SpaceX Super Heavy and Starship updates

[DocM]

Starship stacking

Next up should be a wet dress rehearsal

 

 

[DocM]

Looks like they plan to increase the cadence

[bguy_1986]

Any guesses why they keep working on Ship 26?

My guess is they are going to test using it as a tanker/fuel ship.

[DocM]

On 12/02/2024 at 13:43, bguy_1986 said:

Any guesses why they keep working on Ship 26?

My guess is they are going to test using it as a tanker/fuel ship.

That or they'll use it as a mock-up for HLS. Or both.

You can never tell with SpaceXers, just when you think you got something figured they pull a 6-ft rabbit out of the hat. 

[Xenon]

On 12/02/2024 at 13:43, bguy_1986 said:

Any guesses why they keep working on Ship 26?

My guess is they are going to test using it as a tanker/fuel ship.

People hate ship 26. But that is part of the plan.

Ship 26 is actually being equipped with anti gravity drives and a quantum computer with a AI named Judy. 

It is the true future of spaceflight. 

Leave ship 26 alone! 

[+rdlenk Subscriber²]

On 12/02/2024 at 15:06, Xenon said:

People hate ship 26. But that is part of the plan.

Ship 26 is actually being equipped with anti gravity drives and a quantum computer with a AI named Judy. 

It is the true future of spaceflight. 

Leave ship 26 alone! 

It's actually called Caroline.

[SALSN]

On 13/02/2024 at 02:16, rdlenk said:

It's actually called Caroline.

I'm not comfortable with where this is going 😅

On a more serious note, my guess is also guess that it is a mock up for HLS.

[DocM]

KSC Starship factory plans upgraded

 

 

[TheReaperMan]

On 13/02/2024 at 02:16, rdlenk said:

It's actually called Caroline.

I think it is HAL 9000 to be fair

[+rdlenk Subscriber²]

It keeps insisting on calling the methane "neuro-toxin" and tries to release it sometimes on unsuspecting pad techs. We are installing the morality core soon, the avionics team say it should clear that up.

[DocM]

Fairing size comparisons

 

 

[DocM]

1) Flight 3 looking like 3 weeks

2) SpaceX is seeking a waiver to launch up to 9  times this year.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/spacex-seeks-to-launch-starship-at-least-nine-times-this-year/

[DocM]

Tower 2 parts getting ready to ship to Starbase

 

 

[DocM]

Spacex's Flight 2 investigation report is in, and the FAA has signed off on it. The runup to Flight 3 begins...

TLDR;

 

 

[DocM]

FAA official talks about launch cadence

 

Quote

Coleman said that when he joined the Commercial Space Transportation arm of the FAA in 1996, the organization had 40 employees. A decade ago, there were 73. Now there are 143,; and the organization is "aggressively" seeking to grow to 157 staffers in Florida, California, Texas, and Washington, DC.

"Right now, we're at about 140 people, and they're pedaling as fast as they can," he said. "We're working on the  weekends. We're working late into the night. We do need a additional staff."

 

 

[DocM]

Clearing another milestone...

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-spacex-test-starship-lunar-lander-docking-system/

Quote

NASA, SpaceX Test Starship Lunar Lander Docking System

Lee Mohon
FEB 28, 2024
As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign that will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, crew will need to move between different spacecraft to carry out lunar landings. NASA and SpaceX recently performed qualification testing for the docking system that will help make that possible.

For the Artemis III mission, astronauts will ride the Orion spacecraft from Earth to lunar orbit, and then once the two spacecraft are docked, move to the lander, the Starship Human Landing System (HLS) that will bring them to the surface. After surface activities are complete, Starship will return the astronauts to Orion waiting in lunar orbit. During later missions, astronauts will transfer from Orion to Starship via the Gateway lunar space station. Based on SpaceX’s flight-proven Dragon 2 docking system used on missions to the International Space Station, the Starship docking system can be configured to connect the lander to Orion or Gateway.
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SpaceX and NASA recently performed full-scale qualification testing of the docking system that will connect SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) with Orion and later Gateway in lunar orbit during future crewed Artemis missions. Based on the flight-proven Dragon 2 active docking system, the Starship HLS docking system will be able to act as an active or passive system during docking.
SpaceX's 

 

[DocM]

 

[DocM]

On 12/02/2024 at 13:43, bguy_1986 said:

Any guesses why they keep working on Ship 26?

My guess is they are going to test using it as a tanker/fuel ship.

 

Or they're playing around with stuff for HLS. The spy cam watching McGregor seems to have caught some smaller engine tests over the last several months, could be landing thrusters.

 

Starship for Flight 4 rolling out for tests

 

 

[DocM]

More updates around starbase, and some of the milestones they are passing for HLS

 

[DocM]

5,000 tonnes of propellants in 45 minutes, it used to take 90. The upshot is, they can now load propellant into Starship almost as fast as they can load it into the much smaller Falcon 9.

 

 

[DocM]

Final Starship Flight 3 preps, waiting for FAA

 

 

[DocM]

Starship Flight 3: Game On

 

[DocM]

SpaceX is adding extra tests to Starship Flight 3

https://spacenews.com/spacex-adds-tests-to-next-starship-flight/

 

Quote

SpaceX adds tests to next Starship flight

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The profile for the third flight projects a splashdown in the Indian Ocean nearly 65 minutes after liftoff. [...] A firing of a Raptor engine while in space, which SpaceX has noticed attempted, is one of the new elements added to the upcoming launch. Another in-flight test added to the mission is opening and closing a payload bay door that would be used for future launches that deploy Starlink satellites.

SpaceX also confirmed it will perform a propellant transfer test on the flight, moving propellant from one tank to another within Starship. That test, supported by a NASA Tipping Point technology

>

 

 

[DocM]

01:04:39 flight time, so no full orbit but several important tests.

Here are the countdown and flight timelines.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-3

 

Summary

Quote

The third flight test aims to build on what we’ve learned from previous flights while attempting a number of ambitious objectives, including the successful ascent burn of both stages, opening and closing Starship’s payload door, a propellant transfer demonstration during the upper stage’s coast phase, the first ever re-light of a Raptor engine while in space, and a controlled reentry of Starship. It will also fly a new trajectory, with Starship targeted to splashdown in the Indian Ocean. This new flight path enables us to attempt new techniques like in-space engine burns while maximizing public safety.

 

[DocM]

Starship Flight 3: flight safety system installed.

FAA license should come soon, they've already published the dates &  backups, times, and safety exclusion zones on their website.