Giant Steel Rocket getting ready to

glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
fly once more.



Right now they are getting ready to stack the second stage (Starship, commonly referred to as S and the numerical designator, in the case,25, so its S25) on top of the first stage (Super Heavy Booster, in this case B9) . After this there will be a few days of checks, no idea how many. Then the FAA flight approval, the last time it was issued the day before.

Lots of talk after the spectacular flight of S24 and B8 that it would take six months or more likely a year before they flew again. So much for that. And no, theres not a reasonable expectation that this test goes to 100% completion. As long as it gets farther than the last one, and doesnt fail the same way, progress is being made. Right now there are three more boosters close to completion and four ships.

Starship production Sep 2023.jpeg
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
stgislander said:
What's the latest word @glhs837? I heard rumors of maybe as early as the 17th.
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Yep, Musk says he's got verbal that approvals are going to be ready. There are exclusion zones in place for the 17th, 18th, and 19th. Upgraded Flight Termination System explosive packages have been installed on both Booster and Starship. Me, I'm leaving my hotel about 8am Friday to fly home. So most likely it will go when I'm on the airplane home.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
REnder of the flexing its giant stainless steel control surfaces. Note that the boosters grid fins are also being exercised.

 
Grumpy

Grumpy

Well-Known Member
glhs837 said:
REnder of the flexing its giant stainless steel control surfaces. Note that the boosters grid fins are also being exercised.

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I see things like that and all I can think of is that 50 years from now, people will be saying WTF were they thinking. Not a knock on it at all, just thinking of vids I've seen from 75-100 yrs ago of test planes/rockets that failed. It may be perfectly legit in the future.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
Grumpy said:
I see things like that and all I can think of is that 50 years from now, people will be saying WTF were they thinking. Not a knock on it at all, just thinking of vids I've seen from 75-100 yrs ago of test planes/rockets that failed. It may be perfectly legit in the future.
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I get it. Trying to think of a better analogy. Because what we are seeing here. If it pans out, this is akin to the shift from hand built cars for the rich to Model T's.

The plan, and part of the reason for the steel, is that he plans to mass produce these things. Like aircraft, with a similar launch cadence. Right now they are launching Falcons at a rate of one every 2-3 days and have been for months.

Once you get the whole rocket back and can launch it again that same day and it can carry 150 tons, things in orbit and beyond are in for a change. The SpaceX shuttle itself only weight 78 tons.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
SpaceX feed is live, go time is on the hour...

www.spacex.com

SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.
www.spacex.com www.spacex.com
 
Dakota

Dakota

~~~~~~~
SpaceX has acknowledged the potential loss of the Starship rocket's second stage during its flight, describing it as a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" over the Gulf of Mexico.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
The two most important pieces worked. They changes to the launch mount allowed for a full engine takeoff, and the hotstaging system also appeared to work. Ship has been lost also, but did make it to space anyway :) Just like the landing test flights, as long as you progress to the next wicket, your program is moving forward.

They have three or four more Ships mostly complete, and two or three boosters. That's the thing. These are expendable test articles. As long as the pad did not take damage, I would expect the investigation to go pretty quick and approval for the next one to fast. Longest pole in the tent will be data analysis and what changes they might have to make.

No matter if its software or hardware, they are pretty adept at making changes quickly. FAA gave them approval for five test flights a year, so dont be surprised if they want to make another attempt before the end of the year.
 
Clem72

Clem72

Well-Known Member
glhs837 said:
The two most important pieces worked. They changes to the launch mount allowed for a full engine takeoff, and the hotstaging system also appeared to work. Ship has been lost also, but did make it to space anyway :) Just like the landing test flights, as long as you progress to the next wicket, your program is moving forward.

They have three or four more Ships mostly complete, and two or three boosters. That's the thing. These are expendable test articles. As long as the pad did not take damage, I would expect the investigation to go pretty quick and approval for the next one to fast. Longest pole in the tent will be data analysis and what changes they might have to make.

No matter if its software or hardware, they are pretty adept at making changes quickly. FAA gave them approval for five test flights a year, so dont be surprised if they want to make another attempt before the end of the year.
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All engines fired, separation went well, launch pad is good, and they made it to space. Sounds like they ticked all the boxes. People who think the boom at the end means it was a failure have themselves failed to understand the expectations for this development cycle of the starship.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
Kyle said:
Totally awesome.... Except for the explosion part. :jet:
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That might have been fine also. The FLight Termination System (FTS) failed to destroy the rocket fast enough last time, I suspect the rocket was just tougher than they thought. So this time it looks like it did its job right on time and thoroughly. So when NASA and the FAA are writing the report and listing things they think need changed for safety, the FTS will get checked off as good.
 
Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
I got to witness 2 of the launches when we wintered down in South Padre Island. What amazed me was the tremendous roar of the rockets taking off. Even though both launches ended up in crash landings.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
And those little babies only had three of these engines in them. This one today had 33 of them going
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
So, this mornings good news...



and



And lastly, for the eye candy of the worlds most powerful rocket launching taken from the top of the tower...

 
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