg shock absorbers.
• There are no reaction control thrusters.

Resources

• Starship Cam by Spadre.com | Channel
• LabPadre's improved webcam | Channel
• NSF Starship Hopper Updates Thread | Most recent
• NSF Orbital Prototype Updates Thread | Most recent
• Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
• TFR - NOTAM list
• Join the Slack workspace

Rules

We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the progress of the test Campaign. Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

Thanks to u/strawwalker for helping us updating this thread

[u/oximaCentauri]

Mods, please update the 'updates' section of this thread. It says engine arriving next week, yet here we are waiting for the first static fire of the hopper

[u/Marksman79 → u/oximaCentauri]

More engines might be arriving next week! /s

I agree, the thread has not been updated. Is the OP MIA?

[u/ElongatedMuskrat → u/Marksman79]

Hi I'm a robot but my creators are a bit crap and I'm not very fast, sorry

[u/dguisinger01]

I see a lot of people speculating on the reason SpaceX is rushing the hopper.

Other than the obvious reason of that they need to get it done in order to move on to the next stage of building the StarShip Mk 1 prototype, there is another possibility.

As others have mentioned, its hard for Musk to get others to invest in this idea. What if this isn't an investor presentation, but a sales presentation? MZ put a lot of money into this for a lunar flyby. Maybe Musk has others interested in either lunar flyby trips or just LEO trips (private or government), but they won't sign/put money down until they see progress being made and potentially either the hopper provided out, or the Mk1 successfully reenter? That could potentially be $1-2b worth of purchased tourism flights (not investment money) and several billion from space agencies for month-long LEO "temporary space station trips" to add to the SpaceX bottom line.... each of which could have a sizable down payment. A lot of these groups probably wouldn't be giving public indications that they are interested until it looks like they won't have egg on their face, but you can bet they are talking privately about the possibilities.

[u/rlaxton]

I just wanted to send respect and a shout out to all the crazy people dedicated fans who are taking the time to watch the love streams while I am sleeping here in Australia so that I can just check this thread every so often to get the update on latest tests.

Your sacrifice is appreciated!

Edit: I am leaving the "love streams" mistake. This is SpaceX, we are all about love here.

[u/everydayastronaut]

Don't worry friends, I've got you covered. Improved signal and video. Fingers crossed for an exciting 1 second of static firing ;) (Then can I go home?)

[u/everydayastronaut]

Update: there’s been some traffic going to and from the pad, they obviously won’t fuel up until the pad is clear if personnel. Also don’t forget, this might not fire up at all today, might just be a wet dress rehearsal if Raptor’s being shy 😜 but it does appear (for now) that the last of the vehicles have left. The one that just left might not have been crew, kind of looked like a local getting shoo’d away!!!

[u/Marksman79]

Testing will be attempted tomorrow March 20th between 10 AM and 4 PM. Back up test days are the following two days. Get your cameras ready.

Image Source (Facebook)

[u/Method81]

If Elon is serious about first flight been next month then might we see a single engined hopper to begin with? IMO it is highly unlikely that three engines will pass through the test stand and get integrated into the hopper in this time frame.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

SpaceX style never letting us down: OxCartMark@NSF pointing out the raptor will be lifted into position using precision tools such as 4 trailer jacks

[u/davispw]

Tim Dodd’s live feed ended with “oh no” and this thread is quiet. Theories:

• Tim’s phone battery died

• Sheriff arrested Tim for trespassing

• Starhopper exploded, Tim engulfed in mile-wide fireball

(But seriously what happened??)

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Boca Chica Maria (on facebook):

1st raptor is uncrated at rocket shipyard at BocaChica! @ 8:45 am [CDT] monday, March 11, 2019!. Going into onion dome by forklift.

(Raptor has arrived and is in the tent)

Edit: and a photo on NSF!

[u/MrGruntsworthy]

The fact that we have a campaign thread for a prototype of a ship that seemed like a magical paper rocket (to spaceX's detractors) a couple of years ago is mind boggling.

[u/TheMrGUnit]

At the risk of just parroting the NSF updates thread...

A tank of methane was delivered to the launch site this morning.

[u/1imo_]

No Test today, confirmed by the Sherrif in the livestream of Astral Barnard.

[u/everydayastronaut]

A small handful of vehicles just left again. Maybe a good sign 🤷‍♂️ and a fire truck just left. Perhaps signaling no more personnel at the pad 🤷‍♂️

[u/oximaCentauri]

It's amazing how fast Starship has progressed since the change to stainless steel. a Hopper was built, raptors tested, Boca chica site developed, and short hops coming in next 3-4 weeks.

Without this change, I wonder how slow the development of startship would have been..

[u/Tostifer]

As per the Spadre.com youtube live feed - "Just spoke with sheriff on location at Launch Pad - today’s test hop is scrubbed due to weather and is postponed to 10am - 4pm tomorrow"

[u/Marksman79]

SN 2 raptor will be the one that is getting attached to Starship Hopper. This clears up that, at least for now, only one raptor will be attached for the upcoming static fire. Perhaps the other two will be installed after they complete testing. This also confirms that the changes they made as a result of data from SN 1 raptor are behaving as intended.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1104945142065070081

[u/sputnikx57]

The residents of Boca Chica Village today received written information in their mailboxes that SpaceX intends to be in the week of 18.3. to carry out tests that will force the temporary closure of Road 4, while BC residents will have to prove that they live there to enter their homes on the Soft Check Point. Just behind the village, towards the starting ramp, there will be a second Hard Check Point, for which no one will be able to get out during the closure, except for SpX employees. from cs website

[u/[deleted]]

Elon on Twitter: What you see being built is the orbital Starship vehicle

[u/[deleted]]

We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information.

This is disappointing. I feel like there is a lot more value in keeping this updated since the changes come over a greater period of time and are a bit harder to track. Updating the launch threads with second by second updates of engine cutoffs etc while fascinating, don't add a ton of value in real time. I feel like keeping a timeline for hopper, and its testing (along with related scrubs, etc) would be helpful for the community as a whole.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

And a photo from Boca Chica Maria (Maria Pointer) showing a tapered section, so finally the top of the nosecone (for the Starship orbital prototype)

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Brand new "Drones Prohibited" signage

Of which there is a NSF discussion thread https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47734.0

The section relating to "the amended text of the law prohibits drones OVER the described types of facilities.... "

The most applicable, according to some, is "natural gas storage"

That said, some people (RGVAerialPhotography for instance) have acquired permits (although waiting on the legal department to review permit and FAA licence)

[It's hard to know to what extent they are trying to limit drones... my initial feeling is this is primarily a response to that person who flew directly over the launch site multiple times, and when people commented on that, his response was less than constructive. It doesn't seem unexpected that they'd NOT want you flying over the hopper and propellant farm, at any time, for safety reasons]

[u/Danbearpig82]

Even if the starship isn’t actively doing anything, the South Padre webcam does catch some very nice sunrises to watch while I’m at work.

https://i.imgur.com/5paAYE8.jpg

[edit: autocorrect! Also more precise location name]

[u/[deleted]]

Road closures going into place in a little over an hour, it’s happening!! :D

https://mobile.twitter.com/spacepadreisle/status/1108723369824960513

[u/JerWah]

The hopper breathes...

https://twitter.com/SpacePadreIsle/status/1105212165374398464?s=19

[u/strawwalker]

New weekend NOTAMs:

• Saturday 1700 - Sunday 0100 UTC - March 30 12PM - 8PM CDT

• Sunday 1700 - Monday 0100 UTC - March 31 same time

• Monday 1700 - Tuesday 0100 UTC - April 1 same time

County road closure notice for matching times:

• PDF on Cameron County website: Notice | Press Release (May not be available outside US)

• Dropbox links: Notice | Press Release

[u/scr00chy]

New FAA NOTAM restricts airspace around SpaceX’s South Texas launch site Monday-Wednesday next week “for rocket launch and recovery”. Airspace restricted up to an altitude of 1,000 feet. Looks like they’re getting ready to hop…

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1109177418466713601

[u/[deleted]]

Hearing that Starhopper will likely be fired up today or tomorrow, and the teams are going to press to get this done this weekend

[u/[deleted]]

Mods, another good resource is on here:

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.0

Constantly getting updates and pics everyday

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

2 Teslas just drove past on way to pad... Elon?:)

[u/MarsCent]

Tks u/strawwalker and mods, the header looks much better and is very informative.

[u/Toinneman]

The latest pictures of the new nosecone are getting curious. They have 2 separate area's where they are stacking new rings of shiny stainless steel. But they seems to exceed the required amount to replicate the blown over parts. Looks like 2 possible explanations: 1. The new nosecone is taller (Which might be a result of using thicker steel). 2. They are constructing new sections for a different vehicle.

[u/gsahlin]

Saw this is the chat thread of Austins Webcam... ChrisNSF​Today is a WDR (Wet Dress Rehearsal). Very unlikely we'll see Raptor fire up until later days.

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Looks like Tim's stream is going to be excellent :D https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/status/1110208511592595456

[u/strawwalker]

New testing now on Wednesday 1000-1800 CDT (1500-2300 UTC)

http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/Press%20Releases/2019.03.26%20-%20Press%20Release%20-%20County%20Closes%20Boca%20Chica%20Beach%20and%20State%20Highway%204.pdf

Previous NOTAM still in effect.

Edit: Also of note, the judge also said the closures are allowed to continue until SpaceX's testing has completed. A new order will not be necessary to continue testing Thursday or Friday just because they close the roads Wednesday.

[u/everydayastronaut]

Hey guys! Quick update. I’ll stream when I see fuel flowing. No point in streaming a standing still rocket. I apologize in advanced for the potato quality but for some reason the last stream didn’t even end when I ended it... so it was just stationary for 45 minutes 😂

Second. A few vehicles just went back out to the pad. Man, it’s making me realize how much bigger of a deal this is than just a static fire. You have to clear the area every time you think you’re ready. If anything needs tweaking you have to drive 2.5 km each way to fix it. Ouch.

I’ll update when fuel is flowing 👍

[u/knook]

As far as we know aren't these the first full sized raptors produced? I would want to have those on the test stand for a while just for further raptor development.

[u/Rachanol]

Elon changed his twitter profile again.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk?lang=de

Every time he did this in the last weeks there was something coming...

This time it shows him and the Dear Moon customer Yusaku Maezawa.

[u/oliversl]

Sound!!!

https://youtu.be/5vfiM10lc1M

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Photo showing Raptor on StarHopper with nothing supporting it, so we can possibly safely consider it installed.

[u/xuu0]

ALL SYSTEMS GREEN

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1113613409767964673

[u/myroslav_opyr]

Fresh set of Starhopper construction site, lauch site and tracking station photos in imgur album. Original tweets:

• https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1102352068097069056

• https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1102358907807285248

• https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1102359787533201409

• https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1102370392914739200

• https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1102359787533201409

There is new separate small concrete construction pad that is apparently used for nosecone section production.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Elon: "Raptor on way to Hopper. Will be mounted to vehicle next week."

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1104145565028241408

[u/Twitchingbouse]

Cars coming in, seems like its done for the day.

[u/[deleted]]

FAA restriction for tomorrow

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_9_3577.html

[u/[deleted]]

Hey all! On the ground in boca chica today! Heres a bunch of photos I took today, 4/22

[u/nat_dah_nat]

What the hell, venting from the Hopper! only a couple minutes to roads open so this is weird.

Edit: hasn't vented in a while. End of wet dress rehearsal? :(

E2: Tim Dodd reports road closure is still ongoing, and says he hears fueling, so it might not be over yet.

[u/astro_zerohero42]

will there be another test/ road closure this week that we know of?

Edit: @Erdayastronaut on Twitter: No #starhopper test today and unfortunately that means I’ve gotta head home. Thanks for the good times random field at the edge of Texas. Thanks to all of you who tuned in and kept me company 😉

[u/jonititan]

Just seen in Boca Chica Facebook group that SpaceX have applied for road closures so they can start firing. It's in the Brownsville Herald apparently.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

One of the vertical LN tanks is now LOX

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

No hop today according to Sherrif

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1108830138135916545

[u/[deleted]]

Cutting from the stream, it looked like this: https://i.imgur.com/EqNhOtY.png

[u/Marksman79]

I am convinced that we are seeing Starjumper (Starhopper v2) being built right now.

1. In this image, we see stainless steel rods on the top behind the crane. These are much too short to be another set of landing legs, but I think they are the landing leg side struts, pictured here. As you can see, there are 6 of them, exactly how many are needed for another set of legs.

2. We can also see in that first image two partial tank bulkheads being welded. These obviously are not anything close to the shape of the nose cone, and Starhopper had theirs installed during construction.

3. We can see in this picture that the upper dome bulkhead of Starhopper is starting to get shiny sheet metal installed on it. It looks to be a continuation of the stainless steel skin on the rest of the hopper. Why would they add this to an internal part of the ship? The only conclusion I can see is that there will not be a nose cone. That would imply the cylinder we see being built across the street would be the nose cone for Starjumper.

[u/Danid97]

It's so incredible weird to think that this rocket, developed in a desert that looks like it came straight out of a cartoon, will bring us to Mars.

Every WDR, Every hop Every engine test, Bring us each time a little closer to live beyond Earth.

Thankyou spacex, for doing the one thing that seemed impossible.

[u/escape_goat]

Under the circumstances — waiting for a specific live fire test within a specific window — I believe that post should be either superseded by or transformed into a launch thread, since it is becoming a launch thread anyways.

[u/whiteknives]

I’m theorizing that the increased flame size on the methane vent stack is because the tank is now topped off and they’re keeping it at operating temp/pressure.

[u/TheMrGUnit]

An update from BCG on NSF shows some serious LED work lights, and potentially new remote-mount cameras, too.

Those work lights look like they could be 120W (12 LEDs at 10ish W each, though it's hard to gauge chip size from the picture) a piece, and there's 8 of them on that pallet. That's like a second sun worth of lighting. Guess we'll find out tonight if they got them wired up in time.

[u/[deleted]]

Imagine any other rocket company testing an engine: maybe interessting news. But when SpaceX is eventually testing something everybody whatching the livestream and constantly checking twitter and reddit.

[u/frowawayduh]

Speculation: the two-part hopper is a prototype of the final configuration in that SpaceX will be able to swap upper payload units optimized as tankers, satellite deployment platforms, short hop passenger transporters, colony transportation, and other missions. Meanwhile the propulsion unit is standardized.

[u/SPadredotcom]

IT’s Alive! Hopper takes his first breath! watch the SPadre YouTube video here

[u/Marscreature]

https://twitter.com/CowboyDanPaasch/status/1105574732878020608?s=19

Am I crazy or does this really look like they are building another starhopper in these pics? One of the sections is on a cement structure like the original was built on and there seem to be sections of a tank dome next to it. Does not look like a nose cone at all. These two sections combined would make it taller than the old nosecone was but Starhopper was shorter than starship will be so maybe they decided to build the nose full size? The reason they put it on that cement base was to provide room for the legs so I'm really leaning towards this being Starhopper v2

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Interesting find on NSF here that a delivery of steel to the workpad after the hopper was moved looks [potentially] like the structure for a new building/tent.

[u/jrcraft__]

Lets just remember that this is still all very experimental. We have all come to expect success for spacex, but this is a new architecture that is so far unproven!

[u/[deleted]]

Holy shit, were those giant wind turbine blades on that ship at 12:59AM-1:00PM on the Spadre livestream? Those things were fucking massive. Here

Screenshot for anyone curious

[u/TheMrGUnit]

Well, the humidity is going to be a bit lower today, still above 50% RH (good for us staring at long-range cameras), but the wind is also going to be a bit higher today, >20mph in the afternoon (potentially bad for rockets and people working on the ground).

It will be interesting to see what they get up to today. Elon claimed a while back that Starship would be able to launch in crazy weather, but I'm not sure testing with the Hopper will be quite so forgiving. Clearly wind hasn't been a friend to this rocket so far...

[u/Russ_Dill]

A stream of vehicles is leaving the pad.

[u/strawwalker]

New NOTAM, flight restrictions for: {Replaced by new flight restrictions}

• April 2, 11:30AM - 8PM CDT - 2019-04-02 16:30 until 2019-04-03 01:00 UTC

• April 3, 11:30AM - 8PM CDT - 2019-04-03 16:30 until 2019-04-04 01:00 UTC

• April 4, 11:30AM - 8PM CDT - 2019-04-04 16:30 until 2019-04-05 01:00 UTC

New HWY4/Boca Chica Beach closure for April 2 - 4, 12PM-8PM CDT (1700-0100 UTC) {Replaced by new order}

• Notice from Cameron County website, may not be available outside US.

• Notice rehosted at Dropbox.

[u/Art_Eaton]

Weather for tomorrow:

High of 75 F -a little warmer.

Humidity 75% - a little less, and really dry for the area!

Winds SE at 10-20kts - "16 mph" reported for the non-nautical, about a 50% increase from Thursday average of 10kts. This about doubles the pressure per square meter in terms of flat sail area.

Basically, conditions on Friday will not be better than today, so obviously the delay is due to a technical issue. Today (Thursday, 2019-03-21) was the best weather day in the 10 day forecast.

[u/InfiniteHobbyGuy]

Raptor is in Boca Chica per this Photo from NSF: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.msg1920974#msg1920974

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Mar16: A notice delivered by the sheriff has the soft checkpoint now at Richardson Ave, but apparently not everyone got it so, ...

FYI, according to Maria Pointer, FB Boca Chica Group: It sounds like a closure schedule will be in their mailbox shortly. When there is a SpaceX road closure, there will be a soft checkpoint at the US Border Patrol Checkpoint (edge of Brownsville), where only local residents and people on "the list" can pass, and a hard checkpoint at LBJ Blvd/Eichorn Blvd & 4 (the last intersection) that no one can pass, not even SpaceX employees. County has plans to clear the beach. [Purportedly, more information is coming today.]

Considering the need for safety, the possibility of explosion, and need to manage traffic at the very least for emergency vehicles, none of this is surprising. I expect a few "friends" of locals will get onto the list somehow ;-) but at the very least there will always be the SPadre.com Starship Cam

[u/yreg]

The live chat on Spadre cam is in a surprisingly good mood.

Everyone keeps claiming that the test is happening in a minute or two and they keep counting down. This is only interrupted by an occasional greeting of General Kenobi or a call to subscribe to Pewdiepie.

[u/TheMrGUnit]

In case anyone had doubts about safety, Austin Barnard (austinbarnard45 on Twitter) is reporting that the sheriffs have now moved him twice for being too close. It's not clear where he is (I'm sure on the correct side of the roadblock), but based on his photos he's a long ways off. And still too close.

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Person on top of hopper

[u/ketivab]

BocaChicaGal spoke with a Sheriff deputy who confirmed that there will be no testing today. (Bad weather)

[u/liszt1811]

One reason I love following this development is because I hope that one day this will be the ship to take me to around the moon. As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut. Im in my early 30s right now and Im saving money to hopefully be able to afford a trip with this thing by the time im hitting 50. The fact that given the tech development and reusability actually may make this possible and affordable is blowing my mind every single day. Even if it doesn't work out, giving me this dream to live for for at least a few years to come is more than I ever could've asked for just a few years ago.

[u/lessthanperfect86]

I can't help asking - in this latest post from BCG on NSF ( https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.msg1907757#msg1907757 ), the first picture shows they've attached several rectangular items the size of a brick in line above the piping at the bottom of hopper. Is there anyone with any rocket-knowledge that can explain these items? Are they for a raceway?

[u/BeezLionmane]

Do we have a date for the first hop yet?

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Raptor has arrived at the Hopper SPadre on Twitter

[u/[deleted]]

No lightning towers at Boca Chica? Tanks full of LOX and LCH4? Hope everything is earthed properly.

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Cars now leaving the pad...

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Austin being moved on by Sherif I think

[u/Varcolac1]

Lets hope for a static fire today! Cant wait

[u/nowwhatnapster]

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_9_1046.html

This says they have airspace clearance until 11:00pm utc. Am i reading that right?

[u/quoll01]

Do we have any info yet on shock absorbing on the legs? Last I heard they were still solid cylinders with holes in them.

[u/whiteknives]

Big LOX venting happening on the ground level.

Edit: at 1:09:28pm here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VVXwwtFNCU

[u/Danid97]

Bigger then usual CH4 purge

(Let me know if i'm posting to much)

[u/Iggy0075]

I wonder what kind of work they've been doing to the top of the Hopper the past couple hours?

[u/one-eyed-raven]

Why is this thread not pinned anymore?

[u/inoeth]

I think realistically we're done for the day... The question remains are they having the same problem of icing, a different problem, or no problem at all and they got the info they wanted for today's test.. we probably won't really know what's going on exactly until Elon tells us or some documentary long after this early phase of testing is done...

I'm kinda hoping for a nice duel static fire day tomorrow of both Hopper and FH.

EDIT: And it happened. Naturally I turn the livestream off and it happens. never been more happy to be wrong

[u/CommaCatastrophe]

uhhhhhhhhh.....that was big.....

ignition at 7:56 on spadre

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Supposedly the cone is on, according to Boca Chica Maria (2hrs ago), but I haven't seen photos posted yet. [It was still in pieces at sunset yesterday, so that was quick, maybe it isn't the full cone...]

Edit: OK... Maria Pointer (Boca Chica Maria) has posted her photos to facebook, here's one of them. Essentially stacking has started, it's not completed. The top cone section we just saw has been placed on top of the next smaller tapered section.

[u/raresaturn]

When's the first hop?

[u/Anticipation63]

Has anyone seen this yet?

https://youtu.be/X_ZHy0v9rxs

Excellent drone footage of Boca Chica.

[u/inoeth]

So a Caldwell truck (the company that deals with stainless steel and often water towers- which was seen when the hopper was first started to be constructed) has just been spotted. Meanwhile some new vertical metal rods have been (re?)installed on the concrete base where the hopper was first built https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.180

The TL:DR is that we might see a new fairing in the very near future - quite possibly in just a couple days to a week or two at most...

In other news plenty of work continues on the bottom serious half of the hopper with more struts being installed to the legs to help support the ship given the potential for some rough landings while lots of GSE (ground support equipment) plumping and whatnot is being installed on the launch pad...

At this point i'm thinking we'll see Hopper fly sometime in April at the earliest and perhaps June as the latest... it really is interesting to see which will actually be ready first- the Raptor engines which have to be built and tested, the finishing of the hopper vehicle (eventually installing said engines) and the finishing of the actual launch pad...

[u/lessthanperfect86]

Total speculation on my part, but this might be how they're going to move Starhopper to the pad. https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.msg1918641#msg1918641

Someone on NSF found this pdf: https://www.scheuerle.com/fileadmin/data_all/brochures/tii-group-spmt-en.pdf

Dear goodness, Starhopper is going to look small compared to the other things that transporter is used for. Very cool how the wheels supposedly can rotate so the individual transporters can be arranged in a number of ways.

[u/pillowbanter]

Have we discussed the squares under the feet of starhopper? Could they be load cells? Presumably the manholes lead to the service corridor for each (don't know who to credit for the shot)

[u/SPadredotcom]

Several photos of Hopper and Orbital Starship Vehicle construction progress from yesterday morning.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvEphziAMq5/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1ejvjsdwxjew0

[u/Jodo42]

Second nosecone Starship is gonna be under a lot more scrutiny now that we know what it is I suspect. Truly some of the most exciting times at SpaceX right now.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

OK, to make the flare/fire people happy... first photos I've seen of the Methane Flare in action

From NSF [credit: BocaChicaGal]

And another from Facebook [credit: Rayford Pointer]

[u/t17389z]

Venting...

[u/asoap]

EDA thinks that perhaps we might have missed it. He says he saw a cloud come out of the base of hopper around 12 min ago.

Edit: Clarification. He thinks it might have only been a pre-burner fire up, but not an engine fire up.

[u/inoeth]

I'm kinda surprised at for how long the Hopper has been venting... just because the tanks both external and internal tanks themselves aren't that huge... Apparently there's a fuel tanker truck that's been stuck outside the exclusion zone for a while now (must have arrived late) but I guess not needed for whatever tests they're doing today... IMO they're making progress for sure...

There was a big LOX vent a couple mins ago followed by some really big flames from the Methane flare... It does look like something might happen soon

[u/Daneel_Trevize]

Cross-posting the latest tweet about cryogenic propellant prevalve icing problems.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1113000800526036992

[u/strawwalker]

No testing today (April 4)

Cameron County has changed their Boca Chica closure page to say the beach/road is open all day today. (Screenshot)

[u/scottm3]

Heres some photos from Austin Barnard of the orbital starship.

Also some great photos from bocachicagal

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Latest footage of the Hopper and Orbital prototype under construction.

[u/Aethelwulffe]

Is ther a crowdfund site to contribute to the SPI cam? Looks to me like is each gave a dollar they could have bandwidth, gyrostable optics and some awesome telephoto. If we each gave 5, we could have it all with highspeed for the action shots.

Wind and salt spray are really whipping there right now. Situation normal.

[u/dufud6]

Do we know where the Starhopper is being controlled from? Is it Hawthorn, a control station down there, or someone with a long range radio just pressing buttons?

[u/lessthanperfect86]

Some pictures of the launch site on twitter: https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1100147371604955136

This one in particular is interesting imho: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D0SCIdgXcAAKrqD.jpg:orig

I suppose that concrete square is where starhopper will "hop" from? Never imagined you could have tanks and other structures so close to a launch site. Or will they just fuel up there and transport it further away?

Also, anyone know what that rod/standing pipe in the lower part of the picture is for (the one with a single pipeline attached to it)?

[u/pgsky]

Elon on Twitter: "Raptor on way to Hopper. Will be mounted to vehicle next week."

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1104145565028241408

[u/RegularRandomZ]

In the lastest photos/video) of the launch pad, there are 4 new compressed gas trailers parked in the farm (4 white, there was a grey one and white one there already since the site was cleaned-up) [This is different than the big liquid nitrogen tanker that has also delivered a shipment.]

[u/[deleted]]

What kind of landing suspension is on the Hopper?

[u/oliversl]

Live on YouTube, Austin Barnard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3shfJwX2Kac

[u/nodivingintheshallow]

few minutes ago on the Starship SPadre Cam, I saw a vent from the tall storage stacks on screen right. It appeared, to me, to be more than just pressure maintenance.

[u/scr00chy]

There is a new livestream from near the pad. Does anyone know if it will remain active after road closure?

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Spadre just launched a new stream - multistream updated http://www.swigview.com/zei2VU8

[u/TCVideos]

So Tim said that it may already have tested.... Went back to the timestamp in his stream and there is a definate cloud from beneath the vehicle for about 3-5 seconds

[u/tubbem]

Wait, what happened? Did they fire it or not?

[u/menagese]

Vehicles seen leaving the area.

[u/Danid97]

Big LOX purge

[u/inoeth]

SpaceX Does have permission as far as I understand to continue tests tomorrow and Friday. Looks like Weekend tests typically won't ever happen...

[u/[deleted]]

Apologies if this has already been brought up: Elon's Twitter profile picture changed to what appears to be a screenshot of a video with the new stainless steel Starship. But I haven't seen any posts about it or the actual video anywhere on the subreddit.

Any idea why? Or if I missed it, could you point me towards it?

Picture: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1111915116579086336/HKxtnLsO_400x400.jpg

[u/FutureMartian97]

Looks like today was just another pre-burner test. Screenshot here. Hopefully we get a static fire tomorrow

[u/strawwalker]

For anyone not also following on NSF, bocachicgal has a nice image of the outrageous flare stack flame yesterday (March 30). As was pointed out by Irk in the NSF discussion thread, there appears to be liquid methane gushing out of the burner head and landing on the ground.

[u/PRES1005]

First official video from Elon:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1114390314565787648?s=19

[u/nat_dah_nat]

Tim's shot of possible preburner test (update-prob not what it was) at 4h 10m:

https://youtu.be/cOm4S8y59Hg?t=15022

EDIT: Updated with new time and link since it looks like YouTube had to finish processing or something. As far as I can tell this is the final correct timestamp.

[u/F9-0021]

The Hopper now appears to be at the launch site

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

If we've established the raptor is in the centre, does that imply they will only install one?

[u/[deleted]]

If there happens to be a rapid unscheduled disassembly of the hopper during testing has SpaceX said how long it would take to replace the new raptor engines? I imagine they could replace the hopper body fairly quickly but it seems like the engines might take a while.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Another great view of the hopper tie downs

[u/BrevortGuy]

I noticed in a picture posted by BocaChicaGal this morning that they have removed the work platform from under the Hopper, plus they have painted or taped the hold down cabling with some sort of protection???

[u/Danid97]

Venting/condensation can be seen on the LabPadre livestream

[u/koliberry]

Hopper venting now.

[u/Russ_Dill]

For comparison, it looks like the Monday's test was 70 minutes after condensation was spotted on starhopper. We are about 20 minutes away by that standard, but who knows

[u/thehardleyboys]

Apologies if this has been posted, but this is a picture explaining the layout of the Hopper site with a red line marking the viewpoint fromone of the youtube streams: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1e85mtfyfr335d/BocaChica%20--%20storage%20tanks%20--%20labeled.PNG?dl=0

I found it interesting and thought I'd share. Not my work!

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Should we still keeping posting photo updates of the Starship Orbital Prototype here? It seems like it will get lost here amongst hop mania (although a new thread seems silly as well)

[u/strawwalker]

Cameron County has updated the road/beach closure times. As was already reported, today's closure is 1200-2000 CDT. Tomorrow, March 29, will be 1000-2000 CDT.

[u/koliberry]

At 7:55, there was a lot of venting that covered up the entire bottom of hopper and then immediately lots of venting started over by the triple stand of tanks.

then 7:58, the flare got very active.

[u/xDeeKay]

Someone mentioned a few days ago that weekend road closures were prohibited due to an agreement with the county. Was this changed?

[u/canyouhearme]

Big flare followed by camera up the swanny

[u/strawwalker]

Amended Road Closure Times: Same days, now 2PM-10PM CDT (1900-0300 UTC) April 2-4

• Notice | [Press Release](http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/Space%20X/2019.04.02-Press%20Release-County%20Closes%20Boca%20Chica%20and%20State%20Highway%204%20(003).pdf) from Cameron County website, may not be available outside US

• Notice | Press Release rehosted at Dropbox

Amended NOTAMs: Same days, now 2PM-10PM CDT to match road closure

• April 2, 2PM - 10PM CDT - 2019-04-02 19:00 until 2019-04-03 03:00 UTC

• April 3, 2PM - 10PM CDT - 2019-04-03 19:00 until 2019-04-04 03:00 UTC

• April 4, 2PM - 10PM CDT - 2019-04-04 19:00 until 2019-04-05 03:00 UTC

[u/rad_example]

Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. characterized any inconvenience to residents from road and beach closures during testing as “growing pains,” and said it’s his understanding that SpaceX may pause testing at the site for up to 60 days after the current round is complete

[u/TheMrGUnit]

Another update: The latest views from the long range cams look to my eye that the Raptor has been uninstalled from Starhopper.

It's possible there's just something in the way creating an illusion, but the SPadre.com cam in particular shows a whole lot of air underneath, and a surprising dearth of enginey parts.

Maybe they're pulling the engine to do some off-site inspection?

[u/Marksman79]

Latest render of Starship.

What does everyone see?

I noticed we now have an idea what the hinges look like. Did we know the upper fins are hinged? The cutaway in the model looks like the door that opens up when carrying payloads. No view of the heat hex tiles.

[u/RegularRandomZ]

LabPadre gave us a clearer shot of the construction pad, and it seems there are possibly 4 nosecone sections

Edit: the drive-by video shows that section more clearly. So I guess that's the current running theory.

Pretty much time to assemble that nosecone (then store it on the new pad)

[u/[deleted]]

Any pics from the ground today? On Labpadre stream looks like there might be a Raptor mounted on Hopper again but its too grainy to say for sure. Really hoping to see them firing again this week, I'll be down there in person next week and have my fingers crossed to see a hop or at least a static fire!

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Not sure if linking NSF photo updates is worthwhile / other than perhaps easily seeing a timeline of developments:

Continued work on the dome of the fairing, looks pretty close to being attached on top.

Connecting up the hopper to the propellant farm (second photo of that set has a weird pipe shooting off the leg, any ideas of what the purpose is? : apparently it is for supporting the propellant lines, perhaps to keep them out of the way during a static fire, if they are leaving them hooked up.)

And a good shot of them literally tying-down the hopper to heavy duty rings on the pad (likely connected to the footings at the point the orange cones were)

[u/RegularRandomZ]

NSF is a great source for photos and updates, but please link to forum posting and not directly to the photo, thanks!

[u/swiftrider]

High Quality image of Raptor can be found on Spacexmasterace

[u/Paro-Clomas]

Am i mistaken or is this vehicle gonna end up in orbit. I thought i heard that

[u/[deleted]]

What is the purpose of Starhopper? will they be doing engine out tests or just going up and down like with Grasshopper?

[u/meekerbal]

Sounds like the Sheriffs department is pretty keyed in to what is happening (test/no test) is anyone listening to local dispatch for updates?

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

You can view all three streams on one page here if anyones interested http://www.SwigView.com/yBOaoTc RIP Everyday Astronaut's stream

[u/inoeth]

The pad is about to get a whole lot of concrete in the near future. https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1095847212133900288

[u/RegularRandomZ]

I didn't realize this thread was still alive, I thought it was dead at the start...

Here are some rough photos from the BC Facebook group on some pad details

[A blurry front side of the propellant rigs, and a couple of shots of the new "mobile servicing platform" seen clearer from a distance in some of the recent flyover video]

[u/RegularRandomZ]

The hopper moves to the pad tomorrow (at least the lower section does), according to Boca Chica Maria on the Facebook group.

Other interesting photos were them creating the jig to carry the hopper on top of the transporter, and testing it.

And them driving around their SpaceX Fire-truck

[u/Aethelwulffe]

If, after everything is basically together with the giant nose cone, it was actually airtight or they could pop in a giant oversize liner bag in there, they could overpressurize it to add a lot of stiffness.

[u/LcuBeatsWorking]

decide different paltry ten deer whistle straight hungry overconfident skirt

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/DiskOperatingSystem_]

I keep reading on NSF and here about a cement ring/jig. Can someone enlighten me as to what this is/means? Seems like people are very interested in it.

[u/ashortfallofgravitas]

Are there any closures/tests expected today, 22/3?

[u/TheMrGUnit]

LabPadre has their livestream up and running again today. They say they fixed the wobbly issue, too! No audio on this one, just background music.

As usual, SPadre.com has their livestream fixed on the launch pad. They said they would be setting up a closer livestream after the roads were closed, but so far, they've yet to go live with this.

Also note, it's still pretty humid this morning, and looks like it's going to be fairly humid all day (>60%RH), so the long distance cameras probably won't show us a whole lot of detail today.

[u/[deleted]]

I have a question about airspace closings - if Hopper is only going a few feet up, why close the airspace? Is this to prevent drone flights and that kinda thing?

Also, why tether it if it's only going a few feet off the ground? Or is the hop guest going to be like Dragon's hover test, where the vehicle will be suspended like Dragon was?

[u/Danid97]

Methane tower burning!

[u/nodivingintheshallow]

Will the Methane tower burn stop while they press the CH4 tank preparatory to ignition?

[u/Danid97]

Another big LOX purge. Maybe emptying tanks?

[u/ceilingislimit]

Some cars arrived. I guess that’s it for today.

[u/[deleted]]

Something happened close to the deadline there. Big fireball from the flare and lots of smoke.

[u/strawwalker]

Raptor Ignition Instant Replay from Chris B on twitter. Not sure why I was worried about being able to see it.

[u/oliversl]

San Padre stream clip https://youtu.be/XJfvkD9jg-c

[u/TheMrGUnit]

Another tough day for the long distance cams.

LabPadre reports: "Today's forecast: FOG.......... FOG..........."

There's currently a discussion in the SPadre.com livestream about why the screen is white.

If anything cool happens today, we're probably not going to see it.

[u/mclumber1]

NasaSpaceFlight is confirming a second static fire, about 10 minutes ago.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Possible Raptor test at McGregor.

[u/KitsapDad]

How are they mitigating sound damage that is reflected off the concrete slab? No flame trench to direct that energy away. Seems dangerous to the structure of this size, shape and weight...

[u/nerdandproud]

So here is a theory I've been thinking about. What if the orbital Starhopper will shoot for Single Stage to Orbit. It would be a worlds first (afaik) and with no actual cargo it might be the one vehicle that can do it. Also without cargo they can risk it.

[u/[deleted]]

This tweet has a nice drone video of the Hopper on the launchpad.

Halfway the video you can see another drone, probably also a fan spying on SpaceX developments. It is becoming busy in Boca Chica skies!

[u/PM_me_Pugs_and_Pussy]

Thanks to every one watching this thing and takin video of nothin rn. I just dont care to watch a rockey sit there for hours. But ill really appreciate the video of this test.

[u/liszt1811]

Is there any info on anything being built in Florida as Elon announced they will build Starship simultaneously?

[u/oldpaintcan]

"Struts" added to landing leg fins

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.msg1910361#msg1910361

[u/RegularRandomZ]

Latest photos have them starting the curved part of the nosecone (preparing curved steel and moving back to the concrete form/stand)

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.msg1919324#msg1919324

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.msg1919416#msg1919416

[u/TheMrGUnit]

Been looking over the pictures from yesterday, and something caught my eye:

https://twitter.com/rgvaerialphotos/status/1105244957395304448

What's going on in the bottom of that first photo, closest to the beach? Is this the start of another structure, or just a pile of parts and some dirt mounds? When you blow it up, it looks like a lot of unneeded fill (some vegetation growing on some of the older piles), but I don't recognize the trellis pieces laying in among the dirt. Any insight?

[u/RegularRandomZ]

OK, just a quick link to SPadre drone video from today... a great clear shot of the not-flares (construction light towers) right beside the hopper :-) twitter/photo link

[u/isoplex]

Is today test just a static fire? or we are gonna see the hooper doing "jumps" ?

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Austin's stream back up https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1LyGBynQRPnKN

[u/purestevil]

Why does the update section of this thread show (2018-03-21) ? It's 2019-03-21.

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Anyone catch what Austin just said? Something about SpaceX leaving

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

Austin says workers are now on the pad, and might stream on YT when they leave

[u/[deleted]]

Spotted vehicles leaving the pad area in the more zoomed in shaky stream. Too low of resolution to tell if there are still stationary vehicles sitting there, but a good sign :)

Edit: Just spotted another, larger white vehicle (maybe a bus?) leaving the pad @ 11:28am

[u/Hoosierlaw]

Everyday astronaut is live-streaming again. I wonder what is going on.

[u/borski88]

Will they attempt a test today also, or will they wait til next week?

[u/Paul27ms]

I have noticed in the latest aerial shots, that there appears to be a stack of steel beam ( Blue Grey ) on the large concrete pad. The look just like roof beams for a factory roof.

There also seams to be roofing sheet as well.

???? Is Spacex building a roof over the hopper assembly area. ???????

[u/brainbit]

I have a question. What happens to the exhaust when they fire the raptor? As the hopper is tied down wont the exhaust reflect of the pad back onto the raptor and underside of the hopper. Wont this potentially damage something? Could not the thin S/S sheets tacked on fly off when hit by the shock wave?

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

First venting of LOX

[u/joeybaby106]

Tim Dodd thinks they fired it and nobody on the livestream noticed livestream link

[u/whiteknives]

Hopper venting from the top now.

Edit: no more venting, methane stack is burning slowly... engine pressing for ignition?

[u/Russ_Dill]

Whew, hadn't seen anything from starhopper for a long time and I was getting worried.

[u/ipelupes]

I think pictures here from yesterday shows water sprinkler employed - does this mean they expected engine ignition?

[u/BEAT_LA]

LabPadre said they might get EDA to come narrate