SpaceX Starship & Super Heavy booster [Raptor Vacuum breathes fire]

[Dr Mordrid]

With Elon Musk preparing a program update in ~2 weeks, StarHopper flight tests ramping up, and Starships Mk-1 and Mk-2 being built in Boca Chica Texas and Cocoa Florida, it's time for a new updates thread.

Thread 1...

Update:

@elonmusk
Now that Hopper has flown, Starship update probably in two weeks or so.
5:50 AM - Jul 28, 2019

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1155415096387969024

Starship Mk-1 site (Boca Chica TX):

via NASASpaceFlight.com & Mary @BocaChicaGal
IMG_20190721_232509.jpg

Starship Mk-2 site (Cocoa FL):

via FaceBook
Cocoa Starship Mk-2 site 2048.jpg

The two Starship build teams are competing, sharing their innovations to "improve the breed."

Boca Chica TX test flight facility

This is about 4 months old, before drone flights were banned because one idiot was buzzing SpaceX staff. Since then, the pad closest to the drone at the beginning has been poured & has its swoosh-X livery.

[Dr Mordrid]

StarHopper is a 9 meter wide & shortened boilerplate version of the Starship propulsion module.

If it looks like a water tower tank that's because it was built by Caldwell Tanks, who builds elevated and ground level storage tanks; water, natural gas, etc. Who else to build a huge, super strong, stainless steel tank?

StarHopper's first un-tetheted hop; 20 meters up, translate horizontally, then land. Just a leg stretch, with a 200 meter hop in ~2 weeks. Flights to 5,000 meters later.

Starships Mk-1 & Mk-2 fly later this year.

Can't see too much as Raptor, which is more powerful than a Space Shuttle Main Engine, creates a huge plume rich in water vapor.

[Dr Mordrid]

Boca Chica TX

Finally!! Looks like the lower CH4 tank dome going into the Starship Mk-1 propulsion module, and what looks like the 3-engine center thrust structure arrived yesterday. The build should go faster now.

Mary @BocaChicaGal
This morning the bulkhead was lowered into the cylinder. 🔥🚀🔥@NASASpaceflight
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/in...496#msg1972496

IMG_20190730_122105.jpg

https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/sta...97463809757184

[Dr Mordrid]

NASA...

July 30, 2019

RELEASE 19-063

NASA Announces US Industry Partnerships to Advance Moon, Mars Technology

As NASA prepares to land humans on the Moon by 2024 with the Artemis program, commercial companies are developing new technologies, working toward space ventures of their own, and looking to NASA for assistance. NASA has selected 10 U.S. companies for 19 partnerships to mature industry-developed space technologies and help maintain American leadership in space.
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Entry, Decent and Landing
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* SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, will work with NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida to advance their technology to vertically land large rockets on the Moon. This includes advancing models to assess engine plume interaction with lunar regolith.
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Propulsion
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* SpaceX will work with Glenn and Marshall to advance technology needed to transfer propellant in orbit, an important step in the development of the companys Starship space vehicle.
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[Dr Mordrid]

Sounds like the 200 meter hop is on at Boca Chica

Road closure: August 12
Alternates: August 13 & August 14

http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/wp/space-x/

[Dr Mordrid]

LC-39A EIS; pad mods for Starship/Super Heavy

Just Read the Instructions sets sail for the East Coast August 15.

Wow....

Chris B - NSF @NASASpaceflight

"Draft Environmental Assessment for the SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy Launch Vehicle at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) - https://netspublic.grc.nasa.gov/main...X_Starship.pdf - heck of a long read, but as we reported https://(https://www.nasaspaceflight...nches-pad-39a/ ), Starship Pad 'off ramp' on 39A. "
IMG_20190802_005832.jpg

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"SpaceX plans to launch the Starship/Super Heavy up to 24 times per year from LC-39A. A static fire test would be conducted on each stage prior to each launch."

Looks like Super Heavy lands on an ASDS.

Starship LZ-1 at first. Pad inside the fence at 39A still under evaluation!
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This document is huuuuuge. Let's just continue on this thread rather than tweeting 500 times

https://t.co/6rHmYWfFnX

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1157119556323876866

[Dr Mordrid]

Initial Starship landings at LZ-1

Initial Super Heavy landings on ASDS.

Initial vertical integration by mobile crane, with a permanent crane coming later.

Launches from a ~30m elevated platform with a cooled flame diverter instead of a trench.

Starship propellant mass has has grown from 1,100 metric tonnes to 1,500 metric tonnes (per EIS.)

EIS PDF...

2.1 Proposed Action

A fully reusable rocket system consisting of two parts, Starship and Super Heavy booster, is being developed by SpaceX for crewed and uncrewed missions to take humans and cargo to Earth orbit and beyond, including to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX plans to launch thevStarship/Super Heavy up to 24 times per year from LC-39A. A static fire test would be conducted on each stage prior to each launch. The launch vehicle is comprised of two stages: Super Heavy and Starship. Super Heavy is the first stage (booster), and Starship (ship) is the second stage. The integrated vehicle would be 118 m in height with the ship being 55 m in length and 9 m in diameter. The top of the fully integrated rocket once installed on the launch mount would stand approximately 150 m above ground level (Figure 2-1). As mentioned, both stages would be reusable with any potential processing actions taking place at SpaceX facilities. The booster is expected to have minimal post flight refurbishment requirements; however, it may require periodic maintenance and upgrades. Unlike Falcon, there would be no separable fairings or parachutes in this reusable system. The booster would be powered by 31 Raptor engines and Starship would be powered by seven Raptor engines. The Raptor engine was recently developed and is currently in Texas undergoing tests.

Starship/Super Heavy maximum lift-off mass is approximately 5,000 metric tons (MT), with a lift-off thrust of up to 62 meganewtons (MN) (13.9 million lbs). The booster would hold up to 3,500 MT of propellant and Starship would hold up to 1,500 MT of propellant. The propellant is composed of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane in a 3.6:1 mass ratio. Each Raptor engine would produce 1.7 to 2.0 MN (0.3 to 0.4 million lbs) of thrust. The 31 booster engines would cut off at an altitude of approximately 70 km and the two stages would separate. Shortly thereafter, at an altitude of approximately 80 km, the Starship engines would start up and burn to the desired orbit location. Additional operational details are provided below. All vehicle specifications, propellant, and mission data would be provided to NASA to ensure the Proposed Action meets NASA safety requirements.
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[Dr Mordrid]

Boca Chica can't be too far behind

Cocoa,FL

Thomas Fedzin @Tomatrix22
Replying to @flying_briann
Looks like they've stacked the last two rings. That looks full height
8:44 AM · Aug 3, 2019

https://twitter.com/Tomatrix22/status/1157633279836794881

Brian @flying_briann

IMG_20190803_104222.jpg

https://twitter.com/flying_briann/st...33449244729344

[Dr Mordrid]

Assuming the StarHopper 200m hop goes well on the 12th, it retires to being a trophy like the Falcon 9 Grass-hopper.

After that, Starship Mk-1 moves to the test launch pad.

[Dr Mordrid]

Sounds like FAA is in 1st gear for the next hop clearance.

Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve
Will it be tomorrow Aug 9 or Aug 19 the dates of road closures on the website are so far apart. Please let us know!
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Elon Musk ✓ @elonmusk
Replying to
@JaneidyEve and @Teslarati
No sooner than a week. Working approvals with FAA.
9:05 PM · Aug 8, 2019

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1159631646351454208

[Dr Mordrid]

The County Judge has issued a new Boca Chica road closing order for

August 16, 1509-0100 Eastern. Alternate dates are the 17th & 18th, same times.

The previous ones had been recinded.

From the look of this crane, stacking the Starship Mk-1 propulsion and payload modules is soon.

Austin Barnard @austinbarnard45
#SpaceX crews hard at work today under the hot Texas sun, the team has been working tirelessly on the bottom section of #StarShip. As well as amassing a giant new crane, maybe to connect the two halves together or maybe something entirely different. The pace is really picking up!

(3 more images at the tweet)
EBjtpTpXUAA4JrX.jpg

https://mobile.twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1159938208098115584

[Dr Mordrid]

Boca Chica

StarHopper hop FAA NOTAM

Cleared to 8,000 feet

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_9_9032.html

[Dr Mordrid]

There should soon be a completed Starship near KSC...

Brian ✈ @flying_briann
Heres a 360° view of the Cocoa #starship

Shes getting so big
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Elon Musk ✓ @elonmusk
Stacking fairing & tanks soon, then adding control fins, engines & landing gear

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1162066262672855040

[Dr Mordrid]

The Cocoa build site already has at least 15 stainless steel ring segments in the staging area, and odds are only 2-3 are needed to finish off Starship Mk-2. The rest will likely be used to build the first Super Heavy booster.

And Starship Mk-2 will soon be moved to a site in KSC, then later to the 67 acre and under-construction SpaceX Operations Area south of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

News story

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/in...y-space-center

How SpaceX plans to move Starship from Cocoa site to Kennedy Space Center

Starship prototype to be moved to Kennedy Space Center in September

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Long before SpaceX can fly Starship to the moon or Mars, a prototype of the spacecraft must be moved from its construction site in Cocoa to the Kennedy Space Center for testing.
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SpaceX Operations Area
SpaceX Operations Area .jpg

[Dr Mordrid]

Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve
Replying to @elonmusk
Elon
will the SpaceX presentation at Boca Chica take place on August 24 this week?

or will it be delayed if StarHopper doesn't recieve FAA approval this week to launch?
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Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk
Will probably make sense to do this when Starship Mk 1 has 3 Raptors, moving body fins & landing gear installed, which is hopefully mid September
3:03 PM - Aug 20, 2019

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1163889282936967168