this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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Starship Development Thread #48 (self.spacex)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by threelonmusketeers to c/spacex
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SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

  1. When (first) orbital flight? First integrated flight test occurred April 20, 2023. "The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship."
  2. Where can I find streams of the launch? SpaceX Full Livestream. NASASpaceFlight Channel. Lab Padre Channel. Everyday Astronaut Channel.
  3. What's happening next? SpaceX has assessed damage to Stage 0 and is implementing fixes and changes including a water deluge/pad protection/"shower head" system. No major repairs to key structures appear to be necessary.
  4. When is the next flight test? Just after flight, Elon stated they "Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months." On April 29, he reiterated this estimate in a Twitter Spaces Q&A (summarized here), saying "I'm glad to report that the pad damage is actually quite small," should "be repaired quickly," and "From a pad standpoint, we are probably ready to launch in 6 to 8 weeks." Requalifying the flight termination system (FTS) and the FAA post-incident review will likely require the longest time to complete. Musk reiterated the timeline on May 26, stating "Major launchpad upgrades should be complete in about a month, then another month of rocket testing on pad, then flight 2 of Starship."
  5. Why no flame diverter/flame trench below the OLM? Musk tweeted on April 21: "3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount. Wasn’t ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch." Regarding a trench, note that the Starship on the OLM sits 2.5x higher off the ground than the Saturn V sat above the base of its flame trench, and the OLM has 6 exits vs. 2 on the Saturn V trench.

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Quick Links

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Starship Dev 47 | Starship Dev 46 | Starship Dev 45 | Starship Dev 44

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

Type Start (UTC) End (UTC) Status
Primary 2023-08-24 13:00:00 2023-08-25 01:00:00 Cancelled
Alternative 2023-08-25 14:00:00 2023-08-26 02:00:00 Concluded
Alternative 2023-08-28 13:00:00 2023-08-27 01:00:00 Cancelled

Up to date as of 2023-09-05

Vehicle Status

As of 2023-09-05

Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Ship Location Status Comment
S20 Rocket Garden Retired
S24 Gulf of Mexico Destroyed Destroyed on during Flight Test 1
S25 Stacked on B9 Spin Prime and Static Fire
S26 Rocket Garden Cryo tested
S27 Rocket Garden Scrapped Common dome imploded
S28 Engine Install Stand Raptors installed Previously tested at Masseys
S29 High Bay Under construction Flap installation in progress
S30 High Bay Under construction
S31 High Bay Under construction
S32 Build Site Parts spotted
S33 Build Site Parts spotted
S34 Build Site Parts spotted

 

Booster Location Status Comment
Pre-B7 & B8 Scrapped or Retired B4 is in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
B7 Gulf of Mexico Destroyed Destroyed April 20th in Flight Test 1
B9 Launch mount Hot-stage ring installed Static fire (August 5th)
B10 Megabay 1 Cryo tested
B11 Rocket Garden Resting
B12 Megabay 1 Grid fins installed
B13 Build Site Parts under construction
B14 Build Site Parts under construction
B15 Build Site Parts under construction

Resources

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

Starbase Live-

2:11am- Crane lifts another piece of bracing up to the top of the staircase

2:33am- Crane disconnects from brace.

3:11am- There is some welding happening around the pivot point of the chopsticks

3:19am- Another piece of bracing is lifted

3:56am- Crane disconnects

8:40am- Work continues on the top of the OLM near the BQD. Welders are working on the staircase. A mini excavator worked along the edge of the pad closest to the OTF most of the night.

9:45am- The reconfigured LR11000 at the build site is being raised

10:05am- Another piece of bracing is lifted up to the staircase

1:38pm- Yet another piece of bracing is lifted up

2:26pm- More bracing lifted. ( Instead of building a framework to weld the shielding on to at the top of the staircase. They welded the shielding to the OLM and are now building the structure to support it. )

3:09pm- The LR11000 at the build site finishes raising into its new configuration

3:25pm- Concrete truck arrives to pour into the new forms along the edge of the pad

3:50pm- Another piece of bracing lifted up (That’s 11 pieces)

4:15pm- Roof panel lifted up to the staircase. Concrete truck count at 3

5:23pm- Chopsticks raising

5:33pm-Chopsticks lowering (must be testing some of the work they’ve done)

7:54pm- End panel being removed from tent 2

8:05pm- End panel partially collapses

8:16pm- End panel ripped down. Definitely not trying to save it

8:30pm- Looks like another piece of bracing lifted to the stairs. (In a small box on SBL so I might be wrong but something was definitely lifted to the top of the stairs)

8:57pm- Awesome raptor test at McGregor

9:13pm- SPMT’s headed to Masseys

10:06pm- Hot stage ring being lifted up in the megabay

10:17pm- Swings over towards B9

(This gets synced)