SpaceX Super Heavy and Starship updates

[DocM]

Oh, good grief 🤪

 

 

A "much" larger high bay? Jezzz...

 

[Skiver Veteran]

On 25/07/2021 at 10:14, DocM said:

Oh, good grief 🤪

 

 

A "much" larger high bay? Jezzz...

 

I'll need to try and dig out the source but I remember seeing something recently that it would be slightly taller, something about the cranes at the top having more manouverability or something along those lines and wider with double doors. Damn I wish I'd paid more attention when I glossed over it.

[DocM]

On 27/07/2021 at 04:24, Skiver said:

I'll need to try and dig out the source but I remember seeing something recently that it would be slightly taller, something about the cranes at the top having more manouverability or something along those lines and wider with double doors. Damn I wish I'd paid more attention when I glossed over it.

 

[DocM]

The maw of the beast...

 

 

[anthdci]

On 29/07/2021 at 21:30, DocM said:

The maw of the beast...

 

 

 

there's no way they can static fire that without a flame trench. 

[DocM]

Through a massive circumferential water deluge in the Orbital Launch Table (stacking soon) to a plume diverter. In concept, not too different to Germany's V2 stand and early NASA pads.

 

More,

 

 

 

 

 

[DocM]

Oh, boy...

 

https://www.valleycentral.com/spacex/hotels-near-capacity-as-several-hundred-spacex-employees-arrive-in-brownsville-in-preparation-for-orbital-launch/

 

Quote

 

Hotels near capacity as several hundred SpaceX employees arrive in Brownsville in preparation for orbital launch

 

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (KVEO) — Development at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site is ramping up under orders from company CEO Elon Musk, in an effort to finish the orbital launch tower and stack the Starship and booster prototypes before launching into orbit. [...]

 

 [....]Musk has called on 500 employees from SpaceX sites in Hawthorn, California, Cape Canaveral, Florida, and McGregor, Texas, to relocate to the Brownsville/Boca Chica area temporarily. 

>

While a date has not been set for the orbital launch, a source shared with KVEO that Musk gave them a short timeline of nine days, as of Friday, to have the vehicle stacked at the launch pad.  

>

 

 

[DocM]

Super Heavy's grid fins will not fold, and their cheese tradition is being honored.

 

 

 

Real

 

Concept, and the <MASSIVE> Launch Table was mounted to the pad legs today.

 

 

 

[DocM]

The Orbital Launch Table was installed today. 

 

About 500 SpaceXers have been brought in from California, Florida, etc. to help get the pad, tower, and tank farm ready for Booster 4 tests and the first orbial Starship launch.  They want it ready for the full stack in about 10 days.

 

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1421570729255002116

 

 

[anthdci]

sounds like a lot of drag not to fold them, not that'll matter with cheese being the payload. I presume this is only while testing?

[DocM]

On 01/08/2021 at 10:19, anthdci said:

sounds like a lot of drag not to fold them, not that'll matter with cheese being the payload. I presume this is only while testing?

Sounds like it'll launch with extended grid fins. They're used at hypersonic velocities, so we'll see.

 

Booster 4 rollout this Tuesday?

 

 

 

[DocM]

Hmmm....need to keep an eye on Tim Dodd's site.

 

 

 

 

 

[DocM]

 

Cool 😎

 

 

[DocM]

Booster 4 engines installed overnight. Possible rollout to the pad Tuesday.

 

 

[DocM]

How "Mechazilla," the Starship booster catching tower, works,

 

 

[DocM]

Six-pack of engines on Starhip 20, Nine-pack possible. The big RVac nozzles are >3 meters wide

 

 

 

[anthdci]

Booster now on the launch table.

Couple of things I’m unsure about,

1- nothing covering the engines, surely aerodynamics will destroy them? 
2- can they static fire 29 raptors without making a big hole in the floor and kicking up damaged concrete back up at the engines?

[DocM]

On 04/08/2021 at 18:40, anthdci said:

Booster now on the launch table.

Couple of things I’m unsure about,

1- nothing covering the engines, surely aerodynamics will destroy them? 
2- can they static fire 29 raptors without making a big hole in the floor and kicking up damaged concrete back up at the engines?

 

1) not a problem. Other rockets have had exposed engines.

 

2) the inside of the launch table has numerous circumferential water deluges which will minimize the plume. 

 

 

[anthdci]

On 05/08/2021 at 01:08, DocM said:

 

looks like 5 unfired/tested engines? Still can't believe all that piping will be fine when it's barrelling going through maxq.

[anthdci]

starship 20 on the move!. We'll see a full stack in the next few days at this rate.

[+Warwagon MVC]

On 04/08/2021 at 19:08, DocM said:

 

1) not a problem. Other rockets have had exposed engines.

 

2) the inside of the launch table has numerous circumferential water deluges which will minimize the plume. 

 

 

How many of these do they have built? What if it blows up? is the catching tower ready to test too?

[anthdci]

On 05/08/2021 at 14:00, warwagon said:

How many of these do they have built? What if it blows up? is the catching tower ready to test too?

They only have this booster and starship ready, but since the plan is for both of them to do a soft touchdown in the ocean they are expecting not to reuse them, whether that is a RUD or a 100% success. The whole idea of rapid prototyping is they will have booster 5 and starship 21 built in a few weeks time with various improvements that they've learnt from this test.

 

The catch tower is not ready and won't be ready for the launch.

[+Warwagon MVC]

On 05/08/2021 at 08:17, anthdci said:

They only have this booster and starship ready, but since the plan is for both of them to do a soft touchdown in the ocean they are expecting not to reuse them, whether that is a RUD or a 100% success. The whole idea of rapid prototyping is they will have booster 5 and starship 21 built in a few weeks time with various improvements that they've learnt from this test.

 

The catch tower is not ready and won't be ready for the launch.

awww, they are dropping starship 21 in the ocean too? We can't watch it land?

[anthdci]

On 05/08/2021 at 14:21, warwagon said:

awww, they are dropping starship 21 in the ocean too? We can't watch it land?

This is 20 and will be in the sea, purely for safety since it's the first one to go orbital. I don't know about 21. I would expect there will be plenty of footage of it from it's own cameras and if it goes to plan they will likely have ships in the area which will catch a site of it coming in. If it floats they might even recover it, but that's me guessing I don't know either way.

[DocM]

On 05/08/2021 at 09:21, warwagon said:

awww, they are dropping starship 21 in the ocean too? We can't watch it land?

Starship 20 is splashing down in controlled waters used by the US Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands (Kauai  Hawai'i). We'll likely see video from onboard cams and/or from a SpaceX Fleet vessel out of Long Beach. NASA will be sending a WB-57 to observe (as they did for the first Falcon 9 water landings) and so will DoD's SBIRS  (space based infra-red system).

 

Booster catches will come after the "Mechazilla" arms are installed, likely soon at the pace they're working, but it may take 2-3 iterations to perfect them.