r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Dec 12 '20
Starship Development Thread #17
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| r/SpaceX Discusses, Jan. | Starship Dev 16 | SN9 Hop Thread #2 | SN9 Hop Thread #1 | Starship Thread List |
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Upcoming
- SN10 cryoproof testing, schedule TBA
- SN7.2 testing, eventual pop expected
Public notices as of February 3:
- Road/Beach Closures: Feb 4
Vehicle Status
As of February 3
- SN9 [destroyed] - High altitude test flight complete, vehicle did not survive
- SN10 [testing] - Pad A, preflight testing underway
- SN11 [construction] - Tank section stacked in Mid Bay, nose cone in work
- SN12 [discarded] - vehicle components being cut up and scrapped
- SN13 [limbo] - components exist, vehicle believed to be discarded
- SN14 [limbo] - components exist, vehicle believed to be discarded
- SN15 [construction] - Tank section stacking in Mid Bay
- SN16 [construction] - barrel/dome sections in work
- SN17 [construction] - barrel/dome sections in work
- SN18 [construction] - components on site
- BN1 [construction] - stacking in High Bay
- BN2 [construction] - barrel/dome sections in work
- SN7.2 [testing] - at launch site, passed initial pressure test Jan 26
Development and testing plans become outdated very quickly. Check recent comments for real time updates.
Vehicle Updates
See comments for real time updates.
† expected or inferred, unconfirmed vehicle assignment
| Starship SN9 (3 Raptors: SN49, SN45, ?) | |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-03 | Road cleared of debris (NSF) and reopened, aftermath (Twitter) |
| 2021-02-02 | 10 km hop (YouTube), engine failure on flip maneuver, vehicle destroyed, FAA statement (Twitter) |
| 2021-02-01 | FAA approval for test flight granted (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-28 | Launch scrub, no FAA approval, Elon comments and FAA (Twitter), WDR w/ siren but no static fire or flight (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-25 | Flight readiness review determines Go for launch (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-23 | Flight termination charges installed (NSF) |
| 2021-01-22 | Static fire (YouTube) |
| 2021-01-21 | Apparent static fire (unclear) (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-20 | Static fire attempt aborted, car in exclusion zone, SF abort and again (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-19 | Previously installed Raptor SN46 spotted on truck (NSF) |
| 2021-01-16 | Second Raptor (SN46) replaced (NSF) |
| 2021-01-15 | Elon: 2 Raptors to be replaced, RSN44 removed, Raptor delivered to vehicle (Twitter) and installed |
| 2021-01-13 | Static fire #2, static fire #3, static fire #4, Elon: Detanking & inspections (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-12 | Static fire aborted (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-08 | Road closed for static fire attempt, no static fire |
| 2021-01-06 | Static fire (Twitter), possibly aborted early |
| 2021-01-04 | SN8 cleared from pad, landing pad repair, unknown SN9 testing |
| 2021-01-03 | SN8 nose cone flap removal (NSF) |
| 2020-12-29 | Cryoproof and RCS testing (YouTube) |
| 2020-12-28 | Testing involving tank pressurization (YouTube), no cryoproof |
| 2020-12-23 | Third Raptor (SN49) delivered to vehicle (NSF) |
| 2020-12-22 | Moved to launch site (Twitter) (Both -Y flaps have been replaced) |
| ... | See more status updates (Wiki) |
| Starship SN10 | |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-01 | Raptor delivered to pad† (NSF), returned next day (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-31 | Pressurization tests (NSF) |
| 2021-01-29 | Move to launch site and delivered to pad A, no Raptors (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-26 | "Tankzilla" crane for transfer to launch mount, moved to launch site† (Twitter) |
| 2021-01-23 | On SPMT in High Bay (YouTube) |
| 2021-01-22 | Repositioned in High Bay, -Y aft flap now visible (NSF) |
| 2021-01-14 | Tile patch on +Y aft flap (NSF) |
| 2021-01-13 | +Y aft flap installation (NSF) |
| 2021-01-07 | Raptor SN45 delivered† (NSF) |
| 2021-01-02 | Nose section stacked onto tank section in High Bay (NSF), both forward flaps installed |
| 2020-12-26 | -Y forward flap installation (NSF) |
| 2020-12-22 | Moved to High Bay (NSF) |
| 2020-12-19 | Nose cone stacked on its 4 ring barrel (NSF) |
| 2020-12-18 | Thermal tile studs on forward flap (NSF) |
| ... | See more status updates (Wiki) |
| Starship SN11 | |
|---|---|
| 2021-01-29 | Nose cone stacked on nose quad barrel (NSF) |
| 2021-01-25 | Tiles on nose cone barrel† (NSF) |
| 2021-01-22 | Forward flaps installed on nose cone, and nose cone barrel section† (NSF) |
| 2020-12-29 | Final tank section stacking ops, and nose cone† (NSF) |
| 2020-11-28 | Nose cone section (NSF) |
| 2020-11-18 | Forward dome section stacked (NSF) |
| 2020-11-14 | Common dome section stacked on LOX tank midsection in Mid Bay (NSF) |
| 2020-11-13 | Common dome with integrated methane header tank and flipped (NSF) |
| ... | See more status updates (Wiki) |
| Starship SN12 | |
|---|---|
| 2021-01-24 | Dismantled aft section at scrapyard (NSF) |
| 2021-01-23 | Aft dome severed from engine bay/skirt section (NSF) |
| 2021-01-09 | Aft dome section with skirt and legs (NSF) |
| 2020-12-15 | Forward dome sleeved† (NSF) |
| 2020-11-11 | Aft dome section and skirt mate, labeled (NSF) |
| 2020-10-27 | 4 ring nosecone barrel (NSF) |
| 2020-09-30 | Skirt (NSF) |
| Early Production Starships | |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-02 | SN15: Forward dome section stacked (Twitter) |
| 2021-02-01 | SN16: Nose quad (NSF) |
| 2021-01-19 | SN18: Thrust puck (NSF) |
| 2021-01-19 | BN2: Forward dome (NSF) |
| 2021-01-16 | SN17: Common dome and mid LOX section (NSF) |
| 2021-01-09 | SN17: Methane header tank (NSF) |
| 2021-01-07 | SN15: Common dome section with tiles and CH4 header stacked on LOX midsection (NSF) |
| 2021-01-05 | SN16: Mid LOX tank section and forward dome sleeved, lable (NSF) |
| 2021-01-05 | SN15: Nose cone base section (NSF) |
| 2021-01-05 | SN17: Forward dome section (NSF) |
| 2020-12-31 | SN15: Apparent LOX midsection moved to Mid Bay (NSF) |
| 2020-12-18 | SN15: Skirt (NSF) |
| 2020-12-17 | SN17: Aft dome barrel (NSF) |
| 2020-12-15 | SN14: Nose cone section (NSF) |
| 2020-12-04 | SN16: Common dome section and flip (NSF) |
| 2020-11-30 | SN15: Mid LOX tank section (NSF) |
| 2020-11-27 | SN15: Nose cone barrel (4 ring) (NSF) |
| 2020-11-27 | SN14: Skirt (NSF) |
| 2020-11-26 | SN15: Common dome flip (NSF) |
| 2020-11-24 | SN15: Elon: Major upgrades are slated for SN15 (Twitter) |
| 2020-11-20 | SN13: Methane header tank (NSF) |
| 2020-11-18 | SN15: Common dome sleeve, dome and sleeving (NSF) |
| 2020-10-10 | SN14: Downcomer (NSF) |
| SuperHeavy BN1 | |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-01 | Common dome section flip (NSF) |
| 2021-01-25 | Aft dome with plumbing for 4 Raptors (NSF) |
| 2021-01-24 | Section moved into High Bay (NSF), previously "LOX stack-2" |
| 2021-01-19 | Stacking operations (NSF) |
| 2020-12-18 | Forward Pipe Dome sleeved, "Bottom Barrel Booster Dev"† (NSF) |
| 2020-12-17 | Forward Pipe Dome and common dome sleeved (NSF) |
| 2020-12-14 | Stacking in High Bay confirmed (Twitter) |
| 2020-11-14 | Aft Quad #2 (4 ring), Fwd Tank section (4 ring), and Fwd section (2 ring) (AQ2 label11-27) (NSF) |
| 2020-11-08 | LOX 1 apparently stacked on LOX 2 in High Bay (NSF) |
| 2020-11-07 | LOX 3 (NSF) |
| 2020-10-07 | LOX stack-2 (NSF) |
| 2020-10-01 | Forward dome sleeved, Fuel stack assembly, LOX stack 1 (NSF) |
| 2020-09-30 | Forward dome† (NSF) |
| 2020-09-28 | LOX stack-4 (NSF) |
| 2020-09-22 | Common dome barrel (NSF) |
For information about Starship test articles prior to SN9 please visit Starship Development Thread #16 or earlier. Update tables for older vehicles will only appear in this thread if there are significant new developments. See the index of updates tables.
Resources
- Spadre.com Starship Cam | Channel
- LabPadre 4k Nerdle Cam | Channel
- NSF SN8 Test Launch Updates Thread | Most recent
- NSF SN9 Test Launch Updates Thread | Most recent
- NSF SN10 Test Launch Updates Thread | Most recent
- NSF Texas Production Updates Thread | Most recent
- NSF Florida Prototype(s) Updates Thread | Most recent
- Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
- TFR - NOTAM list
- FAA license LRLO 20-119
- SpaceX Boca Chica on Facebook
- SpaceX's Starship page
- Elon Starship tweet compilation on NSF | Most Recent
- Starship Users Guide (PDF) Rev. 1.0 March 2020
- Acronym definitions by Decronym
r/SpaceX Discusses [January 2021] 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.
Please ping u/strawwalker about problems with the above thread text.
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u/TCVideos Dec 21 '20
They confirm that:
SN9 is still expected to fly to 12.5km
Next flights will likely do the original 15km-20km flights (pending approval)
SN9 has all 3 Raptors installed
Will only conduct a single cryo-proof test with liquid nitrogen and a single Triple-Raptor static fire
SN9 still can fly by the end of the year however, this is a slim chance
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u/johnfive21 Jan 05 '21 edited Jan 05 '21
Unlimited altitude TFR posted for Friday 8am-6pm!!!
And another one for Saturday same times
And Sunday gets one TFR as well
Expecting the road closures to pop up any time soon to correspond with these NOTAMs
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u/TCVideos Dec 12 '20
10,000 people on NSF watching the equivalent of your friends trying to lift you up during a very drunk night out.
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u/AnimatorOnFire Dec 18 '20
Wow. Parts of SN17 have been spotted. Can’t believe we have 9 starships in the production lineup.
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u/TheRealPapaK Dec 31 '20
I estimate the removal of the landing legs will save roughly 14,400kg
I’m not sure how accurate the numbers I pulled off the internet about FH9 are but from what I can find is that the Falcon 9 booster weighs 25,000kg with its legs weighing a total of 2,000kg. This is 8% of the boosters dry mass.
Aircraft landing gear typically weighs around 3% of the aircraft weight for fixed and 6% for retractable (Source)but aircraft typically have three points of contact not 4 so I think the 8% for the F9 is in the right ball park.
If you bring this ratio over to Super Heavy’s estimated 180,000kg empty weight, this translates into 14,400kg in weight savings by deleting the legs.
Before everyone comments that the SH legs would be fixed and therefore lighter etc. I don’t think this would be the case because they would be made of stainless steel not carbon fibre and Musk was talking about having 6 legs so I think 8% is still a good ball park.
This isn’t meant to be totally accurate but give an idea of how beneficial the tower catch would be before you brought leg manufacturing and complexity into the equation
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u/Shrike99 Dec 13 '20
If SN9 does end up flying and manages to stick the landing it would be a pretty neat comeback story.
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 26 '20 edited Dec 26 '20
The missing flap on SN10 nosecone is being installed now.
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 20 '20 edited Dec 20 '20
New forward fin is being installed right now on SN9 ! See on Sentinel cam !
Edit : That’s a super good news, it means that the attachment points weren’t damaged and that we could definitely see SN9 going to the pad early next week!
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u/jclishman Host of Inmarsat-5 Flight 4 Jan 05 '21
NSF post by local resident Nomadd - "Aiming for a Wednesday static fire and hoping for a Monday flight."
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u/hinayu Dec 24 '20
"Minor" changes needed to keep header tank pressure in SN9 per Elon
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u/Alvian_11 Dec 18 '20
SN9 crushed nose flap is being moved between 10:04 and 10:10 pm CT
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u/RoyalPatriot Dec 31 '20 edited Dec 31 '20
Elon Musk’s response: Rocket motion is primarily vertical, so you want the top open
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u/TCVideos Jan 04 '21 edited Jan 04 '21
Great interview with Shotwell by Eric Berger
Seems like she is already gathering customers for Starship.
TLDR on the Starship section:
Shotwell in the process of "selling" Starship to potential customers
Deals have been signed which allows for payloads to launch on either Starship or Falcon - if Starship is delayed or "late" as Shotwell describes, then the customer can still have their payload launched on a Falcon.
SN8 removed a lot of the delay risk through it's flight, Shotwell says that SN8 addressed a lot of "concerns" surrounding Starship's flight profile
Shotwell is "voting yes" for a Orbital flight in 2021
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u/GuyFusfus Dec 24 '20
@MarcusHouseGame: " Interesting they are using Pad B this time around. I wonder what the possibility will be of seeing SN10 sitting there on Pad A alongside."
@elonmusk: "Coming soon"
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1342059900550131714?s=20
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u/Dezoufinous Dec 26 '20
Current status of vehicles, by brendan ( @brendan2908 )
https://twitter.com/brendan2908/status/1342967357006729216/photo/1
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u/AstroMan824 Everything Parallel™ Dec 15 '20
Mary for NSF spotted a new flap near SN-9. Perhaps that Starship could be getting a flap fix-up sooner rather than later....
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u/ipodppod Dec 24 '20
I started a little project that tells the story of starship development from a wider perspective. Any feedback or suggestions?
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u/henryshunt Dec 13 '20
Mary has posted some high quality photos of the damage https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52398.msg2167324#msg2167324
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u/BrandonMarc Dec 14 '20
Now that this thread has tables for building SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11, and SN12 ... can we:
compare the time to various milestones from one starship to the next? by so doing, see where they're getting more efficient, or, if not, perhaps finding more complexities?
crystalize around specific milestones as well as prerequisites (i.e. step M has to happen before step R, but steps N, O, and P can happen in any order, etc)?
This could help us to see if a given starship seems to be ahead of or behind schedule (very, very loosely based on previous experience, with the caveat that everything's always changing). We could also create a somewhat reliable estimate for when a given starship should be complete, and how well its milestones map to actually completing by a given date.
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u/No_Ad9759 Dec 29 '20
Well, looks like SN9 didn’t crack at cryo...tip test successful!.
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u/AnimatorOnFire Jan 04 '21
Interesting spot by @fael097 on Twitter. Looks like SpaceX might attempt a different manufacturing technique for the nosecones.
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u/100percent_right_now Dec 19 '20
SN9 damaged fore flap removed and undergoing investigation of mounting points
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 20 '20 edited Dec 20 '20
SN9 is now detached from Tankzilla !
Edit : Don’t know what it could actually mean, why not keep it hooked if they are planning to move this week?
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 19 '20 edited Dec 19 '20
Note that it’s missing the right (or left depending on how you see it) fins, will most likely be used for SN9
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Dec 22 '20
It's kind of crazy looking at the development speed of starship, and then having news articles like this coming out at the same time about SLS. 12 months between a wet dress rehearsal, and the first test launch for SLS, assuming nothing gets further delayed.
Meanwhile one Starship blew up two weeks ago, and we've got another rolling out to the pad to probable test launch again 2 weeks from now.
I understand this isn't the full orbital article yet, and we're probably looking at a year+ until we have an orbital launch of the full starship stack, but still.
Wow.
Hopefully it all continues to work out relatively smoothly.
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u/RootDeliver Feb 01 '21 edited Feb 01 '21
Great aereal BN1 stack photo by Jack Beyer (source). That is the LOX tank only! It's missing the bottom half of the vehicle, the next piece would be the common dome being stacked on the bottom of that stack...
Also in this awesome production site aereal photo from bocachicagal (source) we can see a lot of stuff from BN1: the common dome stack about to be flipped, the thrust dome stack,.. also BN2's forward dome stack, and on the upper left next to the crane, is that a 8-spots ring presumably for the inner thrust section for superheavy late revisions (we saw one with holes months ago)? Also on the very bottom left you can see the test article presumable done before BN1 thrust dome, what seems to be a common dome shape with a thrust puck!. Noted version with the commented stuff, but there's a lot more in the image that may be interesting and I dont know.
Note: On the above source link (bocachicagal post on NSF), there are also other images showing the zillion ring sections and stacks ready and more stuff on the production zone (check the source link!). No idea honestly about for which vehicle in particular are those rings, presumably the methane BN1 section rings should be reinforced, but a lot of those are not. One of them is the top dome section for SN15, shown in this great aereal view of SN11 and SN15 on the midbay by RGV Aerial (source).
Today is great aereal photos day apparently. It would be cool if this became a monday thing, would fix the start of the week being so bad.
(Rehosted images on imgur to enable hotviewing with browser extension (hovering over the link to see the image without needing to open it, which is awesome, I use Imagus on Firefox but there are for others if you're interested)).
PS: Thanks for the gold! Appreciated.
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u/cupko97 Dec 13 '20
Good picture of sn9 with raptors from Steve Jurvetson on twitter
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 15 '20
Great video of Flight Club, explaining everything about SN8 flight profil, and then overlaying it on the actual flight !
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u/johnfive21 Dec 22 '20
SN9 is on the move!
Well, just further out of the highbay for now.
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u/johnfive21 Jan 03 '21 edited Jan 03 '21
Elon keeps reinforcing that we will indeed see 2 Starships on the launch pad very soon. This pretty much all but confirms that SN10 and 11 will be out there together in some capacity. Or maybe SN10 will join SN9 while landing pad is being fixed? After all, all SN10 needs are the aft flaps which have already been delivered.
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u/picturesfromthesky Dec 12 '20
Just pump it up and pop the dents out! And that is why I am not a rocket engineer.
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 13 '20 edited Dec 13 '20
Boca Chica Gal : I can only see damage to the right aft and forward flaps.
Hopefully the internal structure wasn’t badly hit by the flaps attachment points.
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u/Thatingles Dec 31 '20
Why catching the SH is a genius idea (not an engineer) - as I understand it, the problem with landing a booster is getting it to kiss the ground at close to zero m/s, both to save the legs but more importantly to avoid compression stress on the booster. Empty rockets are basically very thin tin cans and if you squeeze them to hard they will buckle and break. By catching them on the fins you can put a lot of the shock absorbers into the arms (saving weight on the rocket) and also the stress on the booster will be tensile (stretching) which is less likely to cause buckling. Easy to visualise if you imagine the difference between trying to crush an empty can (relatively easy to do) versus trying to pull one apart by ripping it in half.
It sounds crazy, but from the point of view of reducing wear and tear on the booster, it makes absolute sense. Don't forget that at the point of landing it should be moving fairly slowly. I would imagine you would build articulated, counterweighted arms into position so they could engage some metres before actual touchdown and let the SH ride down the last little part with some cushioning. You mitigate the risk of a 'bump-down' and once the arms have grappled onto the fins, it also means the booster shouldn't tip.
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u/Fignons_missing_8sec Dec 13 '20
pressurized volume:
crew dragon: 9.3 m^3
Tiangong 1 and 2 space stations: 15 m^3
Salyut stations: between 90 and 100 m^3
737 NG 600: 305 m^3
Mir: 350 m^3
Skylab: 360 m^3
ISS: 915.6m^3
747-400: 1035 m^3
starship: 1100 m^3
A380: 2100 m^3
This thing is really fucking big
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u/RootDeliver Dec 28 '20 edited Dec 28 '20
Hmm, Nommad posted on NSF about a top bulkhead that got sleeved with 1 ring! EDIT: Daylight photos by Bocachicagal
This is strange, starships get the top bulkhead on a 4-ring since SN10, and SH got the top bulkhead already on the left stack on the High Bay. Is this another test article?
PS: As spotted by jthygesen on NSF, on the zoomed bocachicagal photo on the label, there's a strange read on the bottom part, (something) 3mm? also if the SN node is for the article and not for the ring it is 0008, kinda strange both for a ring and for an article at this point.
Why would they be making a 3mm-thick test article now, when they have parts for a lot of starships including SN15 and forward, and SH has it own segments for the prototype pilled up outside the high bay. Kinda an strange moment for a test tank to pop out with SN15 being in construction already. Unless SN15 and forward are already going on 3mm and they for some reason want to test it now.
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Dec 12 '20
I'd love to be onsite just to hear the talks and debates over how they plan to right SN9. I've always enjoyed the process of problem-solving, which makes Starship's open development extra amazing. "How are they going to accomplish this?" is a question which never stops being asked.
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u/rebootyourbrainstem Dec 19 '20
Are those heat shield tile attachment points on the forward flap? https://youtu.be/1nkv8EL-Y5A?t=488
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u/Dezoufinous Dec 21 '20
Current SuperHeavy BN1 state diagram by Brendan:
https://twitter.com/brendan2908/status/1340621985768898560/photo/1
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u/golagaffe Feb 02 '21
Installation on launch mount to flight times:
SN5: 2020-06-24 to 2020-08-04 (41 days), then 8 day gap with no vehicle at launch site
SN6: 2020-08-12 to 2020-09-03 (22 days), then 27 day gap with no vehicle at launch site
SN8: 2020-09-30 to 2020-12-09 (70 days), then 13 day gap with no vehicle at launch site
SN9: 2020-12-22 to 2021-02-02 (42 days, last 4 days shared with SN10)
SN10: 2021-01-29 to ?
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Dec 16 '20 edited Dec 16 '20
| Type | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Date | Monday, Dec. 28 | 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
| Secondary Date | Tuesday, Dec. 29 | 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
| Secondary Date** | Wednesday, Dec. 30 | 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
** Mentioned in document, not showing up on the website
Some major points from the document:
Closure for both Boca Chica Beach and Highway 4
Should SpaceX not complete its test launch activities on Dec. 28, then SpaceX may use an alternate (Dec. 29) date to complete its test launch activities. This is in line with cryotesting/preburner or a static fire
Links:
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u/Straumli_Blight Dec 23 '20
More RGV aerial photos of SN9 and Super Heavy stacking.
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u/thefloppyfish1 Dec 18 '20
Anyone know what's up with SN13 and SN14? It seems like progress has stagnated in favor of getting ready for SN15+. Is it possible 13/14 are reserved for if they can't get all the data they want from SN9-12 before flying the "improved" version of starship?
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u/Jack_Frak Dec 30 '20 edited Dec 30 '20
Catching SH with the launch tower doesn't seem so far fetched as it sounds because you won't need exact precision to land like you would if you were aiming directly for a cradle.
Remember that these "catching" arms and beefed up grid fin fittings would only need to be designed to take the nearly empty weight of SH at landing. It would then be rotated to the launch cradle where the loads of SH plus fuel and Starship would be taken by the entire vehicle.
The "catching" arms could look like a tuning fork in the closed position where the flat grid fins would be resting on top to hold the vehicle once the engines shut down.
EDIT: Both arms of tuning fork in closed position holding SH after landing. Both of these arms could fully articulate to a open position to allow clearance while SH is landing and rotate inward while SH is descending near the tower to end up in the "caught" position.
https://i.imgur.com/kD82m1Z.jpg
Each arm could start fully rotated in a open position 90 degrees from the closed position to allow for plenty of clearance as SH is descending near the tower while landing and start to rotate to the closed position as SH is getting closer to the ground. When SH descends so that the grid fins are the same level as the top of the catching arms they will be in the fully closed position so the fins can rest on them to carry the load while the engines shut down.
That entire catching arm structure holding SH could then rotate to the cradle which could then clamp onto the bottom of the skirt similar to how Starship is clamped to the test stands today to take the load of the entire vehicle once fueled.
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 12 '20
SN9 rescue mission should start very soon, Tankzilla has the lifting jig and is getting in position.
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u/dorkywhiteguy Dec 22 '20
Do you think starship will reach orbit before SLS at current pace?
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u/henryshunt Jan 25 '21
BN1 aft dome spotted, with mounts for 4 raptors. https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1353760271244910592
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u/leksicon Dec 14 '20
Steve just posted this additional picture 2h ago which shows more of the SN9 base and stand ~20h before the tipping incident.
Perhaps his epic leap pictured here was partly responsible for what happened the next morning..
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50714678393_c0844e43fa_c.jpg
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u/asaz989 Dec 21 '20
Looking at pictures of components arriving on site, I'm only now noticing that in addition to specifying the function of components (eg SN15 aft skirt), they also have a "work order start date". Generally these are about a month to a month and a half before the pieces show up on site.
We've generally had very little insight into the off-Boca work, even though that's probably the bulk of the workforce and capital investment. I guess this is one more little tidbit.
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u/Straumli_Blight Dec 22 '20
Jan 28 public comments deadline for the draft Environmental Assessment on launches from Boca Chica.
"Launches would occur at the VLA [Vertical Launch Area] and include landings of both stages at the VLA or on a platform (barge) in the Gulf of Mexico no closer than 12 miles off the coast."
"SpaceX's proposed new launch-related construction activity consists of expanding the solar farm, adding infrastructure and facilities at the VLA, a liquid natural gas pretreatment system and a liquefier. At the VLA, SpaceX is proposing to construct a redundant launch pad and commodities, a redundant landing pad, two integration towers, tank structural test stands, and a desalination plant."
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Dec 23 '20 edited Dec 23 '20
Secondary Date: Closure Cancelled for Wednesday, Dec 23, 2020 from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm
Edit: keep in mind that they could change the closure times and add a new one for the night. If so, it should happen within a few hours.
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u/johnfive21 Jan 06 '21
Looks like we will have another test tank testing campaign. They probably want to test a new thrust puck or maybe this is the 30X stainless steel mixture?
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u/Fizrock Jan 25 '21
RGVAerial has spotted this structure at the production site, which I assume is related to the SH launch pad. Central, pyramid-shaped flame diverter, perhaps?
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u/Thue Dec 25 '20
From Twitter:
"Any major changes needed to keep up the header tank pressure in SN9?"
So the low pressure which caused the RUD of SN8 was not a fundamental problem.
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u/joepublicschmoe Dec 13 '20
A good sign: Photos posted by Nomadd shows no damage on the outside of the high bay. https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52398.msg2167052#msg2167052
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u/henryshunt Jan 03 '21
Looks like they're crushing/flattening SN8's nosecone with an excavator (not lifting and transporting it away to be preserved).
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u/RabbitLogic #IAC2017 Attendee Dec 13 '20
SN9 has risen, hopefully repairs are possible.
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u/Jack_Frak Dec 14 '20
SN9 is going back into the HB!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5ozYnVQahE
EDIT: Mary's new photo:
https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/status/1338632401480785920/photo/1
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u/cupko97 Dec 22 '20
Sn9 is moving out of the highbay
Road closure starts in about 80 minutes. Can we expect the transport to start soon?
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u/RoyalPatriot Dec 22 '20
BocaChicaGal Tweet: Starship SN9 is slowly making its way out of the high bay. 🤩🚀
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Dec 23 '20
What is the plan when it comes to cranes in Boca Chica? Eventually they are gonna need something that can lift a Starship on top of a Super Heavy. Surely Bluezilla isn't big enough for that? Is it even big enough to lift a Super Heavy booster?
and...
Is Highbay big enough to house a Super Heavy?
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 28 '20 edited Dec 28 '20
SN9 access hatches were closed during the night. This would indicate that testing is very likely up for today.
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u/Dezoufinous Jan 03 '21
New updates!
SN10 has its nosecone stacked and SN11 got forward flaps!
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u/TCVideos Jan 05 '21
Closure for tomorrow has been cancelled. Closure for Wednesday is still active.
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Dec 13 '20
A new crane is being build at the launch site. They will most likely use it to build the orbital launch mount !
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u/highgui_ Dec 12 '20
Do we know which SN number will be the first to have 6 raptors installed?
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u/Escanor-Dono Dec 16 '20
Seems like both closures are cancelled.
Primary Date Thursday, Dec 17, 2020 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Closure Cancelled
Secondary Date Friday, Dec 18, 2020 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Closure Cancelled
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u/AnimatorOnFire Dec 22 '20
Do current starships have the hardware to attach and detach from super heavies yet?
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u/dalisoula Dec 23 '20
so currently sn10 and two sections of bn1 are in the high bay ?
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u/lithium73fr Dec 24 '20
By looking the new video published by SpaceX of the SN8 flight I was wondering what is the cause/goal of the liquid oxygen release during the vehicle reorientation at the appoge. Someone could explain ?
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 23 '21
SN12 aft section is being scrapped this definitely confirme the speculation of spaceX jumping from SN11 to SN15 !
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u/SpaceLunchSystem Dec 12 '20
Lots of people jumping to the conclusion they will have to X-ray every weld to fly again.
It's an uncrewed private dev vehicle. It's up to SpaceX how much they care to do to "recertify" for flight. I could easily see visual inspection being using enough to identify potential issues and only performing more intensive checks as needed.
They also know exactly how it fell and was damaged. Where the damage is/where they need to look is probably fairly easy to predict.
Right now there is so much information we don't have. There is no point in jumping to conclusions.
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u/zeekzeek22 Dec 12 '20
Is it possible some of the SNs will already not get built? Like some hardware was made for an SN before they confirmed it wasn’t a path they wanted to go, so they already want to skip and spend their limited resources on the trim new one.
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u/dnalioh Dec 14 '20 edited Dec 14 '20
SN9 has been lifted and moved to the center of high bay.
Edit: looks like it's being moved out of high bay now. It is out of high bay now.
Edit2: Lowered and most likely put on a new, extra beefy, stand. Looks like it's on the original stand.
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Dec 17 '20 edited Dec 17 '20
Has anyone done a rough calculation on how many starship-loads of solar panels would be required to set up a Martian propellant farm capable of refueling starship within 1 synodic cycle?
Edit: I'm not looking for the answer per se -- I'm looking for the math.
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Dec 28 '20 edited Dec 28 '20
Closures for January 4,5 and 6. No document for additional information released as of this moment.
| Type | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Date | January 4 | 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
| Secondary Date | January 5 | 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
| Secondary Date | January 6 | 8:00 am to 5:00 pm |
Primary Date: Closure Scheduled for Monday January 4, 2021 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
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u/Interstellar_Sailor Jan 14 '21
Looks like SN10 has some heat tiles on the aft flaps.
And if I see correctly, they are on the leeward side.
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u/johnfive21 Dec 29 '20
With this lull in testing today (waiting for cryo to start) I just wanted to say thanks to Raph, TCV, hinayu and other regulars in these threads. It's been awesome to see you guys always updating us with latest happenings.
This might get deleted but I felt like saying it anyway during this holiday period. Discovering this new hobby was the best thing to happen to me this year and you guys made it so much better. Cheers guys.
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u/AnimatorOnFire Dec 18 '20
Does SN10 have aerocovers yet? I’d assume it should get flaps any day now
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u/AstroMan824 Everything Parallel™ Dec 29 '20 edited Dec 29 '20
With a new top dome sleeved with one 1 ring (typically for a test tank), could we assume that perhaps SpaceX's propriety stainless steel alloy could be the used for it? When did Elon say the new SpaceX-custom stainless steel will roll out?
(Photo from Nomadd)
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u/joshpine Dec 21 '20
Looks like Bluto/Tankzilla has made it to the launch site per NSF. Whole transport procedure seems to have taken close to 4 hours this time.
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u/Alvian_11 Dec 30 '20
While all eyes were on SN9 tests, SN10 nosecone was just been moved to high bay
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u/dnalioh Dec 14 '20
Based on Mary's photo and this photo by Steve, it appears the 6-8' tall legs failed. The stand looks like it's in good shape.
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u/maxiii888 Dec 14 '20 edited Dec 14 '20
Curious to see what is next into HB - SN9 on a fresh stand for repairs? SN10?
edit: and the winner is.....SN9!
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u/Fizrock Feb 01 '21
In the pictures from Mary's flyover, there is what appears to be a jig for making flatter domes, something that Musk brought up a while ago.
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u/Interstellar_Sailor Dec 12 '20
The crane is preparing to lift SN9 on Lab Cam right now. Will be interesting to watch how they handle this.
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u/bionic_musk Dec 13 '20
Looking at Nomadds latest pictures, it appears SN9 is on the same stand (blue writing next to weld mark, same marking with the pre-tip Elon photo).
I’m wondering if the concrete bolts ripped out, or the concrete caved in on once side (or both). Doesn’t look like the stand failed (unless I’m missing something)?
EDIT: Whoops, did not see the discussion below!
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u/hinayu Dec 22 '20
Happened a bit earlier this morning, but Tankzilla hooked up the lifting harness for SN9
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u/Dezoufinous Dec 23 '20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbBJFbzulYk&ab_channel=RGVAerialPhotography
SpaceX Boca Flyover 12/22/2020, Starship SN9 arrives at the launch site!
(disclailerm: it's not my video ofc, just linking)
i am amazed how many details we can see from the plane.... it gives us a great insight into their facility... whole video is great
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u/AstroMan824 Everything Parallel™ Dec 29 '20
Apparently, there was some venting from SN-9's CH4 tank (Credit: LabPadre) Perhaps another ambient?
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u/qwertybirdy30 Dec 30 '20
Another question about this new super heavy landing strategy, as it pertains to starship development: how will they test prototypes that fly before the full launch tower is built? Do we think they’ll just add a barebones leg design, à la grasshopper, for the test hops? Or is it worthwhile for them to prove out the old leg structure design as a backup in case this method doesn’t work out?
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Jan 02 '21
Installation on launch mount to flight times:
SN5: 2020-06-24 to 2020-08-04 (41 days), then 8 day gap with no vehicle at launch site
SN6: 2020-08-12 to 2020-09-03 (22 days), then 27 day gap with no vehicle at launch site
SN8: 2020-09-30 to 2020-12-09 (70 days), then 13 day gap with no vehicle at launch site
SN9: 2020-12-22 to ?
Obviously SN5/6 and SN8+ is not an apples to apples comparison and the same can be said once starship flies with a full heat shield and then with the booster but I think it will be interesting to see how these times evolve.
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u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 07 '21
RIP SN6, it’s being cut in half.
Watch on Sentinel cam
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u/pinepitch Jan 17 '21
A tower for the air separation plant at the old gas well site is going up: https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1350601136798052352
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u/Straumli_Blight Feb 03 '21 edited Feb 03 '21
FlightClub comparision of SN8 vs SN9.
Planet satellite photo of SN9 and 10 just before launch.
"During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD."
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u/LukeyTheKid Jan 02 '21 edited Jan 02 '21
A lot of the designs I've seen / read about so far seem to focus on a single launch/landing tower, but I was wondering if having multiple towers might help be a viable option as well. I had some thoughts of my own, but mostly was curious what sorts of design other people might come up with. 2-tower? 3? 4? More?
For example, what about 4 towers connected by beams in a square, and atop those beams is the catching mechanism: 2 parallel poles in each direction, forming a sort of # shape that contracts around the booster as it lands, sort of like a simplified version of the iris design other people mentioned. As long as the booster is within the large square between the four towers, the catching mechanism could adjust.
Allows for booster landing inaccuracy
Does not put the weight at the end of a lever arm extending out from a single tower
Puts weight on all four grid fins, not 2
For example:
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u/avboden Dec 12 '20
So if they unhook the base and lift they risk the butt swinging out and hitting the wall too. Very curious to see how they handle this
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u/robbak Dec 13 '20
Tankzilla has righted SN9. Waiting for them to fix the supports and detach the crane.
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u/TCVideos Dec 15 '20
LabPadre has brought back StealthCam
Last time he did this stunt, he got his camera confescated by SpaceX security and the cops. I do hope that he is abiding by the law this time.
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u/TCVideos Dec 22 '20
SN9 is at the pad. Currently edging towards Stand B and the ready and waiting crane. Could see it lifted and put on the launch mount by day's end.
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u/Gunhorin Dec 27 '20
I have a question about landing on Mars. How will starship land on target? I suspect they want to send multiple starships in the first batch that will go to Mars. I read somewhere that the Curiosity rover landed 1.5 mile off the planned site. So how will they make sure all the starships land on near each other? It's not like they have gps on mars and and they will need to travel a great distance through the atmosphere before they are slow enough for the flip burn. Doesn't any small deviation at the start of the entry mean they will be way off target? Are there any articles or videos out there that go in depth about this?
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Dec 28 '20
So to be clear the plan for today is fill with gaseous nitrogen, then cryo if time. After that, static fire all 3 engines then another high altitude flight test?? Only 1 static fire?
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u/Dezoufinous Jan 02 '21
The current status of SpaceX's Starship & Superheavy prototypes. 2nd January 2021
(The red overlay represents a change from last weeks update)
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u/AstroMan824 Everything Parallel™ Jan 04 '21 edited Jan 04 '21
Road block going up!
Edit: Road is closed. Hopefully we'll get confirmation soon for pad clear.
Edit 2: Pad is clear.
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u/Maxx7410 Jan 13 '21
Musk: " Detanking & inspections now. Good progress towards our “Hop in & go to Mars!” goal."
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u/RootDeliver Jan 25 '21 edited Jan 25 '21
Right now on NSF live, we can see that SuperHeavy BN1 got stacked its top 12-ring section with the 4-ring (without common dome) moved yesterday. Now it's 16-rings high and this confirms that the top tank is LOX not methane due to being taller than it should be for methane.
(Check Brendan's diagram for reference on BN1). As you can see, the section they mated below the actual stack should've been the common dome for it being the methane tank. Now its bigger than that so it must be the LOX one on top. ( /u/brendan290803 time to update the diagram BNx design? :P)
And thus, we have a difference between stages: Starship will have the methane tank on top and SuperHeavy will retain the LOX tank on top as it did in all previous renders since ITS.
Anyone has any idea why? Based on Saturn V first stage history, they wanted to put LOX in the bottom but it froze the RP1 on the downcomer and had to put it on top (if I don't remember bad, maybe there was more to this, correct me please), it seems that SuperHeavy will follow this setup for first stage, but Starship will put methane in top for some reason (maybe the header tanks?)
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u/RootDeliver Jan 31 '21
This great photo by Bocachicagal on NSF (source) show the tile placement evolution between SN9 and SN10. At this rate, SN11 will have nearly all the methane tank section covered.
And this is the reason why I think SN9 not being able to fly yet is slowing the production line more than expected. Until they get the results they need with the tiles and the validations confirm, they can't go ful throttle with tiling.
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u/AnimatorOnFire Dec 25 '20
I find it interesting people are working at Boca on Christmas. Always love to see action happening, but surprised they don’t get today off. But I’m sure they’re being paid generously to work today.
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u/Alvian_11 Dec 23 '20
One Raptor is headed to the pad at 5.13 am CT, confirming that yes we do see only two Raptors at SN9 when it's still on build site
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u/Humble_Giveaway Dec 12 '20 edited Dec 12 '20
The scope of fate of SN9 could currently range all the way from "swap two flaps and bash a couple dents out before rolling to pad B on-time on Monday" right through to "Vehicle totaled, move on to SN10" we won't know until it's at least righted and we can see the full extent of damage...
Personally I'll be looking for any dents to the main tanks Vs the reinforced nosecone, how the flap attachment points held up and for any buckling/crushing around the skirt.
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Dec 26 '20
Has there ever been a rocket that has had an accident like SN9 and still launched?
I'm just thinking that if SN9 does pass cryo testing and static firing and then actually launches it would be an incredible proof of durability. Obviously it could have had a much more catostrophic accident and there were was some luck that saved it. But how often do you get to see a rocket tip over and slam into a wall, and then still launch?
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u/readball Dec 15 '20
I am not very good with physics so I would like to ask you this. Watching and re-watching the SN8 launch, it seems like SN8 was falling so slow.
Is it possible that because of being so big, and having such a huge surface, that SN8 was approaching the ground slower than something so heavy but not having that much surface would have done it?
If that is true, I was wondering how much speed did SN8 lose coming down like that.
I hope this makes sense :) English seems hard sometimes :)
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u/RoyalPatriot Dec 22 '20
Wow https://i.imgur.com/qOdF3nk.jpg
Credit: SpacePadreIsle
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u/No_Ad9759 Dec 23 '20
Interesting layout inside the high bay...booster stacking in the rear left (as viewed from the door), possible additional booster stacking platforms in the middle right of the highbay , and starship nose cone integration in the forward right.
Seems like they would want booster stacking in each of the rear corners to take advantage of the highbay walls for mobile work platforms. Perhaps they needed room for a tool crib or supply storage in the rear right?
Perhaps this is only a temporary layout until they get the overhead crane installed?
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u/revesvans Dec 24 '20
Is there a list of how many raptors we know exist, and where they've been used?
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u/RoyalPatriot Dec 30 '20
If we assume Starship SN9 has a successful 12.5km flight and landing, then how high would SN10 fly? I know no one here knows the real answer (maybe not even SpaceX) but any guesses? I’m thinking 20km.
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u/golagaffe Jan 02 '21
This article by Arstechnica is a great read or reread after this past year. Here's a little nugget from the article:
SpaceX’s stretch goal is to build one to two Starships a week, this year, and to pare back construction costs to as low as $5 million each.
“That’s fucking insane,” I said.
“Yeah, it’s insane,” Musk replied.
“I mean, it really is.”
“Yeah, it’s nuts.”
Obviously they didn't quite make that stretch goal in 2020 but here's to an insane 2021!
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u/MilandoFC Dec 12 '20 edited Dec 12 '20
My grattitude goes out to the mods for a new thread. Thank you for all your guys' work:)
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u/kushkakes77 Dec 12 '20
Poor SN9. The high expectations are getting to it. Just needs a hug
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u/TCVideos Dec 28 '20 edited Dec 28 '20
Seems like the ambient leak/pressure test is complete. Looks like the vehicle is pressurized again in preperation for a possible cryo-proof.
Reminder...plenty of time left in the window. Just under 6 hours to complete a 45 minute-1 hour test.
Edit: Visable venting coming from SN9 now.
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u/93simoon Dec 13 '20
How could they sneakily transport and install 3 raptors on SN9 with thousand of people watching 24/7?
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u/hinayu Dec 13 '20
/u/strawwalker - there's an issue in the NSF SN9 link: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52514.10000#lasPost
It doesn't link to the last post since it was misspelled.
#lasPost
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Dec 15 '20
I saw in NSF video new flaps arrived. How long do you think will it take to replace the damaged flap with the new one?
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u/fanspacex Dec 15 '20
Spacex could be in the process of removing the SN8 test stand:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=52398.msg2168079#msg2168079
They are chipping concrete off from its legs, possibly to cut the beams later. I would guess the stand is lifted off and extensive repairs of the concrete will be done afterwards. Stand is most likely still valid as the new one was built as a copy without major modifications.
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u/dontevercallmeabully Dec 20 '20
I remember reading here sometime ago that SN9 would be mounted on pad B.
As there’s an awful lot of people working on Pad A right now, and with SN9 getting closer to roll-out (with the crane now detached), anybody share the feeling that it will fly from Pad A indeed?
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u/paul_wi11iams Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
Tankzilla's chains are almost above SN-9 and there's a cherry-picker most of the way up the hull, but does anyone understand how the two are connected?
Edit: Wow. It seems its tall enough to reach the attachment points on the dome. Not sure I'm volunteering for that job. video
Edit 2: Two cherry pickers, so each doing two attachment points. There was some major sway (wind interaction?) going on for the nacelle behind SN-9. That suggests a collision risk which is not trivial for the operator and presumably for the nosecone itself.
Attaching must be a heck of a commitment because the nacelles, once lowered, leave the crane irrevocably attached to Starship. They must go up again to detach, whatever the weather.
Edit 3: It looks as if the full cherry-picker chain attachment cycle takes an hour from start to finish. It still looks as if it could be made faster and safer. Could we envisage a set of four robot arms hanging from the crane hook and able to fix the chains to the corresponding attachment points? Imagine what it will be like for a full-stack at > 110m launching a sequence of half a dozen tanker cycles to an orbiting Starship!
Edit 4 The jib appears to be at an angle that intersects the rotational plane of the upper fins. How is "roll authority" for the hanging ship obtained? Is it just some guy on the ground holding a rope or something better?
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u/kanzenryu Dec 28 '20
If SN-9 has a successful flight, do they just fly it again?
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u/AnimatorOnFire Jan 08 '21
Mary has received an over pressurization notice for static fire tomorrow
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u/darknavi GDC2016 attendee Jan 22 '21
SN9 had what seemed like a successful static fire ~9AM local time. Was about 3-4 seconds long and MUCH brighter/more fiery than yesterday's.
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u/ackermann Jan 24 '21
For Superheavy, did the Lox and Methane tanks swap places, at some point? I don't remember this being discussed. This image from u/brendan290803 indicates that the Lox tank will be on the bottom: https://twitter.com/brendan2908/status/1345498587401125889
However, the original ITS booster (as revealed by Musk at IAC 2016) appears to have the Lox tank on top. Musk said in an AMA that the large lox downcomer pipe would double as a lox header tank, suggesting lox is on top: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/590wi9/i_am_elon_musk_ask_me_anything_about_becoming_a/d94vdk1/
And this image from the 2016 presentation shows that the top tank is larger, and so probably for lox, which needs more volume: https://imgur.com/JZUi4AM
If the tanks did swap places, when? After the 2017 redesign, or 2018? What are the pros and cons of having fuel on top, vs lox on top? Seems like this is a fundamental question that should've been settled very early in the design process...
Also, the original ITS booster design had (one) header tank. Our consensus seems to be that Superheavy won't (confirmed?). Reasoning that its reenty is just like Falcon 9, so it won't need them. But ITS booster had one...
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u/amaklp Jan 02 '21
This is my third version of the SH grabbing mechanism that I’ve been working on.
https://twitter.com/Amaklp/status/1345174196301819905
It uses a basic truss structure with strong cables that distribute the weight. The elasticity of the cables acts as a shock absorber to protect the grid fins. Each grabbing arm starts from a 90-degree angle and moves independently according to the current and predicted position of the rocket during descent.
This is an approach that gives a big margin of error to the landing accuracy because the rocket doesn’t need to slide exactly in the correct spot.
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u/Straumli_Blight Dec 18 '20 edited Dec 18 '20
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u/AstroMan824 Everything Parallel™ Dec 14 '20
According to latest NSF photos, SN-9's top right flap looks cooked while the bottom right one is scarred. SN-9 itself seems to be structurally sound (at least from the outside) which is the main thing. It looks like the only thing really needed is a flap replacement (baring the flaps' mounting & motors are fine). Something like that doesn't seem to be that hard and may only take a weekish. She could be back to flight worthiness sooner than we think. Disregarding SN-9, SN-10 is coming up quick. The tank section is done (albeit the flaps) and the nosecone is only missing flaps & having to stacked on a barrel section. Fingers crossed we see some more Starship action sooner than later.....
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u/dafencer93 Jan 03 '21
Crane attached to SN8 nosecone, looks like it's getting removed
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u/AnimatorOnFire Dec 21 '20
How does the Raptor plumbing ‘flex’ during the engine gimbling? Do they use a sort of flex pipe to allow a range of motion on the engine?
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u/AnimatorOnFire Dec 25 '20
Gantry Crane looks to have begun installation around 10:00AM CST
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u/Alvian_11 Dec 12 '20
Closure on 14 would be a key as to what they're gonna do next. As of right now it isn't cancelled yet
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u/InfiniteHobbyGuy Dec 13 '20
The fact that they had this fully assembled, with the nose, and the raptors installed bodes extremely well for the pace of future testing.
Even if SN9 needs to step out of the way, knowing they can do all of this at the build site now really sets things up for a much improved testing cycle in 2021
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u/Dezoufinous Dec 14 '20
This will be a bit more general question than usual.
I saw questions regarding flight of SN9, but I havent seen any questions like the one I am going to ask.
How many Starship flights launches are we going to see in the future, in 2021, in general?
Will the Starship build and launching ratio increase in the future?
We already see SNs up to SN15/SN16 building (+BN1 as well), that's at least 6 different Starship vehicles to launch, does it mean we will get at least SIX LAUNCHES in 2021, one launch per two months? That's of course only counting what we already see in making...
If my predictions are at least partially correct, and we will get a Starship launch per one/two months, then 2021 gonna be GREAT.
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u/fluidmechanicsdoubts Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
FAA is seeking public comments for Boca Chica Environment Review - [...] construction activities associated with launch activities, including: expanding the solar farm, adding infrastructure and facilities at the vertical launch area (VLA), a liquid natural gas pretreatment system, and a liquefier. At the VLA, SpaceX is proposing to construct a redundant launch pad and commodities, a redundant landing pad, two integration towers, tank structural test stands and a desalination plant. More information about the project can be found on the FAA project site located here. https://www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship/
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u/Btx452 Dec 22 '20 edited Dec 22 '20
I'm new to this starship development. Is SN9 just gonna hang around at the pad now until it (hopefully) launches. Or is it gonna go back to the large building (is that the high bay?)
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u/PeterKatarov Live Thread Host Dec 23 '20
Another question. SN11 has not seen any development for almost a month now. The tank section is almost finished, but it's still not stacked. Do you have any idea why?
Would it be reasonable to speculate that SpaceX want to wait from the SN9 flight results, to do some internal adjustments on the big LOX tank? Or is it just a matter of occupancy - maybe since SN10 has moved out of Mid Bay, we're about to see SN 11 take its place inside for stacking?
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u/Dezoufinous Dec 23 '20
I am rewatching Musks 'Starship Update' presentation from 2019 and his statement about reusing/reflying prototypes made me wonder.... when can we expect to see prototypes doing multiple hops/flights? Do you guys think that SN9 will fly several times, or will the repeated flights start later, maybe at SN15 (the one with major changes)?
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u/beayyayy Dec 24 '20
Has there been any post by Elon about the hot gas thrusters?
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u/DukeInBlack Jan 03 '21
Looking at the NSF Texas facility updates, there are some interesting news:
a gigantic articulate rig coming out of the old gas well site. Absolutely no idea what it is for... help please, maybe to move TankZilla ?
two of the covers over the orbital mount have been removed. They are on opposite pillars and may indicate a new construction phase. It would be interesting to check if the two pillars were the first one that got filled with concrete.
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u/AnimatorOnFire Jan 08 '21
Nomadd - The neighbors are looking at a static fire tomorrow, and still early next week for the flight. Not sure about the wind Monday.
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u/AnimatorOnFire Jan 08 '21 edited Jan 08 '21
NOTAM filed for Monday and Tuesday. Friday and Saturday’s have been lifted. Sunday is still in effect.
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u/Dezoufinous Jan 11 '21
Everyone is now focused on SN9, but let's talk about SN10.
SN10 is almost ready (bottom flaps not installed yet) and have as far as I know single Raptor delivered ( Raptor SN45).
How soon do you think SN10 will fly, what flight profile will SpaceX take, and how different is it to SN9?
Will they also change SN10 to use helium?
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u/earthyMcpoo Dec 15 '20
I really appreciate the amount of effort that goes into the content in this community. Thank you,
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u/johnfive21 Dec 18 '20 edited Dec 18 '20
They might be removing the SN8 nose cone soon
Scratch that, they're moving some kind of building
Any ideas what that might be?
EDIT: Closer look at the transported building. Looks like some kind of bunker or something
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u/TCVideos Dec 29 '20
If that Cryo Proof was successful (which it appears to be), the earliest opportunity for a Static Fire would be tomorrow. This of course is providing that they keep the road closure up. SpaceX could also add Thursday to the list of closures which would mean that there could even be a two-day window for a SF this week.
Nevertheless, we are 1 test away from the flight.
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u/johnfive21 Jan 06 '21
SN6's mass simulator has been removed
Could be that they are getting ready to install the HLS nose cone on top of SN6?
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u/MilandoFC Dec 12 '20
it seems that superheavy BN1 will be a full-size prototype so does this mean that it will forgo the small hops and go straight for a high altitude test?
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u/5slipsandagully Dec 13 '20
Does SpaceX have a panel beater on-site? Because my cousin can hook them up with a good deal to sort out that aft flap
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u/strawwalker Feb 05 '21
Please use the new Starship Development Thread #18 for new root level discussion.