SpaceX Super Heavy and Starship updates

[DocM]

 

[DocM]

 

[DocM]

Methane delivery this morning. 

 

First hop Wednesday, with backup dates of Thursday or Friday

 

The Monitor...

 

Quote

Cameron County publishes notice of SpaceX testing

Cameron County has posted public notice that it will close Highway 4 to Boca Chica Beach for space flight activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

In the alternative, the public notice said Highway 4 to Boca Chica Beach will be closed for the same time duration on either Thursday or Friday.

The notice comes after Cameron County Commissioners Court last week voted to give Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. the power to close the area for space flight activities.
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[DocM]

 

[Blue-Vision]

I think, eventually, they're going to try hops without concerns about the weather. They'll have to land Starship in all-weather conditions, therefore they'll need to test in all-weather too. Just a thought. 

[DocM]

SpaceX looking for UK Starship partners

 

https://www.ukspace.org/news-item/dit-trade-showcase-to-spacex-in-us/

 

Quote

DIT Trade Showcase to SpaceX in US

 

21 March 2019 – The Department for International Trade is organising a UK Technology & Capability Showcase for SpaceX in late spring or early summer 2019 (date to be confirmed later) at SpaceX’s HQ in Hawthorne, California.

The SpaceX technology development and procurement teams for the Starship (formerly known as the BFR) and Starlink programmes will review UK supplier capability descriptions and select the participants. Therefore, if you have a UK-based capability that you think SpaceX would be interested in, please register for the event and submit your capability summaries.
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In addition to the best of UK’s capabilities that we will be offering to SpaceX, they have identified some specific capabilities and technologies that they require. If you can satisfy any of these needs, then you should certainly submit a set of forms:

Pressure & Motion Controls, Actuation (“Vendor IP”):

1. Solenoid Valves for high vibration, low and high temperature environments

Strong and nimble engineering departments
Environmental analysis on site is a plus (vibe testing greater >90 Grms)

2. Brushless DC & Inductance Motors for high vibration, low and high temp environments

Same features as the above Valve category
Machining/Fabrication:

3. Spline/Gear machining (preferably located in or near other machining suppliers, think turn-key turbomachinery shafts)

4. Turbomachining (blades, impellers that are smaller than a 24” cube)

5. Large OD tube bending >8” OD

6. Shaped or Formed Flexible Hoses (primarily Kevlar braided Teflon hose that is formed to a particular shape to reduce stress)

7. Aerospace Metal Bellows formed with new technologies (standard technologies are mechanical forming, edge welding, hydroforming, or electroformed – looking for any new technologies or suppliers that may excel with the current technologies)

Castings/Raw Materials:

8. Specialized castings (new innovative casting methods)

9. Die casting suppliers

10. Specialized materials (for extreme environments)

Avionics:

11. Large format PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly (>30”)

12. Solar panel assembly

 

 

[DocM]

Most likely a preburner test.

 

Tomorrow's another day...

 

 

[DocM]

No YouTube version, yet.

 

 

[DocM]

New *official* SpaceX Starship renders

 

Earth entry

 

Mars entry

[TrevorLahey]

11 minutes ago, DocM said:

New *official* SpaceX Starship renders

 

Earth entry

 

 

Mars entry

 

Still blows my mind that this is the way they are going to enter an atmosphere this way.  Seems like it would want to flip or roll.  Can't wait to see it work.

[DocM]

National Space Council meeting:

 

we're going to land at the Moon's South Pole !!

 

SLS + commercial if it's ready

 

Commercial only if it's not

 

 

[DocM]

Starship expendable for fast transit outer solar system probes,

 

Basically, a Starship Hopper upper stage minus legs dumping a swarm of probes out of the aft payload bins, or perhaps a fairing for a giant probe up top. Or both? 

 

Payload bins

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by DocM

[DocM]

Full-size version of Musk's new Twitter profile image. 

 

Interesting...

 

 

Exposure boosted

 

[FloatingFatMan]

Truly, the 1950's view of the future in space is coming to pass...

[DocM]

3 hours ago, FloatingFatMan said:

Truly, the 1950's view of the future in space is coming to pass...

 

Yup, straight out of Destination Moon or Men Into Space or von Braun's imagination...and Starship is a monster.

 

von Braun's Ferry Rocket, Saturn V, the Apollo LM and Starship

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by DocM

[DocM]

One reason for the extended taking/de-tanking tests.  It's been very humid in the AM.

 

Tank ---> X (pre-valve) ---> X (main valve) ---> Engine

 

 

 

[DocM]

HELLFIRE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by DocM

[DocM]

@BocaChicaGal strikes again....

 

 

 

[DocM]

Audio synched video

 

 

 

[devn00b]

12 hours ago, DocM said:

Audio synched video

 

 

 

 

Jesus, that's with just ONE engine, right? The fireball when they add the rest is going to be HUGE.

 

I know this is probably just a bonus, but damn musk knows how to put on a show. Michael Bay would be proud  

[TrevorLahey]

I know they didn't use one for grasshopper, but will they use one or need a flame trench for StarHopper eventually?

[DocM]

2 hours ago, devn00b said:

 

Jesus, that's with just ONE engine, right? The fireball when they add the rest is going to be HUGE.

 

I know this is probably just a bonus, but damn musk knows how to put on a show. Michael Bay would be proud  

 

This is just with Raptor SN02 in the center position. SN03 is at McGregor being tested, and one assumes SN04 is still at Hawthorne. Once they're all installed the real fun starts 🚀😀🚀

 

Wonder if those 3 engine Super-Slam landings of Falcon 9 on the droneships was really all about high energy trajectory landings? 😉

[DocM]

WRT the Hopper test,

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-test-hopper-starhopper-first-raptor-engine-static-fire-2019-4

 

>

The sound here on Brazos Island was deafening — so loud that part of a resident's window blinds was knocked off its frame.

"I was cooking collard greens and my house started rattling. It was like a couple of jet airplanes taking off in your living room," said Maria Pointer, a retired deck officer who lives with her husband, Ray, about 1.8 miles from SpaceX's new launchpad.

Mrs. Pointer said previous tests by SpaceX were loud — comparable to the noise of a jet engine — but "this was magnified to about 10 jet engine roars," she said.

"It reminds you of when the Blue Angels fly over real low. That's the sound. It rattled everything," she said. "This was the full Raptor with all the juice going to it. This was the real thing."
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[DocM]

9 hours ago, bguy_1986 said:

I know they didn't use one for grasshopper, but will they use one or need a flame trench for StarHopper eventually?

 

A full pad is expected to be built about 600 feet from the Hopper pad - towards the Gulf.

[DocM]

Orbital Starship build site showing the automatic seam welder at the top of the large tank. 4 segments being built, tagged in the screncap.