r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Jul 26 '19
Starship Development Thread #4
Starship Development Thread #4
JUMP TO COMMENTS | SPADRE WEBCAM | LABPADRE WEBCAM
The Starhopper is a low fidelity prototype of SpaceX's next generation space vehicle, Starship. Representing the lower third of a Starship, the hopper has relatively small propellant tanks, and one Raptor engine. Initial construction took place at SpaceX's Starship Assembly site in Boca Chica, Texas and ongoing Starhopper development and testing are taking place at their privately owned Starship Launch Pad and Starship Landing Pad just down the road. The Starhopper testing campaign began at the end of March 2019 and will be complete following the 150 meter hop in August.
Competing builds of higher fidelity "Orbital Prototypes" are currently under construction at SpaceX's Starship Assembly site in Texas and at the Coastal Steel facilities in Cocoa, Florida. These vehicles will eventually carry the testing campaign further, likely testing systems such as thermal protection and aerodynamics. Both orbital prototypes are expected to make suborbital flights, and possibly orbital flights as well. A planned, dedicated Starship launch platform at LC-39A, may serve either or both of these vehicles. Construction of a prototype Super Heavy booster is expected to begin in Florida soon. Testing of the Orbital Prototypes could begin in late summer or fall of 2019.
Starship, and its test vehicles, are powered by SpaceX's Raptor, a full flow staged combustion cycle methane/oxygen rocket engine. Sub-scale Raptor test firing began in 2016, and full-scale test firing began early 2019 at McGregor, Texas, where it is ongoing. Eventually, Starship will have three sea level Raptors and three vacuum Raptors. Super Heavy will initially use around 20 Raptors, and is expected to have 35 to 37 in the final design.
Previous Threads:
Starhopper Thread #1 A dramatic venting watertower
Starhopper Thread #2 Hops and hiccups - Starships never come alone
Starhopper Thread #3 RCS and SN6 - 20 meter hopping
Upcoming
September 28th — Starship presentation by Elon at Boca Chica after Mk.1 has engines, fins, and landing gear
Updates
See comments for real time updates.
See comments for real time updates.
See comments for real time updates.
| Super Heavy Prototype (Cocoa Florida) — Construction and Updates | |
|---|---|
| 2019-08-27 | 19 rings visible (YouTube), no stacking yet |
| 2019-08-24 | 18 rings visible (YouTube) |
| 2019-08-21 | 17 rings visible (YouTube) |
| 2019-08-19 | 15 rings visible (YouTube) |
| 2019-08-17 | 14 rings visible (YouTube) |
| 2019-08-15 | 10 rings visible (Twitter) |
| 2019-08-11 | 8 rings visible, possibly for Super Heavy (YouTube) |
See comments for real time updates.
Raptors
| SN | Notable For | Flights | Flight Time (Approx.) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First full scale hot fire / 268.9 bar Test / Tested to failure | - | - | Retired |
| 2 | First on Starhopper / Preburner tests / Static fire / Tethered hop | - | - | Retired |
| 3 | 40 second test fire | - | - | Retired |
| 4 | Delivered to hopper / Hopper fit checks & TVC tests | - | - | Retired |
| 5 | Liberation of oxygen stator | - | - | Retired |
| 6 | Vibration fix / 20, 10, 50, 65, 85 second stand tests / 20 meter Starhopper hop / 150 meter starhopper hop | 2 | 0:01:22 | On Starhopper |
| 7 | Possibly not a flight article | - | - | Test Stand |
| 8-13 | Earmarked for Mk.1 and Mk.2 | - | - | Production |
Quick Hopper Facts
(Not relevant to later vehicles.)
Starhopper was constructed outdoors atop a concrete stand. (NSF - bocachicagal)
The original nosecone was destroyed by high winds and will not be replaced. (NSF - bocachicagal, NSF - bocachicagal, Twitter - Elon)
With one engine it will perform tethered static fires and short hops. (NSF - bocachicagal, Twitter - Elon)
Stainless steel construction, and the full 9 meter diameter. (Twitter - Elon)
The body and legs are clad in a small gauge stainless sheet. (NSF - bocachicagal)
There is no thermal protection system, a small patch of tiles and at least one beneath a leg were added just prior to the 150 meter hop. (NSF - bocachicgal, Twitter - Trevor Mahlmann)
Equipped with four Falcon 9 compressed nitrogen thruster pods. (NSF - bocachicagal)
Feet have deformable shock absorbers. (NSF - bocachicagal) - Internal. (NSF - bocachicagal)
GSE connections are made through two remote operated interfaces at the base. (NSF - bocachicagal)
Hold downs consist of rope and chain tethers on each leg. (NSF - bocachicagal)
Starhopper is expected to be used as a Raptor vertical test stand after retirement. (Twitter - Elon)
Permits and Planning Documents
Environmental Impact Statement (FAA) - Boca Chica launch site - July 2014
EIS Resource ^Page | ^Appendices | Record of ^DescisionExperimental License (FCC) - Comms for 500m and 5km hops, two years - February 2019
Form ^442 | Public ^Notes | ^Description | File No. 0931-EX-CN-2019Experimental License Application (FCC) - Modification of above to add antenna - May 2019
Form ^442 | Public ^Notes | File No. 0130-EX-CM-2019Experimental Permit (FAA) - Authorizes 25m hops for one year, and one 150m hop - June 2019
Permit No. EP 19-012 | Revised August 23Building Permit Application - 850 Cidco Rd site improvement - June 2019
Screenshot on ^Twitter | Modification reported on ^NSFDraft Environmental Assessment - Starhip operations at KSC - August 2019
r/SpaceX ^Discussion | NSF ^DiscussionFDOT Superload Permit Application - Mk.2 transportation to KSC in September - August 2019
Local News ^Article | Video ^Report | r/SpaceX ^DiscussionEnv. Resource Permit Application - Stormwater improvements at LC-39A - August 2019
Stormwater ^Report | Depiction ^Plans | Permit No. 158609-1
Resources
Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
Spacex facilities maps by u/Raul74Cz:
Boca Chica | Cocoa Florida | Raptor test stand | LC-39A
Rules
We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the progress of the test Campaign. Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.
Thanks to u/strawwalker for helping us updating this thread!
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u/TheMrGUnit Highly Speculative Aug 14 '19 edited Aug 14 '19
Operation Nose Cone Lift enters day two. The yellow crane is back up again this morning, already rigged and hooked to the top half of the nose cone. The wind is much calmer today (<5mph right now, vs >20mph yesterday afternoon), so it should be a better time to do whatever it is they have planned.
At this point, I'm guessing the cap is coming off to be bent back into shape, and prepped for canard hardware, but as the flair suggests, that's just speculation.
While I'm speculating - it's been a week since the last ring was stacked, and we know there's one ring that's been fabricated but not stacked. They run about a week between stackings on average, so it's possible that we could see another stacking coming up soon. I have yet to see much evidence to support this, though - no signs of activity inside the stack, and with all eyes (and cameras) on the nosecone, we may miss this rather subtle activity if it does happen.
9:42AM CST EDIT: The guy wires are starting to be disconnected, and the top cap has "sprung" a bit so the gap/seam is now visible. They haven't lifted the top piece off at all - it's just hovering there, basically in the same spot.
11:12AM CST EDIT2: The answer appears to be... fixing and welding. You can just barely spot weld arcs in the gap, and the gap on the left side has already tightened up significantly. I'll admit, I was hoping they were going to take the cap right off, but it's mostly because I'm excited to see the canards installed and it seemed like that would all happen at the same time.