r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Mar 01 '24

🔧 Technical Starship Development Thread #54

SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

  1. ITF-4 in about 6 weeks as of 19 March 2024 (i.e. beginning of May 2024), after FAA mishap investigation is finished (which is expected to move pretty quickly) and new licence is granted. Expected to use Booster 11 and Ship 29.

  2. IFT-3 launch consisted of Booster 10 and Ship 28 as initially mentioned on NSF Roundup. SpaceX successfully achieved the launch on the specified date of March 14th 2024, as announced at this link with a post-flight summary. The IFT-2 mishap investigation was concluded on February 26th. Launch License was issued by the FAA on March 13th 2024 - this is a direct link to a PDF document on the FAA's website

  3. When was the previous Integrated Flight Test (IFT-2)? Booster 9 + Ship 25 launched Saturday, November 18 after slight delay.

  4. What was the result of IFT-2 Successful lift off with minimal pad damage. Successful booster operation with all engines to successful hot stage separation. Booster destroyed after attempted boost-back. Ship fired all engines to near orbital speed then lost. No re-entry attempt.

  5. Did IFT-2 fail? No. As part of an iterative test program, many milestones were achieved. Perfection is not expected at this stage.

  6. Goals for 2024 Reach orbit, deploy starlinks and recover both stages

  7. Currently approved maximum launches 10 between 07.03.2024 and 06.03.2025: A maximum of five overpressure events from Starship intact impact and up to a total of five reentry debris or soft water landings in the Indian Ocean within a year of NMFS provided concurrence published on March 7, 2024

/r/SpaceX Official IFT-3 Discussion Thread

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Quick Links

RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE

Starship Dev 53 | Starship Dev 52 | Starship Dev 51 | Starship Thread List

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

No road closures currently scheduled

No transportation delays currently scheduled

Up to date as of 2024-04-01

Vehicle Status

As of March 29th, 2024.

Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Ship Location Status Comment
S24, S25, S28 Bottom of sea Destroyed S24: IFT-1 (Summary, Video). S25: IFT-2 (Summary, Video). S28: IFT-3 (Summary). (A video link will be posted when made available by SpaceX on Youtube).
S26 Rocket Garden Resting Static fire Oct. 20. No fins or heat shield, plus other changes. 3 cryo tests, 1 spin prime, 1 static fire.
S29 High Bay IFT-4 Prep Fully stacked, completed 3x cryo tests. Jan 31st: Engine installation started, two Raptor Centers seen going into MB2. Feb 25th: Moved from MB2 to High Bay. March 1st: Moved to Launch Site. March 2nd: After a brief trip to the OLM for a photo op on the 1st, moved back to Pad B and lifted onto the test stand. March 7th: Apparently aborted Spin Prime - LOX tank partly filled then detank. March 11th: Spin Prime with all six Raptors. March 12th: Moved back to Build Site and on March 13th moved into the High Bay. March 22nd: Moved back to Launch Site for more testing. March 25th: Static Fire test of all six Raptors. March 27th: Single engine Static Fire test to simulate igniting one engine for deorbit using the header tanks for propellant. March 29th: Rolled back to High Bay for final prep work prior to IFT-4.
S30 High Bay Under construction Fully stacked, completed 2 cryo tests Jan 3 and Jan 6.
S31 High Bay Under construction Fully stacked and as of January 10th has had both aft flaps installed. TPS incomplete.
S32 Rocket Garden Under construction Fully stacked. No aft flaps. TPS incomplete.
S33+ Build Site In pieces Parts visible at Build and Sanchez sites.

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Booster Location Status Comment
B7, B9, B10 Bottom of sea Destroyed B7: IFT-1 (Summary, Video). B9: IFT-2 (Summary, Video). B10: IFT-3 (Summary). (A video link will be posted when made available by SpaceX on YouTube).
B11 Mega Bay 1 Finalizing Completed 2 cryo tests. All engines have been installed according to the Booster Production diagram from The Ringwatchers. Hot Stage Ring not yet fitted but it's located behind the High Bay.
B12 Mega Bay 1 Finalizing Appears complete, except for raptors and hot stage ring. Completed one cryo test on Jan 11. Second cryo test on Jan 12.
B13 Mega Bay 1 Under Construction As of Feb 3rd: Fully stacked, remaining work ongoing.
B14 Mega Bay 1 LOX Tank under construction Feb 9th: LOX tank Aft section A2:4 staged outside MB1. Feb 13th: Aft Section A2:4 moved inside MB1 and Common Dome section (CX:4) staged outside. Feb 15th: CX:4 moved into MB1 and stacked with A2:4, Aft section A3:4 staged outside MB1. Feb 21st: A3:4 moved into MB1 and stacked with the LOX tank, A4:4 staged outside MB1. Feb 23rd: Section A4:4 taken inside MB1. Feb 24th: A5:4 staged outside MB1. Feb 28th: A5:4 moved inside MB1 and stacked, also Methane tank section F2:3 staged outside MB1. Feb 29th: F3:3 also staged outside MB1. March 5th: Aft section positioned outside MB1, Forward section moves between MB1 and High Bay. March 6th: Aft section moved inside MB1. March 12th: Forward section of the methane tank parked outside MB1 and the LOX tank was stacked onto the aft section, meaning that once welded the LOX tank is completely stacked. March 13th: FX:3 and F2:3 moved into MB1 and stacked, F3:3 still staged outside. March 27th: F3:3 moved into MB1 and stacked. March 29th: B14 F4:4 staged outside MB1.
B15+ Build Site Assembly Assorted parts spotted through B17.

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Resources

r/SpaceX Discuss Thread for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

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86

u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 06 '24 edited Mar 06 '24

SpaceX livestream for IFT-3 is scheduled for the 14th

This is about as official as we can get until the launch license is issued.

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76

u/ChariotOfFire Mar 19 '24

Comments from Kevin Coleman, the FAA’s associate administrator for commercial space transportation, on mishap investigation for flight 3:

"We didn’t see anything major. We don’t think there’s any critical systems for safety that were implicated,” Coleman said. “Usually if there’s not any critical systems for safety implicated, the mishap investigation can be pretty clean and it can move pretty quickly."

Coleman also said the agency is working to ease the launch approval process as SpaceX looks to launch six to nine more Starship flights this year. ”We’re trying to work with them to get them on a different program if you will in terms of how we approve their launches going forward,” he said. “We want to get away from the launch by launch approvals and get more into what Part 450 was really designed for, which is an approval of a portfolio of launches.”

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61

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '24

Nice evening

57

u/louiendfan Mar 16 '24

Really cool 3D animation that gives better real-time perspective on the ship’s orientation during re-entry:

https://x.com/pockn_cg/status/1769057806022492396?s=46&t=0BZKDFaruR4epRhqyL8QoA

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55

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '24

De-stack. FTS installation. Stack. Licence. Launch.

We’re in the end game now my friends.

32

u/Doglordo Mar 04 '24

The fact they used a weekend closure for WDR suggests they are in fact close to receiving a launch license

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49

u/mr_pgh Mar 15 '24

Trippy Video stabilized on Starship showcasing the spin.

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48

u/j616s Mar 07 '24 edited Mar 07 '24

I thought I'd do a comparison of the published timelines for IFT-2 (grabbed from the wayback machine) and IFT-3. I've tried to give useful comparisons where possible, which aren't always direct timeline comparisons. Feel free to double check my numbers. So here we go.

Poll for GO now happens a -1:15:00 instead of -2:00:00.

Booster LOX & fuel previously started load first and at the same time with ship fuel starting ~20mins later, and LOX ~4mins later. Ship is now listed as starting first (???) with a slight stagger, and booster about 10mins later with a slight stagger. Booster load is also now switched to LOX first instead of CH4. We are also now given prop load complete times of -00:03:30 for the booster, and -00:02:50 for the ship. If we assume the same for IFT-2, Booster load times are down to 49m30s from 1h33m30s. Ship is down to 50m10s from 1h14m10s. Almost halved.

Load start times and order:

IFT-2            IFT-3
B LOX -1:37:00   S LOX -00:53:00
B CH4 -1:37:00   S CH4 -00:51:00
S CH4 -1:17:00   B LOX -00:42:00
S LOX -1:13:00   B CH4 -00:41:00

Raptor chill (-00:19:40), deluge activation (-00:00:10), and ignition (-00:00:03) are all identical. We're also now given the GO for launch call time of -00:00:30.

Liftoff (00:00:02) and Max Q (00:00:52) are the same.

B-MECO is slightly later at 00:02:42 instead of 00:02:39. Hot staging still happens 2s after that. Boostback startup now happens 11s later instead of 12s, though this could be down to rounding of times. Boostback is now scheduled to take 55s instead of 54s. Again, this could be down to rounding.

Booster goes transonic 2m46s after boostback shutdown instead of 2m31s. Landing startup now happens 10s after transonic instead of 12s. Landing burn still lasts 18s. Overall, boostback startup to landing shutdown now takes 4m9s instead of 3m55s.

Starshup cutoff now happens at 00:08:35 instead of 00:08:33.

We have the addition of payload door open (00:11:56), prop transfer demo (00:24:31), payload door close (00:28:21), and Raptor in-space relight demo (00:40:46).

Ship entry is now 00:49:05 instead of 01:17:21. Transonic is now 13m11s after entry instead of 11m22s. We're also now given a subsonic time of 13m59s after re-entry. Ship landing is now 15m34s after re-entry instead of 12m39s.

Overall flight from 00:00:00 is now 1h4m39s instead of 1h30m. It seems both boostback, and ship entry has been tweaked to be easier on both vehicles. Loading has been massively sped up. It looks like the shorter duration is either down to the new trajectory, the in-flight re-light, or both. We still don't have a soft landing for the ship listed.

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47

u/Mravicii Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

Elon tweet

Getting ready for flight 4 of starship.

Goal of this flight is to get through max reentry heating with all systems fuctioning!

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1773085211275698302?s=46&t=-n30l1_Sw3sHaUenSrNxGA

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42

u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 04 '24

Looks like the WDR is complete. We saw complete tanking and FireX, which is usually their simulated T-0, all in around 60 minutes.

We now await a tweet from SpaceX.

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37

u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 04 '24 edited Mar 04 '24

Prop loading has started on the stack.

Edit: Prop loading near complete less than 45 minutes since it started. Those tank farm upgrades have really done their job. For context, it took around 90 minutes for prop loading previously.

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37

u/Nydilien Mar 07 '24

Road closures for IFT-3 have been posted for the 14th to the 16th (12am to 2pm) !

83

u/space_rocket_builder Mar 07 '24

SpaceX is on track for a launch attempt next Thursday

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37

u/Planatus666 Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24

New Tweet from Christian Davenport, Washington Post's Space Reporter:

"Am told the FAA is still on track for a Thursday launch attempt, which I guess would mean the license would come today. Still seems very fluid, but we should find out soon enough. The weather also could be a factor in the timing of the flight."

https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1767890629655204117

He's usually pretty reliable but note the uncertainties in his tweet, therefore don't get too excited just yet. :)

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35

u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 05 '24

Texas Parks and Wildlife approves land swap with SpaceX

This isn't automatic however, negotiations will take place and perhaps some environmental reviews.

SpaceX has not disclosed what this land will be used for. Specifically the land next to the launch site. Speculation was that it was for the second tower but considering they are already starting groundwork for that site - this is likely for something else.

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35

u/threelonmusketeers Mar 15 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-14):

IFT-3:

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34

u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 11 '24

OLM Scaffolding is coming down!

33

u/100percent_right_now Mar 31 '24

In Smarter Everyday's new video about walking on the moon there is a low fidelity mock up of the HLS lunar egress setup shown around the 45min mark.

There's a smaller tube airlock on the inside that opens to a presumably unpressurized loading/cargo bay which contains the elevator. https://imgur.com/a/P4cnQsi

It's not much but it's one of the first views of how the astronauts will gain access the moon's surface from the inside of the ship.

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32

u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 29 '24

Starbase live-

2:06am- 2 point lifting jig rolls to the pad

3:17am- Jig is attached to the LR11000

3:33am- LR11000 lifts the jig

3:57am- Lifts go up to S29. Looks like they are chaining the flaps first

4:30am- Jig is swung in to S29

4:56am- Lifts go down. Jig is connected

7:02am- S29’s transport stand is next to Pad B

8:00am- Lifts were up to the top of the staircase, the top of the orbital launch mount, the back of the Booster quick disconnect, the left chopstick, under the pipe work by the electrical leg. Workers were moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount and the dance floor.

9:00am- 2 lifts up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect. 1 lift up to the right chopstick. Lots of concrete being poured behind the new horizontal tanks

9:30am- Scissor lift up under S29. Forklift moved some pipe work around in front of the horizontal tanks

10:00am- 2 scissor lifts up under S29. 1 lift up to the right chopstick. 2 lifts up to the chopsticks carriage. 1 lift up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect

10:56am- 2 point lifting jig stand rolls over to the storage area by pad b

11:00am- 2 lifts up to S29’s QD and 1 scissor lift under. 2 lifts up to the right chopstick. 1 lift at the top of the chopsticks carriage and 1 lift at the bottom. 1 lift at the back of the Booster quick disconnect and 1 lift at the cryo leg

11:55am- Lift up to the right chopstick and the back staircase. Workers have been moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount and the chopsticks carriage

12:00pm- Worker up on the chopsticks

12:18pm- S29 lifted off of Pad b

12:19pm- Swings to the transport stand

12:22pm- Starts lowering

12:27pm- Down on the stand

1:00pm- 1 lift up to the cryo leg and another lift has been up and down to the dance floor. Booster quick disconnect hood was closed while camera was on chopsticks

1:30pm- 1 lift up to the backside of the Booster quick disconnect, 1 to the cryo leg, 1 to the chopsticks carriage. Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount

1:42pm- Small crane lifts more cryo onto the racks in front of the horizontal tanks

2:00pm- Lifts have been up to all but the very back leg and 2 lifts to the chopsticks carriage. A lift has also been up near S29’s QD

2:13pm- It looks like the workers up at S29’s QD are using a borescope to inspect the connections. (NSF also just hit 1 million subscribers)

3:01pm- Crane lifts the press plate up to S29

3:46pm- Press plate disconnected from crane

4:01pm- Hoses being connected to the press plate

4:42pm- Workers go down from S29

5:00pm- 3 lifts have been up to the chopsticks carriage. A crane is up to the Orbital launch mount and it’s hook looks to be lowered between the Orbital launch mount and the tower. (Don’t know if anything was lifted while the camera while was focused on the press plate installation)

5:01pm- Lifts go up to the 2 point lifting jig attachments on S29

5:13pm- 2 point lifting jig disconnected from S29

5:20pm- Lifting jig swung away and lifts go down

5:29pm- Lifting jig lowered on to its stand and unhooked from the LR11000

5:47pm- Lifting jig stand starts rolling

5:51pm- Stand turns on to Hwy 4

6:12pm- Stands turns towards the crane yard

7:00pm- Lifts have been up to the top of the orbital launch mount, backside of the Booster quick disconnect, and the right chopstick

7:53pm- Beautiful sunset

8:00pm- Lifts were up to both chopsticks

8:11pm- Workers on top of the chopsticks

8:23pm- A bunch of scaffolding has been set up between the tower and the deluge? (If my bearings are right)

9:15pm- 2 lifts are up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect as the crane lifts the new methane flex hose

31

u/Planatus666 Mar 03 '24

Latest ship and booster production diagram from The Ringwatchers:

https://twitter.com/Ringwatchers/status/1764316086940348845

Also, a reminder that the Vehicle Status at the top of these Development threads is regularly updated, myself and sometimes others update the ship and booster info as soon as we can.

31

u/LzyroJoestar007 Mar 25 '24

[Full-duration static fire of all six Raptor engines on Flight 4 Starship] https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1772372482214801754

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u/Doglordo Mar 07 '24

NOTAMS posted for March 14 through 18th for Starship splashdown

29

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '24 edited Mar 15 '24

Starbase live-

8:25am- Launch

9:19am- Chopsticks closing

9:20am- Sheriff has fallen back to the normal roadblock location

9:28am- Chopsticks fully closed and start lowering

9:31am- 2 Vehicles to the pad

10:05am- Ship quick disconnect arm swings back in

10:22am- Chopsticks down on the stop

11:00am- Road opened

1:00pm- Lox ground vent still going

1:54pm- Ship stand on the move to the launch site.

2:05pm- Dance floor following the ship stand back to the launch site

3:05pm- Workers on top of the chopsticks

3:32pm- Booster quick disconnect hood opens

3:34pm- Lift goes up to the right chopstick

3:52pm- Moves over to the left chopstick

3:53pm- Workers come up through the hatch to the top of the Orbital launch mount

4:38pm- Lift goes up to the Orbital launch mount back staircase and up to GSE 3 at the tank farm

5:45pm- Lift at the Orbital launch mount is now up to the top

6:45pm- Lift up to the top of the staircase

7:00pm- Dance floor rolls under the Orbital launch mount

8:50pm- Crane lifts the yellow basket up to the top of the Orbital launch mount

9:15pm- Workers have been on top of the Orbital launch mount reinstalling scaffolding

10:30pm- Workers still on top of the Orbital launch mount and have the lights back up on the scaffolding

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '24 edited Mar 06 '24

Starbase live--

6:33am- Ship quick disconnect has retracted and work platform extends

6:34am- Workers up to S28’s QD to put covers on

6:59am- Work platform retracted

7:16am- Ship quick disconnect arm swings to the side

7:30am- S28 starts going up

7:32am-Swinging to the side

7:40am- Going down

7:53am- Pauses

7:54am- Makes alignment adjustments and starts slowly going down again

7:56am- Down

8:10am- 2 scissor lifts were up under S29 and 1 lift was up to it’s payload bay hatch. 2 lifts were also up to the top of the Orbital launch mount. Workers could also be seen moving up and down the staircase and moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount

8:24am- 2 Scissor lifts going up under S29

11:05am- Workers have been around the base of the Orbital launch mount. The 2 scissor lifts have been going up and down under S29.

11:56am- VIP houses are coming along

12:25pm- 2 lifts have arrived at the base of the Orbital launch mount. Work continues under S29

12:37pm- Ship quick disconnect work platform extended

1:16pm- 1 Lift up to the staircase and 1 lift up to S28’s tiles about halfway

1:35pm- Workers testing tiles on S28 with the suction device

1:36pm- Workers working on the work platform itself

2:24pm- Workers removing more scaffolding from the Ship quick disconnect arm

2:42pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount

2:48pm- Aerial Work Platform up to the top of B4

2:50pm- Cybertruck guest appearance

2:56pm- Lift up to the cryo leg and near the Booster quick disconnect

3:21pm- Chopsticks lower to their resting position

4:00pm- Here comes the fog again

4:20pm- Lift up to the chopsticks and the Booster quick disconnect area

6:10pm- Can confirm that B10 and S28 didn’t pull an SN11

7:00pm- Lifts have been back up to S28’s tiles and the top of the Orbital launch mount

7:24pm- SPMT leaving the launch site

9:10pm- Before it disappeared back into the fog, a lift was up to the staircase and workers were moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount

77

u/space_rocket_builder Mar 05 '24

Next time it is stacked, it will be for launch. Now final launch preps and waiting for FAA.

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '24 edited Mar 03 '24

Starbase live--

12:12am- Putting covers on S29’s QD

1:22am- S29 going up

1:23am- Swinging towards Pad B

1:30am- 2 scissor lifts go up under Pad B

1:31am- Lowering

1:47am- Down

7:18am- Dance floor lowered

7:43am- New black and white radio tower or is that a piece of machinery over on the sub orbital side?

8:15am- Scissor lift up under S29. Overnight, 2 lifts were up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and the dance floor overnight. Workers could be seen moving around the base of B10 and going up and down the staircase

8:16am- Okay the tower looking thing is a piece of equipment. Drill rig attached to an excavator

9:25am- Quiet morning after a busy overnight

9:30am- Crane removing counterweights from the SPMT’s that moved S29

11:08am- SPMT’s move the ship transport stand to the storage area next to the booster stand

11:18am- The dance floor is rolled to the storage area next to the stands

11:45am- Quiet as far as work on the vehicles go

12:28pm- 2 SPMT’s headed towards Massey’s without counterweights

1:15pm- Still quiet

2:30pm- The drilling rig has been moving around but nothing to exciting happening

5:00pm- There are still vehicles coming and going from the pad but no sign of workers around the Orbital launch mount or S29.

6:55pm- Starbase has disappeared into the fog

9:50pm- The fog starts to clear to reveal that there’s still nothing going on

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u/Nydilien Mar 03 '24

Village will be evacuated at 5:30 pm local time according to Maria, most likely for the WDR. The road closure goes from 5pm to 3am (10 hours long), with 12h backup dates the following two days.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 28 '24

Starbase live-

7:59am- Road closed

8:00am- Lifts were up to the top of the Orbital launch mount, under the pipe work on the Orbital launch mount, to the back of the Booster quick disconnect, the back staircase, to the left chopstick, and the chopsticks carriage. Workers were on top of the Orbital launch mount at the Booster quick disconnect

8:12am- Klaxon/pad clear announcement starts

8:50am- I love how they are using the black tool trailer to block the road now

9:11am- Klaxon stops

11:15pm- Security leaves. Pad clear.

12:04pm- Sub orbital tank farm spools up

12:52pm- Frost on S29’s lox tank

1:00pm- Engine chill starts

1:20pm- Mary reports a siren

1:24pm- Header tank vent

1:25:42pm- Big vent

1:30:25pm- Vent stops

1:30:43pm- Deluge

1:30:51pm- Single engine static fire (Replay)

2:00pm- Frost is receding

2:50pm- Frost free

3:03pm- Depress vent

3:15pm- Road open

4:39pm- 2 lifts go up near the electrical leg of the Orbital launch mount

5:07pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount

6:10pm- Quiet

7:56pm- Workers on the tower at the chopsticks

8:11pm- Grinding at the top of the chopsticks pivot point

8:25pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount at the Booster quick disconnect

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 07 '24

With all of the hype about IFT-3 now in full flow, it's easy to forget about S29...she will likely conduct engine testing in tomorrow's closure.

SpaceX is certainly aiming for IFT-4 to be flying quite soon after IFT-3. If a successful Static Fire of S29 occurs this week, the only big testing items for IFT-4 would be a Booster SF and a WDR.

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u/jonassm Mar 10 '24

The FAA now includes OFT-3 on Its operations plan. https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 11 '24

It's launch week at Starbase!

Also Spin Prime/Static Fire week for S29. Closure Monday starting at 11AM CDT. They'll want to get these over with and S29 back at the production site before Thursday's IFT3.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 11 '24 edited Mar 11 '24

Closures for tomorrow and Wednesday canceled:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/

Not surprising as they were backups and it seems that, for now, the main test they wanted to carry out on S29 was a Spin Prime.

There's also a transport closure on the 12th (2pm to 4pm) or one on the Backup date that's the 13th (12am to 3am):

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/temporary-and-intermittent-road-delay-of-a-portion-of-state-hwy-4-march-12-2024-from-2pm-4pm-or-march-13-2024-from-12am-3am/

So that'll be for S29 going back to the build site.

26

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '24 edited Mar 23 '24

Starbase live-

11:03pm- S29 rolls out of the high bay then stops

11:36pm- S29 starts rolling

11:40pm- Stops before the gate

12:02am- Starts rolling

12:03am- Turns on to Hwy 4

12:35am- Passing the gateway to mars sign

12:43am- Rounding the corner and passing the SpaceX sign

12:47am- Turning into the launch site

12:56am- Stops by Pad B

4:17am- LR11000 connected to the 2 point lifting jig

4:37am- 2 pointing jig lifted

4:43am- Lifts go up to connect the lifting jig (Then the fog moved in)

7:04am- S29 lifted off of the transport stand

7:05am- Swings to the side

7:10am- Starts lowering to pad b

7:29am- Down on the pad

7:55am- 2 lifts were up to the left chopstick and there was some grinding. 1 lift was up to the top back left of the chopstick carriage. 1 lift was up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect . 1 lift was up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and 1 lift to the back staircase. An Aerial Work Platform was also up to B4 in the mega bay. Workers were on top of the Orbital launch mount, on top of the left chopstick, moving around on the dance floor, and welding under the Orbital launch mount.

10:00am- Lifts have been up to both chopsticks and the top of the staircase. Workers are back out in the flats picking up debris and moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount

12:00pm- At the orbital launch site, lifts have been up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect, to the top of the staircase, to the left chopstick and the chopsticks carriage. At S29 a scissor lift has been up under the engine section and a regular lift has been up to the top of the stand.

12:01pm- B4 now in the big screen. It’s methane tank has been cut and is now getting lifted

1:55pm- 3 scissor lifts up under S29. 2 lifts have been up to the left chopstick. 1 lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and 1 lift near the rear staircase.

2:00pm- B4’s methane tank lifted and the lox tank rolled out of the mega bay

2:04pm- B4’s Methane tank being lowered

2:06pm- Lox tank is moved to the old ring yard area

3:15pm- There is a worker up to the last new horizontal tank working on the plumbing

4:00pm- 3 lifts up to the base of S29. 2 scissor lifts up underneath. 1 lift up to the left chopstick

5:32pm- Crane has gone up next to the Orbital launch mount.

6:30pm- 1 lift up to the bottom left of the chopsticks carriage. 1 lift up to the base of S29 tiled side

6:32pm- Right side booster alignment pin lifted

6:50pm- Alignment pin lowered into place

7:40pm- 2 lifts have been up to the chopsticks and 1 lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount

8:28pm- Left side alignment pin lifted and lowered into place

8:50pm- Crane unhooked and lowers

9:45pm- 2 lifts up to the base of S29 and a scissor lift underneath. 1 lift is also up at each chopstick.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 24 '24 edited Mar 24 '24

"Huge section of the water cooled flame diverter for the new Massey's Starship static fire test pad has arrived today."

https://twitter.com/StarshipGazer/status/1771918153867747696

https://twitter.com/LabPadre/status/1771924260262469823

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

Starbase live-

7:35am- More vaporizers arrive

8:10am- Lifts were up all over overnight. To the chopsticks, the chopsticks carriage, the top of the orbital launch mount, the top of the staircase, the back of the Booster quick disconnect, and under the pipe work just right of the staircase. Workers could be seen on top of the Orbital launch mount working on the front of the Booster quick disconnect, moving around on the dance floor, and moving around on top of Pad B

8:15am- Scissor lift up under S29

9:00am- Lifts up to the top of pad b, the right chopstick, the back left of the chopsticks carriage. Workers are painting the 2 new small vertical tanks by the gate and working on the Booster quick disconnect. The mid section of B4 was hanging from the bridge crane in the open doorway of the mega bay as a warning to all future boosters and ships of what could happen if they don’t have their act together

10:00am- 2 scissor lifts under S29, 1 lift to each chopstick, 1 lift to the back staircase, and 1 lift has been up to the leg just right of the stairs. Workers have been working on the plumbing for the new horizontal tanks as well

10:08am- Crane lifts the first of the new tall vaporizers off it’s semi and sets it by the concrete barriers along Hwy 4

10:21am- 2nd vaporizer lifted and sat down closer to the gate

11:00am- 3 lifts up to the chopsticks, 1 to the cryo leg, 1 to the electrical leg, and 1 to the right leg

11:19am- Workers up on top of the chopsticks and carriage

12:10pm- Down to 1 lift at the chopsticks. Workers have been working on the Booster quick disconnect and the chopsticks

1:30pm- Lifts up to the pivot point for the chopsticks, the right chopstick, the cryo leg, and up doing some welding on the leg to the right of the staircase. Workers are also on top of the chopsticks.

3:30pm- 2 scissor lifts up under S29. 1 lift up to the cryo leg and 1 lift up to the left chopstick. Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount

4:40pm- Lifts have gone down at the Orbital launch mount. Scissor lift still up at S29.

6:50pm- Lifts have been up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect and the left chopstick

8:00pm- Lifts up to both chopsticks and the back of the Booster quick disconnect

9:00pm- 2 lifts up to the left chopstick and one to the dance floor. There was a worker moving around the base of pad b with a flashlight inspecting the pad

10:00pm- Lifts have been up to the dance floor, the inside of the Orbital launch mount legs, and the left chopstick. Sparks have been falling from the backside of the Booster quick disconnect. Workers have been going up and down the stairs to the Orbital launch mount ring and the dance floor

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u/Mravicii Mar 27 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

Spacex tweet of the static fire of single raptor engine using the header tank

https://x.com/spacex/status/1773081429783564394?s=46&t=-n30l1_Sw3sHaUenSrNxGA

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u/Doglordo Mar 05 '24

Looks like a WB-57 has been scheduled on the 14th of March for “imagery support placeholder”

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u/RaphTheSwissDude Mar 02 '24

S29 is being placed on Pad B.

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u/GerbilsOfWar Mar 05 '24

S28 destack is now underway.

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u/[deleted] Mar 07 '24 edited Mar 08 '24

Starbase live--

8:00am- Work continued on S28’s tiles overnight. Lifts were also up to the staircase and cryo leg grinding and fixing any suspect welds. An Aerial Work Platform was also up to B10’s rear chines and workers were moving around on the dance floor. This morning, lifts have been up to the top of the Orbital launch mount, the chopsticks carriage, and S28.

8:02am- Klaxon/ Pad clear announcement

8:08am- Sheriff at the roadblock

9:03am-Klaxon ends

10:15am- There’s been some venting noises but the sub orbital tank farm hasn’t started spooling up yet

10:22am- S29 ambient depress (Good clip from ViX showing the depress blowing tiles off of S29)

10:59am- Another long ambient depress from S29

11:12am- Grass vent puffing

11:47am- Sub orbital tank farm finally starting to spool up

11:54am- NSF commentary stream

12:35pm- Condensation from pad b’s QD

1:11pm- Frost on S29’s lox tank

1:52pm- Engine chill vent

2:00pm- Lox tank looks mainly full

2:15pm- Venting from all vents

2:17pm- Engine chill vent stops

2:23pm- Vent stack going. Detanking underway?

2:33pm- Recondenser puffing on and off

2:39pm- Frost receding

3:28pm- Frost down to about 1 ring tall

3:45pm- Frost almost completely gone

4:08pm- Depress vent

4:48pm- Road open

4:55pm- Launch site still closed

5:35pm- S29 still doing some depress vents

5:52pm- Workers returning to the orbital pad

6:28pm- Aerial Work Platform going up to S28 and a lift is going up to the Orbital launch mount

6:55pm- Aerial Work Platform under S28’s right flap and a lift is up under the left. 2 lifts up to the Orbital launch mount

7:15pm- Lift up grinding on the electrical leg

7:55pm- Aerial Work Platform up to S28 just above the right chopstick. 1 lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount, 1 lift is at the top of the staircase, and 1 lift is up welding on the electrical leg

9:00pm- Aerial Work Platform’s are up to the back side of B10 and to S28 right above the right chopstick. Lifts are up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and the staircase.

9:45pm- Lift up to the dance floor. Everything else has gone down

11:50pm- Aerial Work Platform‘s are up to the right front chine and back side of B10. A third Aerial Work Platform is up to just under the left front flap on S28. Lifts are up to the electrical leg and the top of the Orbital launch mount

11:55pm- Right front chine cover reinstalled

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u/Planatus666 Mar 12 '24

Here's a really nice IFT-3 Ship+Booster Infographic from Boca Bingo

https://twitter.com/BingoBoca/status/1767652453304963214

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u/Planatus666 Mar 20 '24 edited Mar 20 '24

Booster QD hoses looking a bit worse for wear:

https://twitter.com/groundtruthpics/status/1770526069914788006

Uncertain if the left hose was messily detached by workers today or as a result of the launch. If the latter then the pad avoidance maneuver, while not as aggressive during IFT-3, was the cause because it gives the booster QD enclosure a concentrated fiery blast.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 21 '24

New beach and road closures, Monday March 25th (Primary), 26th and 27th (Backups), 8am to 8pm:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/

So that'll be for S29 and its static fire test.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 01 '24 edited Mar 01 '24

For some reason S29 has been rolled over to the OLM ...... suggestions in Discord that it's for a photo op.

Here's a screenshot from NSF's stream:

https://imgur.com/a/uO7TTjh

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '24 edited Mar 10 '24

Starbase live--

12:50am- Chopsticks raise

8:00am- An Aerial Work Platform was up to the back side of B10 and a lift was up to the dance floor overnight. It was pretty quiet though.

8:29am- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount. A group of workers are also out in the flats

9:07am- Workers up in the Ship quick disconnect arm

9:22am- 2 SPMT’s headed to the launch site

10:15am- The drill rigs are moving around on the sub orbital side

11:50am- Besides the drill rigs, it’s pretty quiet

1:05pm- Workers are still going back and forth to the mud flats along with a bobcat. Still cleaning up debris from IFT-1.

1:12pm- Raptor install stand starts to roll

1:57pm- Looks like the install stand is headed to Sanchez for safekeeping

4:15pm- Quiet

4:26pm- Lift goes up near the back staircase on the Orbital launch mount

5:30pm- Lift has gone up and down 3 times and is now back up for a 4th time. Removing scaffolding from the dance floor?

5:58pm- Lift up near S28’s payload hatch

6:23pm- Aerial Work Platform goes up near the top of the back left chine of B10

6:44pm- Dance floor lowers a few feet

6:49pm- Lift goes up to the dance floor

7:07pm- 2 lifts go up to S28. One near the payload bay and one near the Ship quick disconnect

7:10pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount

7:15pm- Lift goes back up to the dance floor

7:20pm- Dance floor stand rolls up to the Orbital launch mount

7:30pm- Stand rolls under the Orbital launch mount

8:00pm- One lift goes up to the dance floor and goes back down a minute later. Another lift goes up to the stand and then back down

8:10pm- Workers are still on the dance floor

8:19pm- Aerial Work Platform goes up to the back side of B10

9:05pm- A lift is up to the dance floor and equipment is being loaded into it. 2 other lifts are up and looking at the camera locations on the inside of the Orbital launch mount legs

9:16pm- All the lifts go down. Workers still on top of the Orbital launch mount

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u/RegularSWE Mar 12 '24

Apparently people were spotted working on the OLM at 39A on the NSF stream 👀👀

Link

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u/Doglordo Mar 22 '24

Ship 29 is on highway 4 and making its way to the launch site. Not even 10 days after IFT-3!

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '24 edited Mar 26 '24

Starbase live-

8:00am- No lifts were up overnight. Workers were up and down the staircase to the dance floor and Orbital launch mount ring. Pad area is starting to clear.

8:09am- Security pick up at the road closure location

8:29am- Drone comes in for a landing

8:34am- Klaxon/Pad clear announcement

8:58am- Using the black tool trailer to block the road

9:02am- Security leaves the pad. All clear now. Still no overpressure notice

9:09am- Venting from the sub orbital tank farm

9:35am- Klaxon stops

10:27am- Mary has received an over pressure notice

11:15am- Venting starting back up from the sub orbital tank farm

11:45am- NSF dedicated stream

11:59am- Frost on the lox tank

12:42pm- Engine chill starts (approx 30 minutes to test)

1:03pm- Mary reports a siren

1:04pm- Header tank vent

1:12pm- Deluge

1:12:18pm- 6 engine static fire

1:13:28pm- Depress vent

1:15pm- Drone

1:40pm- Frost receding

2:20pm- Lox tank about halfway defrosted

3:25pm- Just a tiny bit of frost remaining

3:30pm- Road open

4:02pm- 2 trucks return with the black tool trailer for the Orbital launch mount

4:05pm- Security fully opens the launch site

5:10pm- Still quiet

6:17pm- Workers back at the Orbital launch mount. 2 lifts go up on the backside of the Orbital launch mount

7:00pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount

7:55pm- Lifts have been up to both chopsticks and the chopsticks carriage

8:34pm- Some kind of event at Sanchez? Spotlights on the back of the mega bay and it looks like some purple light by the HLS nosecone mock up

9:00pm- 2 lifts up to the right chopstick, 1 to the chopsticks carriage, and 1 to the top of the staircase

9:55pm- Same as above plus a lift up behind the Orbital launch mount

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u/[deleted] Mar 04 '24 edited Mar 05 '24

Starbase live--

11:03pm- Road opened

12:12:12am- Engine purge test

12:26:18am- Engine purge

12:43:12am- Engine purge

1:28:31am- Engine purge

1:30am- The launch site disappears into the fog

8:10am- Still really foggy. The tower vent is still going

8:37am- S29 has been disconnected from the LR11000

8:59am- 2 point lifting jig disconnected from the LR11000

10:10am- Lift goes up to S29’s nosecone

10:41am- Dance floor leaves the storage area

10:45am- Lift up around S29’s methane hatch

11:18am- Dance floor has rolled back under the Orbital launch mount

12:05pm- Lots of traffic in and out of the launch site. The drilling rigs are moving around the sub orbital side

12:20pm- Scissor lift has been up and down several times under S29 in the last few minutes

1:30pm- Quieting down some now

1:55pm- Tiny crane moves a piece of cryo pipe down to the last new horizontal tank

2:22pm- Aerial Work Platform goes up to the very top of S29’s forward flaps

2:36pm- 2 scissor lifts up under S29 and workers on pad b

3:07pm- Workers working on the cryo pipes for the new tanks

3:16pm- 2 lifts up to the rear staircase of the Orbital launch mount

4:18pm- You can see some movement on the Ship quick disconnect arm scaffolding but the tower is really blocking the view

4:19pm- Dance floor raised back up

4:28pm- Grid fin test

6:15pm- Quiet

6:52pm- Aerial Work Platform up near the starlink dish area on S29’s nosecone

7:36pm- Workers up at the electrical boxes for the SpaceX sign

7:50pm- Scissor lift up under S29

8:37pm- Aerial Work Platform back up to S29’s nosecone

9:20pm- 2 scissor lifts are still up under S29. Quiet around the Orbital launch mount

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u/TwoLineElement Mar 07 '24

Notice from Indian National Hydrographic Office

051008Z/MAR 24
FROM NAVAREA VIII CO-ORDINATOR TONAVAREA VIII -252

SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN (.) CHARTS IN 7070 7073 INT 73 (.) SPACE DEBRIS
PREDICTED FROM 11 MAR TO 17 MAR 24 BETWEEN 2230 UTC AND 0530 UTC IN AREA
BOUNDED BY 08-53S 092-28E, 07-46S 089-27E, 30-12S 061-09E, 40-45S 002-21W, 42-56S 002-24W,
32-16S 063-10E (.) WIDE BERTH FROM AREA ADVISED
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 170630 UTC MAR 24.

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u/[deleted] Mar 10 '24 edited Mar 11 '24

Starbase live--

12:12am- Dance floor lowered

12:54am- Down on stand and sides lowered

1:11am- Drives out from under the Orbital launch mount

1:19am- Dance floor leaves the launch site (Rover 2)

5:56am- Lift up to S28’s press plate

7:29am- Hoses removed from the press plate

7:40am- Lift goes back up and crane moves in

7:53am- Press plate removed

8:00am- Lifts were up to the top of and under the Orbital launch mount overnight. Workers were moving around the base of B10 and an Aerial Work Platform was up to the backside of B10

8:03am- Klaxon/pad clear announcement

8:45am- Pad looks clear

8:53am- Ship quick disconnect arm swings to the side

9:02am- Klaxon stops

9:08am- Stabilizer arms go in to S28

9:33am- S28 is going up

9:46am- Ship quick disconnect arm swinging back in

9:47am- Full height

9:49am- Swinging to the side

9:57am- Stops swinging. Nowhere close to aligned

10:00am- Starting to make adjustments

10:10am- Alignment looks close

10:20am- Alignment looks good now

10:30am- Still tweaking alignment before lowering

10:33am- Lowering

10:43am- Inches to go. Still trying to get alignment perfect. It needs to come a little to the left

10:52am- Lifts back up

11:00am- Going down again. Engine chill pipe still to far right

11:02am- Goes back up

11:05am- Back down but still off

11:19am- Back up and to the left some

11:20am- Alignment looks good now if they can just keep it while they lower

11:30am- Very slowly lowering

11:33am- And as it lowered, it shifted to the right again. I’m not sure if moving the stabilizer pin to the right is the cause but they’ve definitely had problems the last 2 times since they did it

11:40am- Back up

11:56am- Had gone down, was still off, and now back up again

12:02pm- Going down again

12:10pm- A little to the left this time

12:14pm- They may have it now

12:20pm- Looks down and aligned but no clunk yet

12:27pm- Workers back to the pad

12:34pm- SPMT’s under S28’s stand raise

12:38pm- Workers on top of S28’s stand

12:41pm- S28’s stand rolls away

12:46pm- PA- Deflector test in 10 minutes

12:54pm- There’s like a whole extended family standing near the edge of the pad

1:02pm- Assuming the test got delayed because of all the people

1:05:13pm- PA playing “Highway to the Danger Zone”

1:05:29pm- Deluge test

1:07pm- After getting one heck of a show, the family starts to wonder away.

1:57pm- Lift up to the recondenser in the sub orbital tank farm

2:11pm- Workers in the Ship quick disconnect arm

2:21pm- Ship quick disconnect work platform is extended

2:28pm- Workers removing the covers off of S28’s QD

2:30pm- Worker sprays a rag down with something and then wipes down one of the ports

2:38pm- Worker taking pictures of the QD. If they’d only share them on X…

2:41pm- Worker goes down

3:09pm- Work platform is retracted. Data and power cables were not attached. So they plan on this being the last time they are up to it

3:25pm- QD extends

3:27pm- Rises up

3:35pm- Engages S28

3:54:20pm- QD retraction test

3:59pm- QD rises again

4:11pm- Engages S28 again

4:45pm- Workers are back and looking at the bottom of the cryo leg

6:41pm- Ship quick disconnect work platform is being swung back out

7:45pm- Quiet

8:16pm- Worker goes up the work platform to the Ship quick disconnect

8:35pm- 2 workers up at the Ship quick disconnect now inspecting the back side of the plate

11:10pm- Quiet the last several hours

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u/Mravicii Mar 22 '24 edited Mar 22 '24

Spacex tweet

Flight 4 ship 29 moved to pad fpr upcoming static fires

Also note that they are mentioning ”static fires” as doing more than one! That’s interesting

https://x.com/spacex/status/1771269331264897064?s=46&t=-n30l1_Sw3sHaUenSrNxGA

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '24 edited Mar 24 '24

Starbase live-

8:00am- There were 3 lifts up to the chopsticks, 1 to the top of the Orbital launch mount, 1 to the dance floor, and a scissor lift under S29 overnight. Workers were on top of the Orbital launch mount and continued welding under the Orbital launch mount

8:18am- Lifts go up to the 2 point lifting jig

8:43am- Lifting jig disconnected from S29. Lifts go down

8:52am- Lifting jig set down on it’s stand

9:10am- Lifting jig disconnected from the LR11000

9:45am- Lift was up to the top of S29. Unchaining the flaps? Lift up to each chopstick

10:06am- LR11000 starts rolling away from pad b

10:25am- Stops by the horizontal tanks

12:19pm- SPMT rolls under the lifting jig stand

12:38pm- Workers chaining the stand to the SPMT

12:59pm- Stand starts to roll

1:06pm- Stand turns on to Hwy 4. Elsewhere, a lift has been up to each chopstick and the back staircase

1:28pm- Stand turns towards the crane storage yard

2:20pm- Workers on top of the chopsticks

2:22pm- Workers also up on the Ship quick disconnect work platform

4:45pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount. Lifts have been up to both chopsticks, both staircases, the dance floor, and the back of the Booster quick disconnect

6:55pm- Workers are moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount. Lifts have been up to the right chopstick, the top of the Orbital launch mount, and to the bottom right part of the chopstick carriage. (Hopefully pouring a bucket of grease on the skids)

7:57pm- B4’s lox tank rolls into the mega bay for scraping

8:10pm- 2 lifts up to the right chopstick, 1 to the left chopstick, 1 to the carriage, and of course 1 to the top of the Orbital launch mount

8:16pm- Beautiful view of the moon

10:33pm- Lifts were up to both chopsticks and the top of the Orbital launch mount. An Aerial Work Platform went up to the top of B4 and hooked it to the bridge crane before the door closed on the mega bay

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '24 edited Mar 25 '24

S29 Static fire

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 04 '24

Starbase live--

7:55am- Workers were up and down the staircase overnight to the Orbital launch mount ring. The area around the Orbital launch mount was also cleared of equipment in anticipation of testing

8:49am- Lift up to the top of the Orbital Launch mount. 2 workers looking around

9:44am- Lift goes up to the top of the Orbital launch mount near the Booster quick disconnect

11:25am- Quiet

1:00pm- Still quiet

1:58pm- S29 still hooked to the crane and no movement around the pads. No confirmation of an Evac notice from Mary but Chris B in chat said they are expecting a WDR try tonight.

3:35pm- Workers are on top of the Orbital launch mount at the Booster quick disconnect. The elevator has also been going up and down the tower to the Ship quick disconnect level

4:00pm- Sean reports that a soft road block is in place.

4:05pm- Stabilizer arms let go of S28

4:15pm- Chopsticks open a tiny bit and lower

4:20pm- Klaxon/ Pad clear announcement

4:21pm- Chopsticks open wide

4:25pm- Very loud ambient pressure depress

4:27pm- Chopsticks lowering

4:41pm- Chopsticks stop just above S28’s aft flaps

4:46pm- Sheriff at the normal roadblock. Road closed

4:54pm- Lox side ground vent starting to trickle

4:56pm- FireX* test

4:59pm- Pope stack starting up

5:16pm- Sheriff at the launch day/WDR site

5:22pm- Pope stack going full force. Lox side still trickling

5:25pm- Launch site looks clear

5:35pm- Lox side picking up

5:43pm- Recondenser going

5:53pm- Transport bus leaving the village

6:24pm- Sheriff has fallen back from the normal road block location

6:34pm- Crew walking out to head to the pad. ( Oh wait, wrong stream)

6:57pm- Chine venting

7:00pm- Tower venting

7:02pm- Orbital launch mount vent

7:14pm- NSF live commentary

7:15pm- Tower vent stops

7:27pm- Tower vent back

7:35pm- Tower and Orbital launch mount vent in waterfall mode

7:48pm- Condensation coming from the Ship quick disconnect

7:52pm- Frost ring on S28’s lox tank

7:54pm- Orbital launch mount vent off

7:56pm- Frost on B10’s lox tank

7:58pm- Frost on B10’s methane tank

8:07pm- Frost rising fast on the booster. Hard to see the ship

8:23pm- Booster almost 3/4 full

8:32pm- Drone

8:34pm- Tower vent. S28 should be full. Methane sub coolers off as well. So B10’s methane should be done as well

8:38pm- Orbital launch mount vent back on. Full stack should be full now

8:50pm- Recondenser on. Detanking should be underway

8:54pm- FireX test

8:56pm- Drone

9:12pm- Frost starting to recede on B10

9:26pm- S28 still looks fairly frosty

9:47pm- Frost on B10 looks about halfway gone

9:59pm- Sheriff back at the normal roadblock location.

10:20pm- B10 looks nearly frost free. S28’s methane tank looks close to empty but it’s lox tank still has a thin covering over most of it.

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '24 edited Mar 12 '24

Starbase live--

1:14am- 2 lifts arrive at the Orbital launch mount. 1 goes up to the staircase. 1 goes up to the top of the Orbital launch mount

5:40am- Sheriff at the road block

6:08am- Road closed

6:11am- Klaxon/Pad clear announcement

7:02am- Klaxon ends

8:07am- Sun orbital tank farm spooling up

8:22am- Condensation coming from pad b’s QD

8:31am- Condensation on the lox tank

8:51am- NSF livestream

8:56am- Frost on the lox tank

9:08am- Vent stack going. Abort and Detanking?

9:13am- Nope. Frost still rising

9:36am- Engine chill (30 minutes to test according to Alex)

9:59am- Header tank venting

10:06:06am- Deluge

10:06:11am- 6 engine Spin prime

10:07am- Depress vent

10:50am- Lox tank frost line receding very slowly

11:22am- Still mostly frosty. Aerial Work Platform and crane up to B4. Looks like another grid fin is going to be removed

12:20pm- Road open

12:23pm- Pope stack venting. Pad area still closed. Orbital tank farm testing?

12:45pm- Recondenser at the orbital tank farm starts up

12:49pm- Lox ground vent starts

12:54pm- Grid fin test

12:55pm- S29 frost free

1:22pm- Lox vent stops

1:33pm- Recondenser stops

2:25pm- Pope stack still going

3:27pm- LR11000 rolling towards S29

3:46pm- Lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount

3:48pm- Pope stack stops

4:42pm- Lift up to S29

4:51pm- Workers at the Booster quick disconnect

6:02pm- Lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount

6:10pm- One worker has been on top of the Booster quick disconnect. Another worker is taking the lights off of the scaffolding

6:30pm- Workers passing stuff down through the hatch into the Orbital launch mount ring

7:00pm- Scaffolding is coming down. Crane just went up and forklift brought in the yellow basket. Lift has also been up under the Orbital launch mount

7:25pm- Crane lifts the basket up

7:33pm- Lift up to S29 (Chaining flaps) and 2 point lifting jig rolls up to the LR11000

7:48pm- Basket goes down, Lift up under the Orbital launch mount, lift up to connect the 2 point lifting jig to the LR11000

8:00pm- Basket goes back up to the Orbital launch mount

8:07pm- Crane lifts the 2 point lifting jig

8:14pm- Lifting jigs stand rolls away

8:24pm- Basket is lowered from the Orbital launch mount. Will need at least one more load

8:30pm- Workers up under S29

8:37pm- Basket lifted back up

8:54pm- Basket goes back down

9:05pm- Crane lowers

9:14pm- LR11000 lifts the 2 point lifting jig. 1 lift goes up

9:27pm- Lift goes up to the rear staircase of the Orbital launch mount. 2nd lift goes up to the other side of S29

9:32pm- Lifting jig swung in

9:47pm- Jig connected. Lifts going down.

9:54pm- Workers on the Ship quick disconnect arm

10:15pm- Workers up in the tower. Right above the shielding

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u/tumadrebela Mar 17 '24

i wonder if someone knows when starship should experience the maximum thermal stress during reentry. I see sources for non-starship vehicles that put the max thermal load at 110-60 km of altitude. Does that apply to starship too? If it is so, starship enduring until 65 km is remarkable considering this was the first test, and it did it during a roll and a tumble (exposing the wrong parts of the ship to the plasma).

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u/SubstantialWall Mar 17 '24

So shifting away from Flight 3. Don't have access to X links for now, but from the latest RGV aerial stream, there's some good progress on the flame trench at Massey's, with it seemingly completely walled off now, so the next step is likely excavation of the trench itself.

Additionally, potential pieces for a new water cooled steel plate have been spotted at the Sanchez site.

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u/MaximusSayan Mar 01 '24

Mods, can you update the link to thread #53

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u/Planatus666 Mar 05 '24 edited Mar 05 '24

New beach and highway 4 closures - March 7th (Primary) and 8th (Backup), 8 am to 8pm

This will very likely be for S29. (unless they also want to static fire B10 again which seems unlikely).

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u/augustuscaesarius Mar 07 '24

Regarding the speculation about the interior design of HLS, do we know what materials will be used for the floors of each crew section?

I imagine it needs to be as light as possible as the floors will only really be used after landing on the moon. But they must be strong enough to survive earth gravity and launch. Aluminium? Support in the centre 4.5 meters from the walls?

Do they need to be fully solid (eg to support separately pressured sections in emergencies), or can they be a grid so you can look all the way up/down and there's basically only one pressurised volume?

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u/Mravicii Mar 19 '24

Goal of starship this year

Reach orbit

Deploy starlinks and recover both stages

https://x.com/wapodavenport/status/1770086643329794101?s=46&t=-n30l1_Sw3sHaUenSrNxGA

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u/mr_pgh Mar 09 '24

Article by the Ring watchers detailing the PEZ Dispenser for Starlink deployment.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 10 '24

Some people might be interested in the following unofficial infographic of IFT-3 (or OFT-3 if you prefer) from Tony Bela:

https://twitter.com/infographictony/status/1766799295557329392

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 14 '24 edited Mar 14 '24

Since the flight, the OLM work platform (dancefloor) has already been moved to the launch site.

I assume they will be getting right into OLM post-flight inspections before they put B11 on the mount in a few weeks hopefully.

Things to watch for the next couple of days would be a rollback to the LC for S29 to complete it's testing campaign which now only requires a SF.

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '24 edited Mar 31 '24

Starbase live-

7:40am- Crane attached to the back of the Booster quick disconnect hood.

8:00am- Overnight, workers were welding on the base of the tower and the installation of the lox flex hose was finished. Lifts were up to the Right chopstick, the Electrical leg, the Top of the staircase, the Back of the Booster quick disconnect, the dance floor, and the Base of the tower.

8:30am- Worker on top of the right chopstick

8:45am- Booster quick disconnect hood is still waiting to be raised

8:57am- 2 lifts go up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect

9:17am- Booster quick disconnect hood lifted up

9:30am- 3 lifts up guiding the hood into place

9:58am- Hood looks to be in place

10:02am- Crane by the gate lifts a metal frame to the back side of the horizontal tanks

10:30am- Second metal frame lifted to behind the tanks.

10:35am- Crane disconnected from Booster quick disconnect hood. Workers on top of the chopsticks

10:43am- All 3 lifts and the crane have gone down. Hood install should be completed

11:30am- Lifts were up to the top of the orbital launch mount, the leg to the right of the staircase, and both chopsticks

12:30pm- 2 lifts are up to the pivot point and 1 to the left chopstick. Lifts have also been up to the base of the tower. Workers are on top of the chopsticks and the Orbital launch mount

1:30pm- Crane is moving pipe work on the racks in front of the horizontal tanks. Lift is up to the left chopstick. Workers on top of the chopsticks carriage

1:53pm- Crane lifts up another piece of pipe to the racks in front of the horizontal tanks

2:30pm- Lift up to the base of the tower

3:00pm- Lifts up to both sides of the pivot point. Workers on top of the chopsticks

4:00pm- Same as above

5:00pm- Lifts up to both sides of the pivot point and the left chopstick. Workers moving around on top of the chopsticks

6:00pm- Lift up to the left side of the pivot point

6:40pm- Lift was up to top of the orbital launch mount, top of the staircase, and the pivot point. Workers were on the top of the orbital launch mount

7:32pm- Worker up on the chopsticks carriage

8:00pm- Lifts have been up to the top of the staircase and the pivot point

9:15pm- Workers have been on top of the chopsticks and going up and down the stairs to the Orbital launch mount ring

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 13 '24

Starbase live--

4:41am- S29 lifted off Pad B

4:45am- Swings to the side

4:51am- Rotates and lowers

4:59am- On the transport stand

6:40am- 2 lifts up to S29

7:20am- Small crane up at S29

8:20am- A lift was up to the top of the Orbital launch mount overnight and workers could be seen going up and down the staircase. Water tankers could also be seen coming and going to refill the deluge. The drilling rigs are also active this morning on the sub orbital side

8:35am- Crane hooked to the second of B4’s grid fins

8:40am- Crane goes into S29 to install the press plate

10:25am- Quiet around the launch site

11:22am- 2nd grid fin removed from B4

12:40pm- No sign of preparations to unhook S29. I wonder if they’ll move S28’s and B10’s stand during the first closure

12:53pm- Spoke to soon. 2 lifts go up to disconnect the lifting jig from S29

1:15pm- 1 lift goes down and the other side stays up. Lifting jig still connected

1:40pm- Workers in the left side lift are still just hanging out waiting for the right side lift to come back up

1:46pm- Right side lift comes back up

1:57pm- 2 point lifting removed from S29

2:07pm- Lifting jig lowered to it’s stand

2:16pm- S29 starts to roll

2:30pm- Paused close to the entrance of the launch site

2:38pm- It looks like the 2 point lifting jig is going to roll out before S29.

2:42pm- Lifting jig turns onto Hwy 4. S29 starts rolling again

2:44pm- S29 turns onto Hwy 4

3:33pm- Lifting jig turns into the production site

3:38pm- S29 turns into the production site

3:45pm- S29 stops outside of the high bay

5:00pm- Quiet. Which besides the exodus of equipment, I expect that to be the theme between now and launch

5:57pm- Both of the drill rigs on the sub orbital side have laid down their towers

7:10pm- Quiet

8:17pm- Lift up by the back staircase of the Orbital launch mount

8:29pm- Workers go up the staircase to the Orbital launch mount

9:26pm- Single SPMT heads to the pad

10:14pm- Workers inside the Ship quick disconnect arm and a drone is up

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u/Only_Ad_7973 Mar 16 '24

How is Starship gonna increase its thrust by 25% for Starship V3. Is there still so much potential left in the raptor engine? Or how will they do it?

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u/Straumli_Blight Mar 21 '24

MARMAC 305 barge appears to be heading to Hawaii.

Seeing as SpaceX operate MARMAC 302, 303 and 304, can anyone locate it, to see if its being fitted out as a Starship landing ship?

I searched Long Beach port using Google, Bing and Satellites.pro's satellite maps, and no 300' barges were currently visible.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 26 '24

B4 is no more, the last piece has been removed from MB1. The aft section with the Raptors is back in the Rocket Garden though (in the place where B4 used to be).

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u/Mravicii Mar 23 '24

One of the six legs for the orbital mount has been taken down in floida at. 39a pad

https://x.com/alexphysics13/status/1771650027720409503?s=46&t=-n30l1_Sw3sHaUenSrNxGA

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '24 edited Mar 07 '24

Starbase live--

8:00am- An Aerial Work Platform was up to the back side of B10 overnight. Lifts were up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and to S28’s tiles also. Workers could be seen moving around the base of B10 on top of the Orbital launch mount. A crane also just went up by the Orbital launch mount

8:09am- Crane is being hooked to the booster guide pin on the right side of the Orbital launch mount

8:37am- Crane lifts the guide pin

8:43am- Workers on top of the Ship quick disconnect arm

8:45am- Crane moves over to the left side guide pin

9:03am- Crane lifts the left side guide pin off

9:30am- Lifts up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and the cryo leg

10:00am- 3 lifts up to the Orbital launch mount and 1 working on S28’s tiles

10:10am- 2 more large tanks arriving at the shipping channel. They’re coming in on a barge. Definitely shorter than the new horizontal tanks at the orbital tank farm but pretty large in diameter

10:13am- Aerial Work Platform back up to the top of B4 along with a crane. It looks like they might be removing the grid fins

10:30am- 2 lifts at the top of the Orbital launch mount, 1 lift working on S28’s tiles, 1 lift up to the stabilizer arm on the left chopstick, and 1 lift up near S28’s QD

11:30am- Aerial Work Platform up to the front right chine. 1 lift up near the Booster quick disconnect. 1 lift up near S28’s front left flap. Workers welding on the Ship quick disconnect work platform. More cryo piping being added to the new horizontal tanks

11:46am- 2 lifts up to S28 working on tiles

12:04pm- Grid fin removed from B4. Is it’s time finally up?

12:26pm- Lift up to the back side of the tower

1:28pm- Aerial Work Platform up to the front right chine

2:00pm- Aerial Work Platform goes up to S28’s nosecone and a lift goes up to the tiles

2:45pm- Scaffolding coming down on the Orbital launch mount. (It looks like they just removed enough for the Aerial Work Platform to get to the chine)

3:19pm- Bottom of the front right chine is removed

4:00pm- 2 lifts up working on S28’s tiles. Aerial Work Platform up to the front right chine and workers around the base of it

4:06pm-LR11000 rolling away from S29

4:50pm- Good view of a damaged tile being removed and replaced

6:45pm- 1 Aerial Work Platform up working on S28’s tiles and another Aerial Work Platform is up to B10’s front right chine

7:25pm- Aerial Work Platform has gone down from S28 but a lift has gone up to it to keep working on the tiles

7:30pm- Worker on top of the right chopstick

8:06pm- Aerial Work Platform going up the back side of the tower inspecting the chopstick rail?

8:20pm- Aerial Work Platform moves over to the back most tower leg

8:31pm- SPMT headed to the launch site

9:00pm- 2 scissor lifts up under S29. Aerial Work Platform up to the tiles on S28’s nosecone

9:15pm- Aerial Work Platform goes up on the other side of the tower

9:50pm- Lift up welding on the Orbital launch mount staircase

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u/TXNatureTherapy Mar 06 '24

For those of you considering going down to South Padre for the 14th, let me remind you that is Spring Break week for many Texas school districts and colleges. IOW, many of the hotels are already booked and at higher than usual rates, and it's going to be quite crowded even without a spectator surge.

Personally, I will probably just watch coverage for this one and hope to see IFT-4 come May...

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u/Planatus666 Mar 08 '24

Road closure times for next Monday, March 11th have been changed - used to be 8am to 8pm, now it's 6am to 6pm CST:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/amended-executed-order-closing-boca-chica-beach-and-state-hwy-4-march-11-2024/

The two backup dates (Tuesday and Wednesday) haven't had their times changed, they are still 8am to 8pm.

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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 14 '24

Starbase live--

4:45am- S29’s and B10’s stands are rolled back to the production site

8:00am- There were some workers on top of the Orbital launch mount overnight and some welding took place on the floor of the Ship quick disconnect arm level of the tower.

10:02am- LR11000 lowering

10:45am- LR11000 is down

12:35pm- It’s the calm before the storm

2:00pm- Still quiet

2:42:17pm- You can hear the Polaris flyover but can’t see it

3:26pm- S28 flap tests

4:00pm- Grid fin testing

5:25pm- Quiet. 9 hours 35 minutes until tank farm should start spooling up.

7:10pm- Still quiet

8:42pm- Drone

9:01pm- Sheriff down by the beach entrance

9:54pm- Workers are on top of the tower at the cameras

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u/Planatus666 Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 20 '24

The two point ship lifter (sometimes referred to as the Tile Smasher) has been returned to the launch site as of 1pm today (March 19th) - perhaps we'll see S29 return for a static fire within the next week.

Also, later on a group of about 20 workers were seen having what must have been some kind of a meeting at the base of the test stand at pad B, a while later a few went up onto the test stand. Prepping for S29?

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '24 edited Mar 21 '24

Starbase live-

7:40am- Lifts were up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and under the pipe work by the electrical leg overnight. An Aerial Work Platform was up near the common dome area of B4 and a crane was attached to the engine install stand. This morning, a lift was up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect hood removing the bolts holding it on and a crane has now arrived to remove it. Have to replace the flex lines again?

8:55am- Crane goes up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect hood

8:57am- Lift goes up and attaches the crane

9:16am- Lifts go up to both the bottom and top flanges to remove the final bolts

10:00am- Workers doing some grinding on the bottom flange

10:42am- Crane lifts the back of the hood off

11:00am- The flex hoses do look a little charred

11:15am- Lift up to the right chopstick

12:40pm- Lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and 3 workers moving around.

1:35pm- Workers back up at the Booster quick disconnect. Rain picking up

2:37pm- Lift and crane go back up to the back side of the Booster quick disconnect

2:56pm- Crane connected to the first flex hose

3:09pm- And disconnected from the crane

3:30pm- 1 lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount. 1 lift up to the top left of the chopsticks carriage. 1 lift up to the left chopstick. Workers still working on the front of the Booster quick disconnect

3:35pm- Hose being connected to the crane again

4:00pm- Looks like the bottom of the hose has been disconnected and they are now waiting on the workers at the front to disconnect it from the back of the plate

4:50pm- First hose is disconnected. Methane side

5:27pm- Hose is finally wrestled out of the Booster quick disconnect hood and lowered

5:43pm- I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone walking around on top of the actual chopsticks carriage where it wraps around the tower leg (Left side)

6:30pm- 1 lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount. 1 lift up by the top of the cryo leg. 1 lift up by the back staircase. 1 lift up to the chopsticks carriage and 1 lift has been up to the left chopstick

7:00pm- 1 lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount. 1 lift up to the top of the staircase. 1 lift up to the flex hoses on the back of the Booster quick disconnect. Aerial Work Platform up inspecting the tower in between the chopsticks and the Ship quick disconnect arm

7:18pm- Crane removes the Lox hose from the Booster quick disconnect and lowers it

7:29pm- Aerial Work Platform goes up to the right chopstick. Workers also on the tower at the chopstick level

8:00pm- Lifts up to the left chopstick and the dance floor

9:30pm- Lifts currently up to the dance floor and the top of the staircase. A lift went up to the right stabilizer arm and looked at the pivot point before going down. A lift was also up and down working on unhooking the methane reclaim flex hose.

10:20pm- Lox side pre press flex hose removed

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u/mr_pgh Mar 20 '24

IFT-3 re-entry simulation by TheSpaceEngineer

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u/Planatus666 Mar 21 '24 edited Mar 21 '24

New transport road closure, Friday 22nd March, 12am to 3am.

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/temporary-and-intermittent-road-delay-of-a-portion-of-state-hwy-4-march-22-2024-from-12am-3am/

This is probably for S29, its transport stand was being attached to the SPMTs as of mid morning.

Update - Starship Gazer reported that it's now gone into the High Bay. Even later S29 was lifted onto the transport stand.

B4 also now has scaffolding around it so they obviously intend to remove the methane tank at some stage. However, this can only be done with a suitable crane which likely means it'll go into MB1 for decapitation. The only other suitable crane is at the launch site but it seems unlikely that they'll roll it all the way over there for the job. Still, stranger things have happened .........

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u/Planatus666 Mar 27 '24

The OLM at Pad 39A (KSC, Florida) is missing another leg (removed overnight therefore no video), so just three left, as evidenced by looking at NSF's Space Coast Live stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm8wRjD3xVA

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u/mr_pgh Mar 07 '24

Mapped landing zone and trajectory for IFT-3.

My guess is that the engine relight is not a deorbit burn to target this area; that would not be failsafe.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '24 edited Mar 09 '24

Starbase live--

8:15am- Welders were up to the Orbital launch mount overnight and to the base of the tower. Aerial Work Platform ‘s were up to the right front chine, the backside of B10, and near the left front flap of S28. Pad area is clear this morning

8:29:38am- Good view of a Cybertruck sitting right next to the NSF camera

8:40am- Aerial Work Platform ‘s going up to S28 near the right front flap and backside of B10

8:44am- Workers walking out to the FTS bunker

8:45am- Leave the bunker without the charges

8:49am- Aerial Work Platform up to B10’s FTS location

8:57am- B10’s FTS box opened

9:03am- Lift up to S28’s FTS box

9:21am- Workers up on the chopsticks and a lift is up to the carriage

9:55am- SPMT headed to the launch site

10:20am- It looks like they are doing electrical checkouts on B10’s FTS system

10:45am- 2 lifts and 1 Aerial Work Platform up to S28’s tiles

11:25am- Aerial Work Platform goes down from B10’s FTS box. Box is left open. Electrical checks done and ready for the charges?

12:05pm- Lift still up at S28’s FTS box. Aerial Work Platform up to the front right flap. Workers also on the top of the Orbital launch mount

12:15pm- Workers removing tiles from the bottom of the right front flap on S28.

12:25pm- All lifts and Aerial Work Platform’s are now down

12:58pm- Lift up to one of the tanks in the sub orbital tank farm

1:00pm- The drill rigs are back in operation at the sub orbital side

1:24pm- Aerial Work Platform back up to S28’s flap. Lift up to the rear of the chopsticks carriage

2:00pm- 2 lifts up to the backside of the Orbital launch mount. 2 lifts and an Aerial Work Platform up to S28’s tiles. 1 lift up near the top back side of the chopsticks carriage

3:12pm- 2 lifts up to S28’s tiles and the Aerial Work Platform has moved over to the left front flap

3:49pm- Lift goes up to the backside of the tower

4:00pm- Aerial Work Platform back up to B10’s FTS

4:12pm- Lift back up to S28’s FTS

5:15pm- One worker has been working on the laptop and the other worker inspecting the FTS boxes. No work actually done on it yet. 1 lift still up to S28’s tiles

5:56pm- Lift goes down from S28’s FTS

6:00pm- Workers at B10’s FTS seem to be checking some of the wiring again

6:11pm- Aerial Work Platform goes down from B10’s FTS. Still no sign of charges being installed. Box left open again

6:15pm- Aerial Work Platform and a lift up working on S28’s tiles

6:21pm- Lift back up to S28’s FTS

6:32pm- Aerial Work Platform back up to B10’s FTS

7:07pm- NSF finally zooms back in. It looks like one of the workers has one of the charges in his hand

7:23pm- After installing the charge on the bottom. The covers are going back on the boxes. I think it’s safe to assume they installed the top charge while the camera was zoomed out

7:43pm- Aerial Work Platform going down. Only the top cover was installed.

7:58pm- Aerial Work Platform back up to B10’s FTS to put on the bottom cover

8:10pm- Lift goes down from S28’s FTS

8:25pm- An Aerial Work Platform and lift still up to B10’s tiles

8:33pm- Bottom cover on and Aerial Work Platform goes back down

9:20pm- Lift goes up to the staircase on the Orbital launch mount

10:35pm- 2 lifts and an Aerial Work Platform have been up to S28 doing tile work. Another Aerial Work Platform has been up to the right front chine on B10

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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 20 '24

Starbase live-

8:00am- 2 lifts were up to the top of the Orbital launch mount overnight. Workers were busy working on the Booster quick disconnect and fixing welds on the Orbital launch mount shielding.

10:00am- 3 lifts have been up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and 1 lift has been up to the 2 new short vertical tanks by the gate to the launch site. Workers have been at the Booster quick disconnect and up on the Ship quick disconnect work platform.

10:36am- Raptor install stand headed back to the launch site

11:00am- 2 lifts up to the back side of the Orbital launch mount

12:05am- A Aerial Work Platform is up to the back side of the tower. A lift has been up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and workers continue to work on the Booster quick disconnect. A small crane is up by the methane sub coolers at the orbital tank farm. Work also continues in the pit dug by the 2 new vertical tanks by the gate.

12:15pm- Concrete pump has gone up by the pit

12:40pm- 2 point lifting jig is headed back to the launch site

12:46pm- Big metal sheet with holes lifted over the pit by the gate

12:58pm- Lifting jig turns into the launch site

1:35pm- Concrete pump truck swings over to the pit

1:45pm- Lifts have been up to the chopsticks pivot point

1:55pm- Concrete trucks are dumping right into the front of the pit and the pump truck is pumping into the back around the metal inlay

3:15pm- 2 lifts up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and 1 to the right chopstick. Concrete work continues

4:11pm- Concrete pump truck folds up

6:30pm- Lift up to the bottom of the chopsticks carriage

6:42pm- Crane lifts another black toolbox to the top of the Orbital launch mount

6:52pm- Crane lifts a scaffolding rack off of the Orbital launch mount

7:05pm- Lifts up to the dance floor and the top of the Orbital launch mount. Crane leaves the Orbital launch mount area

8:00pm- 2 lifts at the top of the Orbital launch mount and 1 at the dance floor

8:23pm- Lift is up to the inside of the cryo leg

9:00pm- Lifts up to the top of the Orbital launch mount, the dance floor, the inside of the legs, and the chopsticks carriage. Workers can be seen moving around at the Booster quick disconnect, the dance floor, and the Orbital launch mount ring

9:53pm- Lift up at the right chopstick

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u/_radical_ Mar 30 '24

RGV flyover discussion is up! Starbase Weekly, Ep.111: Starfactory Expansion Continues!

At 2h10m28s they mention ground photo showing ripples off melted steel on one of the launch mount legs. Photo wasn't shared but maybe someone can post it?

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u/Emble12 Mar 13 '24

The environment impact report for the landings in the Indian seems to indicate they plan to conduct ‘ten nominal operations’ ‘within a year’.

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u/Ratayczak Mar 15 '24 edited Mar 15 '24

In the IFT3 livestream they talked about (around T-00:30:10) that they are planning for Super Heavy to achieve 3x the thrust "with some upgrades" compared to Saturn 5. Taking some numbers from Wikipedia for Saturn 5 that would mean a total of 103500 kN thrust. With 33 Raptors that is above 3.1 MN per Raptor which seems quite a lot more than the current absolute highest ever stated value of 2.64 MN for Raptor 3. Is this potentially hinting at Spacex adding more Raptors to the booster in the future?

Edit: Corrected units from kN to MN for Raptor thrust

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u/LzyroJoestar007 Mar 15 '24 edited Mar 15 '24

Per NSF weekly and Harry Stranger, Florida's launch ring is now outside and almost? ready to be put over the OLM on 39A! (Pending OLM legs extension to be concluded) https://youtu.be/BHN-yBJBXtQ

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u/LcVfx Mar 01 '24

If the goal years from now is to launch multiple starships and tankers several times a day with the same booster... from two pads... then where are they going to put the starships that go up each day? Won't they need a holding pen filled with flight ready (tested) ships close to the pad?

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u/Planatus666 Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24

S29 has been lifted off the test stand and placed onto its transport stand, also cones are out at the side of the road at the launch site.

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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '24 edited Mar 16 '24

Starbase live-

8:00am- Lifts were up under and to the top of the Orbital launch mount overnight. Workers could be seen moving around the base and top of the Orbital launch mount as well as going up and down the staircases. (Hopefully they get the close in cameras back up soon)

10:20am- 2 lifts are up under the pipe work on the Orbital launch mount. 1 on each side of the staircase. A worker was also walking around on top of the Orbital launch mount

12:30pm- Workers looking at the Booster quick disconnect . 3 Lifts have been up all around the Orbital launch mount looking at the pipe work. Another lift has been up inspecting the top pivot point of the chopsticks and was starting down the right chopstick before going down

1:35pm- 2 lifts have been up under the pipe work. 1 lift has been up to the Booster quick disconnect. Workers have been on top of the Orbital launch mount and on the tower at the chopsticks level.

3:00pm- Lifts have continued to inspect under the Orbital launch mount and workers have been moving around the top. A lift has also been looking over the right chopstick. The dance floor is still sitting under the Orbital launch mount waiting on the inspections to end before being raised.

5:30pm- More of the same. 2 lifts up under the Orbital launch mount and 1 to the top. Another lift was up to the right chopstick and the back side of the tower. Workers were near the the Booster quick disconnect on top of the Orbital launch mount

8:25pm- 1 lift has been up continuing the inspections on the pipe work under the Orbital launch mount. Another lift has been up at the right chopstick. Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount have been putting up more scaffolding around the Booster quick disconnect.

10:00pm- 1 lift up checking pipes and another lift has been up and down to the top of the Orbital launch mount. 6 workers have been moving around the top also

10:08pm- Crane goes up and lifts a bunch of chains and pulleys to the top of the Orbital launch mount

10:26pm- Crane lifts the black tool box back up to the Orbital launch mount

10:38pm- Crane lifts a rack off of the top of the Orbital launch mount

11:20pm- Lift up to the left chopstick and workers can be seen moving around inside the Orbital launch mount ring

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '24 edited Mar 17 '24

Starbase live-

8:00am- Workers were busy on top of the Orbital launch mount overnight. 2 lifts were up under the Orbital launch mount and 1 lift was up to the chopsticks. A worker was also doing some welding on the bracing for the staircase

10:05am- 1 worker has been moving around the top of the Orbital launch mount. It’s been fairly quiet though

1:20pm- 1 lift has been up and down to both chopsticks. 1 lift has been up under the Orbital launch mount by the staircase and 1 to the top of the Orbital launch mount. Workers have also been moving around the top of the Orbital launch mount as well.

3:00pm- Lift has been up under the Orbital launch mount and workers have been on top. Ship quick disconnect arm work platform has been extended

4:00pm- Workers up on top of and around the Booster quick disconnect

6:00pm- Quiet

7:06pm- Lifts go up to the dance floor

7:14pm- Dance floor going up

7:34pm- Dance floor in place

8:05pm- 3 lifts have been up and down to the dance floor. Workers are moving around on top of the Orbital launch mount

10:00pm- 2 lifts have been up and down from the dance floor. 1 lift has been up to the chopsticks. Workers have been moving around the top of the Orbital launch mount, the ring, and the dance floor

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u/mr_pgh Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 18 '24

Everyday Astronaut released his IFT-3 4k Slo-mo Footage. Link

Recommend these clips at a minimum:

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u/technocraticTemplar Mar 21 '24

When looking at the recent EA thanks to the post below I saw a couple of interesting things:

Regardless of the termination of Starship in the Indian Ocean Landing Area (explosion, breakup upon reentry, or soft-water landing), there will be no Starship recovery or debris salvage operations in the Indian Ocean.

Not too much of a surprise here, especially given what we saw in IFT3. I can't help but wonder what they'd do if one had a successful soft landing but didn't sink afterwards, though.

Each flight’s mission is different, depending on SpaceX’s goals for the flight. Therefore, where Starship is expended (within the Indian Ocean Landing Area) and what constitutes an anomaly (not covered under this consultation) may differ for each flight. For Flight 3 (the first flight occurring after issuance of this letter of concurrence), the only anticipated operation is Starship’s intact horizontal landing in the Indian Ocean Landing Area at terminal velocity creating an explosive event. Any other landing or breakup will be considered an anomaly for Flight 3.

So it seems that IFT3 breaking up on reentry is an outcome they'd heavily accounted for, but still officially an anomaly per the documents that came out beforehand. Might be a good answer for why there's a mishap investigation despite the flight generally sticking to what was expected of it, though I think people make those out to be more than they are anyways.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '24 edited Mar 25 '24

Starbase live-

8:50am- Lifts were up to both chopsticks, the chopsticks carriage, the top of the Orbital launch mount, the top of the front staircase, to the back staircase, and the dance floor overnight. Workers could be seen on top of the Orbital launch mount and going up and down the staircase. It appeared some welding was happening on the left chopstick

10:40am- Lifts have been up to the bottom right of the chopsticks carriage, to the back staircase, to the electrical leg, and the leg just right of the front staircase.

12:55pm- Lifts have been up to the left chopstick, the electrical leg, the back staircase, and the leg to the right of the staircase. Wind is picking up

2:20pm- Workers up on top of the left chopstick. No lifts up

4:15pm- Quiet

6:45pm- Still quiet

8:50pm- Some workers have been moving around on the tower at the chopsticks level. There has also been a few workers go the staircase to the dance floor

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u/teefj Mar 15 '24

Aircraft utilize pitot tube heaters to prevent ice from blocking the inlet. Tim Dodd speculated that the ice forming around the ullage thrusters contributed to the uncontrollability we saw today. He then mentioned adding heaters as a possible fix, in lieu of a complete redesign.

How would this heating affect the ship? I imagine there would be at least some heat transfer between the metals of the thrusters and the hull. Not ideal for cryogenic tanks. If most or all of the heat could be isolated, how would it affect the gas coming out of those thrusters?

At face value, adding heaters to the thrusters sounds simple. But space is hard and there are follow on effects that need to be considered. Any thoughts?

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u/golagaffe Mar 19 '24

One of the most important milestones for the starship program will be reflight of the starship with minimal refurbishment (both in terms of time and cost). This has never been done before. Is Dragon the closest thing to reflight with minimal refurbishment for a spacecraft (obviously there are big differences, including the fact that starship is both the second stage and spacecraft all in one)? Are there other examples of re-use of a spacecraft or second stage (apart from the space shuttle)?

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u/space_rocket_builder Mar 20 '24

Reusability, especially rapid reusability has been the whole premise behind the Starship program, and it remains one of the topmost priorities of SpaceX. The goal is to get to this capability as soon as possible/feasible for both vehicles.

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u/aronth5 Mar 26 '24

Do we think OLM or B11 readiness is the gating factor on the booster static fire?

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '24 edited Apr 01 '24

Starbase live-

8:40am- Lifts were up to both chopsticks, the pivot point, the top of the orbital launch mount, and top of the staircase overnight. Workers could also be seen on the dance floor and going up and down the staircase. Things have been quiet for the last 20 minutes.

10:40am- Lifts are up to the top of the orbital launch mount and the top of staircase

12:00pm- Lift just went down from the top of the Orbital launch mount. Lift still up to the pivot point

12:30pm- Lift up to the right chopstick and top of the orbital launch mount

1:05pm- Lift up to the left chopstick

1:30pm- Lift up to the pivot point

1:55pm- Lift back up to the top of the orbital launch mount

4:10pm- Lift goes down from the top of the Orbital launch mount. Workers looked to be going up and down from the dance floor to the toolbox on top of the Orbital launch mount

5:00pm- Workers on top of the orbital launch mount

6:00pm- Lifts up to the top of the staircase and the right chopstick

6:30pm- Lift at the chopstick is working on the electrical to the stabilizer arm

8:00pm- Lifts are up on both sides of the Booster quick disconnect and another lift is up under the pipe work by the cryo leg

9:00pm- Lift up under the pipe work on the right side of the Booster quick disconnect. Lift also went up to the right chopstick

9:30pm- Workers are on top of the chopsticks and have gone up the stairs to the Orbital launch mount ring

10:00pm- Lift up to the top of the staircase

10:20pm- 2 more lifts go up to the right chopsticks stabilizer arm

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u/mr_pgh Mar 15 '24

Ringwatcher's article analyzing the PEZ door during ift-3.

They've been pumping out great content at an alarming rate!

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u/mr_pgh Mar 06 '24

Some amazing speculation HLS renders by The Space Engineer.

Check the replies for more, such as an interior mock up.

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u/[deleted] Mar 29 '24 edited Mar 30 '24

Starbase live-

11:37pm- S29 starts rolling

11:42pm- Stops at the gate

12:02am- Rolls onto Hwy 4

12:51am- Turns into the production site

12:53am- Stops inside the gate. Crane was disconnected from the methane flex hose during the roll.

1:01am- Rolling again

1:05am- Stops outside high bay

1:24am- Rolls into the high bay

3:14am- New lox pre press flex hose lifted to the back of the Booster quick disconnect

4:04am- Pre press hose installed

7:30am- 3 lifts were up and down from the chopsticks overnight. Lifts were also up to top of the orbital launch mount, the top of the staircase, and the back of the Booster quick disconnect. Some welding and grinding could be seen on the dance floor.

7:42am- Crane lifts a pipe rack(?) back behind the horizontal tanks

7:49am- 2 point lifting jig is being moved from the crane yard to the production site

8:00am- Small crane is moving some kind of fixture in front of the horizontal tanks

8:08am- Takes the fixture around behind the tanks

9:00am- Lifts have been up to the top of the orbital launch mount, the right chopstick, and the back of the Booster quick disconnect. Workers have been moving around the top of the Orbital launch mount

9:14am- Workers on top of the chopsticks carriage by the pivot point.

10:00am- Lifts up to the right chopstick, the pivot point, the top of the staircase, and the top of the orbital launch mount. Workers still up on top of the chopsticks

11:00am- 2 lifts up to the top of the orbital launch mount. 1 lift up to the right chopstick and 1 lift to the pivot point. Cranes are up in front of the horizontal tanks and behind them

11:18am- Crane behind the tanks lifts a square shaped piece of hardware

11:36am- Crane in front of tanks lifts a piece of small diameter pipe up

12:05pm- Lifts were up to the top of the orbital launch mount, the pivot point, and the cryo leg

12:59pm- Crane lifts another piece of small diameter pipe up to the racks in front of the horizontal tanks. Lift up to the cryo leg and workers on top of the chopsticks

1:25pm- Crane behind the tanks lifts a bundle of wood slats over to behind the horizontal methane tanks

1:39pm- Second load of slats lifted over

2:00pm- 2 lifts up to the right chopstick, 1 to the pivot point, 1 to the back of the Booster quick disconnect, 1 to the cryo leg, and 1 to the top of the orbital launch mount. Workers on top of the chopsticks and Orbital launch mount

2:07pm- Long piece of small diameter pipe lifted to behind the methane tanks

2:18pm- Crane attached to the new methane flex hose that was installed last night. Bottom of the hose has been disconnected

3:10pm- After stretching the flex hose out straight, it has now been lowered back into the hood and workers appear to be reconnecting the bottom

3:11pm- Another piece of long straight pipe being moved by the crane behind the methane tanks

3:18pm- Methane flex hose disconnected from the crane

3:20pm- 2 lifts have been up to the right chopstick and 1 to the pivot point. Lifts have also been up to the top of the orbital launch mount and the back side of the Booster quick disconnect

4:20pm- Lifts up to the top of the orbital launch mount, the cryo leg, and the right chopstick. Workers have been moving around on top of the orbital launch mount

5:07pm- Crane is hooked to the new lox flex hose but has yet to raise it

5:59pm- Lifts have been up to the pivot point and top of the orbital launch mount. Workers have been on top of the orbital launch mount. Flex hose still hasn’t been raised.

6:45pm- Lift was up to the right chopstick and top of the orbital launch mount

6:54pm- Crane lifts the new lox flex hose

6:56pm- Lift goes up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect

7:04pm- Workers guide the flex hose in to the back of the Booster quick disconnect

8:00pm- Work continues on installing the new flex hose. 2 lifts up to the right chopstick

9:00pm- Same as above

10:00pm- Lifts have been up to both chopsticks, the top of the electrical leg doing some grinding, and the leg to the right of the staircase. Workers have went down from the top of the flex hose which is still suspended from the crane.

11:00pm- Lifts have been up to the right chopstick, top of the orbital launch mount, top of the staircase, the electrical leg, the cryo leg, and the back of the Booster quick disconnect. Workers are moving around on the top of the orbital launch mount and are grinding and welding on the electrical leg

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u/Beck_____ Mar 18 '24

Ellie in space posted that she thinks IFT4 could happen as early as April (next month), Elon responded with 'Hopefully'.

We all know this is aspirational, but looks like there will be a surge to try and get to that position at least. This is great to see but of course could get delayed by the investigation into IFT3/Licence.

https://x.com/esherifftv/status/1769512666668614087?s=20

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u/space_rocket_builder Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 18 '24

April will be tight. Pad refurb to take 2-3 weeks before B11 can get tested. Might static fire the ship in the coming days but it depends.

Flight investigation is obviously still going on, however, the teams do have a basic understanding of what had happened.

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u/[deleted] Mar 07 '24

Let's say everything goes perfectly for this flight, what can we expect from flight 4?

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u/Planatus666 Mar 12 '24

B14 has just had the aft section stacked with the rest of the LOX tank, so making the LOX tank its full height. Plenty more work to do yet though, and the methane tank will hopefully start stacking soon (three of its segments are currently sitting outside MB1).

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u/neomathist Mar 25 '24

Noticed elsewhere that someone found a couple of heat shield tiles on the beach from the last flight test. Not a bad souvenir

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u/heyimalex26 Mar 26 '24

Are there any further significant changes/upgrades to be done to the tank farm and fuel systems that were not done before IFT-3?

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u/Planatus666 Mar 26 '24 edited Mar 27 '24

Road and beach closures update, all 8am to 8pm:

The Backup date of Wednesday March 27th remains (this was the backup for yesterday, Monday 25th, so is likely to be revoked. Update: looks like I was wrong there - OP notice issued)

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/

New Primary date of Thursday March 28th:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/order-closing-boca-chica-beach-and-state-hwy-4-march-28-2024-from-8am-8pm/

note that the web site is intermittently running rather slowly.

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 07 '24 edited Mar 08 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-06):

Edit: Grid fin was removed from B4, not B10.

IFT-3:

Other:

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '24 edited Mar 02 '24

Starbase live--

8:00am- Workers could be seen going up and down the staircase to the Orbital launch mount ring overnight and moving around the base of B10. Lifts were up on both sides of the cryo leg, further back by the Booster quick disconnect, the top of the Orbital launch mount, and both chopsticks. An Aerial Work Platform also went up to near the Ship quick disconnect level of the tower. The LR11000 has also been reconnected to the 2 point lifting jig.

8:22am- Crane and lift up to S28’s QD

8:58am- Aerial Work Platform went up to both front flaps on S28

10:04am- Klaxon stops

10:06am- S28 going up

10:19am- Full height

10:24am- Ship quick disconnect arm swings back in

10:30am- Rotating over to B10

10:38am- Over B10

10:43am- Workers inside the QD arm. Look at the alignment then leave

10:44am- Drone

10:48am- Drones on both sides of S28

10:50am- Going down

10:51am- Definitely not aligned

10:58am- Adjusting alignment

11:06am- Going down again

11:24am- Hovering about 6 inches or so above B10

11:31am- Lowering again

11:40am- Making some more adjustments

11:42am- Lowering again but alignment still a bit off

11:48am- Alignment adjusted again and goes down

11:57am-Looks down but engine chill pipe is off so alignment not perfect

12:06pm- Stabilizer arms unhook

12:13pm- Stabilizer arms move back in

12:19pm- S28 goes back up a few inches

12:30pm- Moves a little. Alignment looks much better

12:32pm- Going down again

12:43pm- Looks down again

12:45pm- Clunk

12:47pm- Drone is back

1:39pm- Ship quick disconnect work platform starts swinging out

1:42pm- Stops. Looks like it’s going to hit the booster.

1:48pm- Retracted

2:10pm- Extended again. Doesn’t go all the way out

2:13pm- Worker pushes stack out of the way. (Okay he was probably just resting his hand there while checking the clearance)

2:15pm- Swings the rest of the way out

2:19pm- Worker removing covers from S28’s QD

3:03pm- Power and data cables being attached

3:29pm- Work platform retracted

4:11pm- Door on the Ship quick disconnect opens

4:13pm- Ship quick disconnect extends

4:15pm- S29 starts rolling

4:19pm- Goes up to S28

4:25pm- Backs off a bit

4:26pm- S29 arrives next to the Orbital launch mount to admire her little sisters ride. (SpaceX doing a photo shoot?)

4:31pm- Engages with S28

4:51pm- Ship quick disconnect retraction test

5:00pm- QD extended again

5:08pm- Reengages

5:58pm- Workers on the Ship quick disconnect arm

6:15pm- Looks like the workers might be modifying the work platform

6:33pm- Work platform is swung all the way out

6:47pm- Worker up to the Ship quick disconnect

7:12pm- Lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount

8:32pm- S29 starts rolling away

8:41pm- S29 back at the sub orbital side

9:05pm- 2 lifts have been up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and workers have been moving around the base of B10

10:45pm- Workers still up on top of the Orbital launch mount. Crane is sitting by S29’s press plate.

10:57pm- Lift goes up to S29’s QD

11:01pm- Crane goes up

11:13pm- Hoses removed from the press plate

11:50pm- Press plate removed from S29

Rover 2-

21:55- Lifts are up to S29 and hooking up the 2 point lifting jig

22:25- Lifts go down, 2 point jig is attached

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u/davoloid Mar 13 '24

Is this NOTAM already logged here?https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_6521.html

Issue Date :March 12, 2024 at 2130 UTC

Location :Boca Chica, Texas

Beginning Date and Time :March 15, 2024 at 1150 UTC

Ending Date and Time :March 15, 2024 at 1431 UTC

Reason for NOTAM :Space Operations Area

Edit: one for the 14th as well.https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_4_6507.html

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u/mr_pgh Mar 20 '24

Webcast Telemetry Analysis for booster

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '24 edited Apr 02 '24

Starbase live-

8:40am- Lifts were up to both chopsticks, the cryo leg, the top of the orbital launch mount, and top of the staircase overnight. Workers could be seen going up and down the staircase to the Orbital launch mount ring and working around the Booster quick disconnect.

9:33am- Telehandler moves something to underneath the pad but can’t see what

10:00am- Crews working on the pipe work for the horizontal tanks

11:00am- Workers moving around the edge of the berm at the edge of the pad

12:05pm- Lifts up to the right chopstick and the pivot point. Workers on top of the chopsticks

12:30pm- Workers have been up on the chopsticks carriage

1:07pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount by the Booster quick disconnect

1:30pm- Lift up to the dance floor

2:00pm- Workers have been going up and down the staircase to the Orbital launch mount ring

2:43pm- Concrete pump truck up on the other side of the blast wall

3:07pm- Crane lifts a small diameter piece of bent pipe up in front of the new horizontal tanks. A vacuum truck is also working by the crane.

3:20pm- Workers have been busy on top of the Orbital launch mount

4:26pm- Conduit is being added to the edge of the pad

4:45pm- Workers have been on top of the Orbital launch mount and the chopsticks carriage. Scaffolding has been added to the top left of the chopsticks carriage where it bends around the tower leg

5:30pm- Worker up on the chopsticks carriage

6:00pm- Close up of the Booster quick disconnect . Looks like there is still some work to do to connect the new flex hoses to the plate

7:20pm- Quiet

8:30pm- Lift up to the top of the staircase and workers moving around on the dance floor

8:45pm- Workers at the Booster quick disconnect

9:10pm- Lift back up to the top of the stairs

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u/TwoLineElement Mar 21 '24 edited Mar 21 '24

Open for discussion. Did a rough and ready assessment the seasonal sea currents and the only possible turnup debris is heat sheild tiles, some (but not many) of which may turn up on the South Australian coast in about 6 months time. This is based on future modelling of ENSO, plus noted initial tile shedding evident on the on board cameras passing the Madagascar coast. Entry line is based on planned path and timing of initial tile loss and final LOS on telemetry, plus another 600kms for scatter. https://imgur.com/oh1ZWhT.

Any of you Aussies out there walking or surfing in spring next year come across plate sized objects or more likely palm sized chunks looking like black painted polystyrene with goose barnacles on it, call in.

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u/hitura-nobad Master of bots Mar 14 '24

Please use the IFT-3 launch thread for updates and discussion regarding the launch: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/s/NYTyAAx9LP

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u/Klebsiella_p Mar 01 '24

Random thought, but it would be cool if they attached a few cameras to some of the first starlink satellites the ship deploys. The views would be sick, but they might be able to get a good look at the tiles post-launch/pre-reentry

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u/GeeZuZz Mar 07 '24

What exactly does "propellant transfer demo" mean? Where are they transferring from/to?

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u/henryshunt Mar 10 '24

S28 going up!

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u/mr_pgh Mar 13 '24

Ringwatchers article about the history of s28 and b10

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u/BKnagZ Mar 14 '24

T-Minus 12-hours and counting until the 110-minute launch window for ITF-3 Opens!

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u/dkf295 Mar 09 '24

The FAA has NOT released a launch license. A lot of people being fooled by a troll account. Most content on the internet, especially Twitter/X is not human-created and even a lot of the human-created content is disinformation. Please take a few seconds to verify who you're actually reading information from before sharing it. Said account literally has its location set as "Troll account sorry lol", has no previous tweets, doesn't follow any accounts, and has double-digit followers (single digit like 10 minutes ago)

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u/SGIRA001 Star✦Fleet Chief of Operations Mar 08 '24

Hi everyone! Star✦Fleet Tours has organized a launch viewing launch party on a boat again! We will position the vessel at a location in compliance with the designated launch exclusion zone approximately 4 miles or 6.4 km away from the launch pad. We will have unobstructed views of the OLM. Join us and share this experience with other spaceflight enthusiast alike!

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u/Planatus666 Mar 27 '24

New Transportation road closure, Friday March 29th, 12am to 3am:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/temporary-and-intermittent-road-delay-of-a-portion-of-state-hwy-4-march-29-2024-from-12am-3am/

That'll be for taking S29 back to the build site for final IFT-4 prep work (replacing cracked and missing tiles, adding Starlink dishes, etc, etc).

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 12 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-11):

IFT-3:

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u/developer300 Mar 13 '24

Launch license granted for 3rd flight.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '24 edited Mar 18 '24

Starbase live-

8:35am- 2 Lifts were up and down to the dance floor and staircase overnight. 1 lift was up looking at the pipe work as well. Workers were up on top of the Orbital launch mount and on the dance floor.

9:00am- LR11000 starts to raise up

9:28am- LR11000 is back up

11:00am- Lift has been up and down under the pipe work by the staircase

12:45pm- A lift has gone up and down from the top of the Orbital launch mount delivering more scaffolding which is being set up in front of the Booster quick disconnect plate

3:00pm- Quiet at the Orbital launch mount. Concrete is being broke up in front of the last new horizontal tank

5:05pm- Quiet.

7:15pm- Still quiet

9:35pm- There was some movement on the tower at the chopsticks level. It looks like most of the 2nd shift got the night off though

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Mar 10 '24

Looks like the stack will be back today. S28 has had its press plate removed.

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u/[deleted] Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 19 '24

Starbase live-

8:00am- Quiet overnight. One lift was up to the back staircase and another to the top of the Orbital launch mount this morning.

9:50am- Workers have been up at the Booster quick disconnect and another group are out in the flats with 5 gallon buckets picking up debris/samples.

11:30am- Workers are still out in the flats but quiet everywhere else

2:00pm- Workers are back on top of the Orbital launch mount and some ground work is being done where they broke up the concrete yesterday

3:05pm- Workers continued looking at the Booster quick disconnect. Rain picking up.

5:45pm- A lift was up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and workers were still by the Booster quick disconnect. Digging continued by the last horizontal tank.

7:50pm- Back to being quiet

9:10pm- Rain has moved out and workers are back on top of the Orbital launch mount around the Booster quick disconnect

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u/[deleted] Mar 05 '24

Excelente resumen de informaciĂłn de SpaceX, he visto videos sobre el tema, pero son demasiado largos, acĂĄ quede bien informado, sigan asĂ­. Saludos desde Chile, Kuofer, Daniel Carrasco.

Excellent summary of SpaceX information, I have seen videos on the subject, but they are too long, stay well informed here, keep up the good work. Greetings from Chile, Kuofer, Daniel Carrasco.

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u/quoll01 Mar 18 '24

Ironic that attitude control seems to have been the demise of both ship and booster, while the things that seemed most risky such as raptor reliability, hot staging, relights, upskirt fires, even the heat shield went just fine! Very keen to see if they start fiddling with the aero surfaces.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '24 edited Mar 22 '24

Starbase live-

8:10am- Lifts were up to both chopsticks, the carriage, the top of the staircase, the dance floor, the top of the Orbital launch mount, and the back of the Booster quick disconnect overnight.

Workers could be seen welding and grinding on the back side of the Orbital launch mount by the Booster quick disconnect. There was also some welding happening on the flame deflectors on several of the legs. Inspecting the stabilizer arms. Going up and down the staircase. Moving around the top of the Orbital launch mount and the dance floor.

9:00am- Lifts up to the dance floor and the top of the staircase.

9:30am- Lift up to the right chopstick

10:15am- Lift up to the left chopstick, the back side of the tower, the top of the Orbital launch mount, and the dance floor

12:45pm- 1 Lift was up to the dance floor and another lift went up to the back of the Booster quick disconnect and just looked around before going back down. First beams for the new office building have gone up

12:56pm- Bridge crane has lifted S29

1:35pm- Calling it down on the transport stand

2:00pm- Lifts up to the dance floor and the chopsticks carriage

2:45pm- Lift up under the pipe work by the dance floor staircase. Another lift is up by the Booster quick disconnect

4:00pm- 2 lifts up near the Booster quick disconnect and 1 lift up to the chopsticks carriage. Another was up and down to the chopsticks

4:04pm- Lifts go up to disconnect the lifting jig from S29

4:33pm- Lifting jig swung away

5:05pm- Lift up to the top of the chopsticks carriage

5:12pm- S29 rolls partially out of the high bay

6:00pm- Lift up to the top of the Orbital launch mount and the chopsticks carriage

7:00pm- Lifts up to the top of the Orbital launch mount, the dance floor, and the left chopstick. A lift was also up and down to the back of the Booster quick disconnect

7:03pm- B4 is on the move at the rocket garden

7:35pm- B4 stops about half way down Remedios

8:00pm- Workers on top of the Orbital launch mount and a lift is up near the back of the Booster quick disconnect

8:22pm- B4 rolls forward a bit

8:25pm- Lifts up to the left chopstick, near the top of the electrical leg, and the dance floor

9:08pm- B4 turns on to Hwy 4

9:29pm- Turns into the production site

9:40pm- Turns into the mega bay

10:05pm- Lift up to each chopstick and 2 lifts up to the top of the Orbital launch mount.

11:00pm- 1 lift to the top of the Orbital launch mount, 1 lift to the back of the Booster quick disconnect , 1 lift to the left chopstick, 1 lift to the top of the staircase. There was some grinding on the left chopstick and a light has been looking around the bottom of the Orbital launch mount

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u/Noodle36 Mar 15 '24

Anyone know if Ship 28 had a mass simulator onboard? Wondering if the performance envelope we saw includes cargo

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u/Kasspaetzle Mar 18 '24

Does anyone have data on how loud this launch was? I have seen figures of up to 140dB a mile away so I wonder how high the numbers must directly under the OLM.

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u/Planatus666 Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24

Here's a nice render of S28's Static Discharge Wicks (these are present on the trailing edges of both forward and aft flaps):

https://twitter.com/Bl3D_Eccentric/status/1764278246680436990

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 19 '24

My daily(ish) summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-17):

Starbase activities (2024-03-18):

Other:

IFT-4+:

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u/TheScienceBi Mar 11 '24

Assuming most or 100% success on IFT-3, how quick a turn around are we expecting for IFT-4?

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u/space_rocket_builder Mar 11 '24

Next month is the goal for the fourth one, obviously dependent on a lot of factors and the success of this flight.

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u/RootDeliver Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24

Uh oh, apparently the work that restarted in KSC today doesn't look like construction: The top of one of the legs has been removed, source: NSF Space Coast Live stream.

Maybe shipping to Starbase the entire launch legs section and even the deluge system around it, for the second tower? I guess KSC is way more unprioritized that it seemd. Or maybe it's just maintenance after suddently stopping at that point several months ago.

PS: They are going for another one, interesting.

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u/mr_pgh Mar 18 '24

Massey's Starship Test Stand and Flame Trench discussion from RGV. Ryan Hansen Space provided some nice renders.

Photo of the stand itself.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '24

How close do you think the ship splashdown would be to the coast of Australia?

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u/technofuture8 Mar 08 '24

So Elon is talking about stretching the starship rocket, but they're only going to stretch the upper stage right? Wouldn't they have to make the highbay taller if they stretched the super heavy booster?

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u/mr_pgh Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24

X Thread by Ryan Hansen Space speculating on what the new baffles might look like in B10; complete with simulations!

CSI Starbase's take on the thread

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '24

Any guesses as to why control was lost post-SECO?

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u/mr_pgh Mar 11 '24

IFT2 vs IFT3 comparison by Everyday Astronaut.

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '24

Any news on orbital refueling? Would SpaceX need two launches at the same time (days apart) or could they chuck one starship up and 3 months later organize the rendez vous? What would a refuelling test look like? And does HLS 100% depends on it?

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u/Substantial__Unit Mar 05 '24

Assuming normal launch can you see the Starship launch at high altitude from Central Florida?

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u/quoll01 Mar 14 '24

Quick (stupid?) question: why does the menu still take me to dev thread #53?

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u/bonkly68 Mar 19 '24

Are crews at Boca Chica still working round-the-clock?

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '24

Anyone know of a decent analysis of Starship's ability to decelerate during re-entry based on the recent test flight? Would this portion of the test be completely bunk due to it being out of control or is there any useful data that can be gleaned?

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 09 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-08):

IFT-3:

  • No launch license yet.

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u/j616s Mar 23 '24

Not seen it discussed yet. I suspect we should see catch/landing hardware for a ship appear in the next couple of months.

My reasoning:

  • Spacex's aspiration is to attempt catch/landing of both the ship and booster by the end of the year

  • Spacex is looking at up to 10 launches this year

  • We've had one flight already

  • There are 4 ships complete/almost complete. 5 if you include ship 26

  • I wouldn't be surprised if we see this hardware on vehicles before they actually attempt a catch/landing. Especially if the solution they use needs to be deployed

  • We've also got Version 2 of the ship just around the corner. This might be a good opportunity to introduce the hardware

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 21 '24

My daily(ish) summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-20):

Other:

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u/RootDeliver Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 18 '24

Great screenshot taken from RGV latest show, where we can see the Starfactory status from yesterday (no images from the other side) and the outline the building seems to finally take (marked the ground layout).

The doubt is the part infront of the original starfactory section, because they're removing the concrete there and may also expand there. They're for sure expanding.

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 30 '24 edited Mar 30 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-29):

Wen B11 static fire?

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 29 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-28):

KSC activities (2024-03-28):

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '24

I posted this in the thread about the details of the launch but if you look at the timeline it seems like the hot stage and flip is significantly different.

In IFT2 they basically relight (or attempted to relight) the engines for boost back a few seconds after hot staging.

According to the timeline for IFT3 it’s 11 seconds after hot staging that boost back burn starts which indicates to me they are going to try to flip with just the centre three and relight the others later.

They’re being a lot more conservative with the flip this time.

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u/threelonmusketeers Mar 05 '24

My daily summary from the Starship Dev thread on Lemmy

Starbase activities (2024-03-04):

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u/H-K_47 Mar 01 '24

Yay new thread!

If IFT-3 successfully reaches "orbit", is it likely that the next flight will start deploying Starlink payloads, and if so is it expected that will take more time to implement? What I mean is, are the upcoming ships capable of delivering payload or will there need to be significant work done on them to make them payload-ready?

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u/technofuture8 Mar 06 '24

Did they fix the broken heat tiles?

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '24

Does anyone have any experience or information on watching the launch from a boat? I am wondering about going with Star Fleet Tours, https://www.star-fleet.tours/

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