this post was submitted on 17 May 2024

20 points (83.3% liked)

SpaceX

1859 readers

51 users here now

A community for discussing SpaceX.

Related space communities:

Memes:

[email protected]

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Starship Development Thread #56 (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

63 comments fedilink hide all child comments

SpaceX Starship page

Portions of this thread copied from a Starship Dev thread on r/SpaceX.

FAQ

When next launch? (IFT-5) Booster catch NET late July, per Elon.
When previous launch? (IFT-4)? Booster 11 and Ship 29 launched on 2024-06-06.
What was the result? Both booster and ship make it to landing burn and splashdown. Ship flaps took a beating on reentry, but remained in control of the vehicle.

Quick Links

Official SpaceX Starship Update Video (2024-04-06)

Status

Road Closures - @bocaroad Mastodon bot

Type	Start (CDT)	End (CDT)	Status
Primary Date	2024-07-09 08:00	2024-07-09 20:00	Possible Closure.
Backup Date	2024-07-10 08:00	2024-07-10 20:00	Possible Closure.
Backup Date	2024-07-11 08:00	2024-07-11 20:00	Possible Closure.
Primary Day	2024-07-10 12:00	2024-07-11 00:00	"Clossure" Scheduled.
Alternative Day	2024-07-11 12:00	2024-07-12 00:00	Possible "Clossure".
Alternative Day	2024-07-12 08:00	2024-07-12 20:00	Possible "Clossure".

Up to date as of 2024-07-11

Vehicle Status

As of 2024-06-29

Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Ship	Location	Status	Comment
S26	Rocket Garden	Resting	Static fire Oct. 20. No fins or heat shield, multiple mysterious changes. Completed 3 cryo tests, latest on Oct 10. Rolls to Massey's May 8th, cryo test May 24th, static fired Jun 3rd, rolls to rocket garden Jun 12th.
S29	Indian Ocean	Successful launch and soft water landing	Spin prime Mar 11th, Static fire Mar 25th (6 engines) and 27th (1 engine), partial WDR May 16th, full WDR May 20th, full WDR May 28th, FTS installed May 30th, stacked on Jun 1st, launched on IFT-4 Jun 6th.
S30	Highbay	Undergoing heatshield upgrade	2x cryo: Jan 3rd and Jan 5th. Engines installed ~Apr 9th. Static fired May 8th.
S31	Megabay 2	Pending engine install	Cryo tested May 12th, suffers small electrical fire. Underwent repairs in the Highbay, rolls back to Massey's Jul 1. Cryo tested Jul 2nd and 3rd.
S32	Rocket Garden	Resting	Fully stacked, fore flaps installed but not aft flaps
S33-35		Abandoned	Parts spotted, likely to be scrapped in preparation for Starship v2
S36-37	Build Site	Parts spotted	Starship v2 forward flap spotted

Booster	Location	Status	Comment
B11	Gulf of Mexico	Successful launch and soft water landing	Completed 2 Cryo tests. Static fired Apr 5th, hot stage ring installed ~May 3rd, partial WDR May 16th, full WDR May 20th, full WDR May 28th, FTS installed May 30th, launched IFT-4 on Jun 6th.
B12	Pad A	Pending static fire	Cryo x2
B13	Megabay 1	Testing	Cryo tests Apr 26th (methane tank) and Apr 29th (LOX tank)
B14	Megabay 1	Pending cryo	Stacked Apr 26th
B14.1	Sanchez	Resting	Multiple catch simulation "slap tests" performed on Jun 26th and 27th.
B15	Build Site	Assembly	Potential aft end, common dome section, aft tank section, and forward dome spotted.
B16	Build Site	Assembly	Parts spotted
B17	Build Site	Assembly	Parts spotted

Resources

LabPadre Channel | NASASpaceFlight.com Channel
NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent
NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation | Most Recent
SpaceX: Website Starship page | Starship Users Guide (2020, PDF)
FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
Production Progress Infographics by @RingWatchers
Raptor 2 Tracker by @SpaceRhin0
Acronym definitions by Decronym
Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Everyday Astronaut: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates | Launch Tower | Merlin Engine | Raptor Engine

Old orbital tank farm map | Source.

(page 2) 13 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Starbase activities (2024-06-18):

CC8800-1 crane assembly continues: Derrick is connected to main boom. Main boom is moved towards crane body (closeup).
Tower B assembly continues: Base entrance lintel is placed, and crossbeam is installed.
Tower A ship quick disconnect repairs underway: Actuators are disconnected.
GSEC-4 is lifted off GSE-3, and scrapping begins. (reference map)
Perlite removal may be complete, as no vacuum trucks have been observed recently. 680 truck loads were removed between Apr 22nd and Jun 15th.
Build site parking garage is being painted.
B15 downcomer enters Megabay 1 and is lifted into position.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Starbase activities (2024-06-19):

Quiet day due to weather. Photographer Cargile reports.
Large horizontal tank rolls from Sanchez to the launch site.
Road delay posted for "booster" transport "from Massey's to the pad" (likely incorrect) on Jun 21st between 12:00 to 16:00.
Jun 18th cryo deliveries, and running total since IFT-4.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Starbase activities (2024-06-27):

Jun 26th addendum: More tower wall sections are delivered to pad B.
Previous day's cryo delivery tally
Overnight, a horizontal tank arrives at Sanchez.
LR11000 hooks up to GSE-3 (reference map). GSE-6 scrapping is completed.
Morning chopstick testing: Slight movement, GSE tank scrapping crew arrives, chopstick closes on B14.1. Total of 3 slap tests in the morning. (NSF)
Jun 27th closure is revoked, and a road delay is issued instead.
CC8800-1 crane testing continues. Tower stacking is currently scheduled to be completed by August 15th.
Afternoon chopstick testing: 2 slaps (ViX, NSF), a rail raise, and 2 catch tests (ViX, NSF), chopsticks return to resting position. Doherty photographs B14.1 afterwards, Golden shares his thoughts, SpaceX posts a highlights reel.

Other: Highlights from StarBase update with Kathy Lueders

3 months to completion of Starfactory

Working with TXDOT on expanding HWY 4 to a 4 lane road eventually

Starbase commercial retail Space on hold.

Staff residency over 50% local to Brownsville with ~400 staff living on site.

Permanent Orbital Fuel Depot for Moon + Mars missions

SpaceX monitoring sound levels for Port Isabel + SPI + Brownsville during testing.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Environmental mitigation teams in place before and after launches.

Monthly emergency management meetings with Cameron County and local hospitals for catastrophe scenarios.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Starbase activities (2024-06-28):

Previous day’s cryo delivery tally (June 27th)
Overnight, another horizontal tank arrives at Sanchez.
B14.1 is moved from the launch mount to a transport stand (ViX, NSF).
GSE-3 is removed for scrapping. (reference map)
Tower segments and chopsticks arrive at Brownsville port (ViX, NSF). (Starship Gazer photo 1, Starship Gazer photo 2, Doherty photo, Gomez video, Jesus photobomb, cnunez photo, cnunez pelicans)
Road delays posted for Jun 29th and 30th, and July 1st and 2nd, all 00:00 to 03:00.

Other:

Slap test comparison from DeffGeff/NSF.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Starbase activities (2024-06-30):

Overnight, GSE-5 is removed and scrapping begins. (reference map)
Previous day's cryo delivery tally
Afternoon build site timelapse: Stuff moves around, ship cryo stand arrives, and cryo pipe is installed in tower segment #2.
Ship lifting jig is raised to S31 in the Highbay. Ship cryo stand enters Highbay.
RGV Aerial posts photos from recent flyover: Commercial retail site, build site, Pad B and possible flame trench outline.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Starbase activities (2024-05-27):

Relatively ~~quite~~ quiet day (holiday?)
LR11000 removes the remaining section of GSEC-5 (cover of GSE-1).
OLM detonation suppression system is tested.
OLM deluge is tested. (Nerdle, Rover 2, NSF)
Road closure scheduled for May 28th, possibly for a 2nd WDR.

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

Starbase activities (2024-07-10):

Jul 9th addendum (ViX, NSF, Doherty): Tank farm offload area is functional again, B12 is lifted onto launch mount, and booster transport stand returns to build site.
Jul 9th cryo delivery tally.
S31 moves back into Megabay 2. Ship is lifted from transport stand onto turntable.
Pad B: Tower segment #1 moves towards the tower base. CC8800-1 crane is lowered, then raised. Load spreader is attached to tower segment.
Build site morning video tour.
Amended road closures for "non-flight testing" are posted, and the July 10th 12:00 to 00:00 closure is scheduled.
Booster quick disconnect retracts from B12 (not B13). Some venting from B12, followed by road reopening.
Two July 11th closures ranging from 08:00 to midnight are possible, and one July 12th closure from 08:00 to 00:00 is possible.

Other:

Recent Starship Gazer videos on Tower B construction and S30 heat shield replacement.
SpaceX publicly responds to a NYT article on the affects of Starbase on piping plover populations. It is somewhat unusual to see an official SpaceX social media account used in this manner. Anyone else remember any similar examples?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #57

load more comments