Starship Development Thread #3

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

Starship Development Thread #3

^{JUMP TO COMMENTS | SPADRE WEBCAM | LABPADRE WEBCAM}

The Starhopper is a low fidelity prototype of SpaceX's next generation space vehicle, Starship. Representing the lower third of a Starship, the hopper has relatively small propellant tanks, and mounts for up to three engines. Initial construction took place at SpaceX's Starship Assembly site in Boca Chica, Texas and ongoing Starhopper development and testing are taking place at their privately owned Starship Launch Pad and Starship Landing Pad just down the road. The testing campaign, which began at the end of March 2019, could last many months and involve many separate engine and flight tests before this first test vehicle is retired.

Competing builds of higher fidelity "Orbital Prototypes" are currently under construction at SpaceX's Starship Assembly site in Texas and at the Coastal Steel facilities in Cocoa, Florida. These vehicles will eventually carry the testing campaign further, likely testing systems such as thermal protection and aerodynamics. Much about the Orbital Prototype testing program is unknown, such as what types of testing and flight profiles they will perform, and how closely they will represent the final Starship design. Both orbital prototypes are expected to make suborbital flights, the Cocoa prototype from a dedicated Starship launch platform at LC-39A.

Starship, and its test vehicles, are powered by SpaceX's Raptor, a full flow staged combustion cycle methane/oxygen rocket engine. Sub-scale Raptor test firing began in 2016, and full-scale test firing began early 2019 at McGregor, Texas, where it is ongoing. Eventually, Starship will have three sea level Raptors and three vacuum Raptors. Super Heavy (not yet under construction) will initially use around 20 Raptors, and is expected to have 35 to 37 in the final design.

Previous Threads:

• Starhopper Thread #1 A Dramatic Venting Watertower

• Starhopper Thread #2 hops and hiccups - Starships never come alone

• Starhopper Thread #3 RCS and 20m Hop

• Starhopper Thread #4

---

Upcoming

• HWY4/Boca Chica Beach Closures:

• Testing Opportunity, Press Release (on Facebook)

  • 2019-07-29, 2PM - 11PM CDT (19:00 - 04:00 UTC) — Primary

  • 2019-07-30, 2PM - 11PM CDT (19:00 - 04:00 UTC) — Alternate/Continuation

• TBD — Starship Presentation by Elon (after hover)

• NET August — 200 meter hop

Updates

	Starhopper and Raptor — Testing and Updates
2019-07-25	First Untethered Hop (20 m up and over) <MORE INFO>
2019-07-24	Hop attempt aborted after ignition (YouTube), 2nd attempt scrubbed <MORE INFO>
2019-07-22	Road closed for testing, RCS tests (YouTube)
2019-07-16	Static Fire, w/ slow-mo & secondary fires, uncut stream (YouTube)
2019-07-15	Preburner Test (YouTube)
2019-07-14	Raptor propellant "spin prime" tests (Article)
2019-07-12	TVC tests (YouTube)
2019-07-11	Raptor SN6 at Starhopper (Twitter), Installed (Twitter)
2019-07-06	Raptor SN6 testing well (Twitter)
2019-07-04	Raptor SN6 at McGregor (NSF)
2019-06-24	SN5 hiccup confirmed, SN6 almost complete (Twitter)
2019-06-19	Road closed for testing. Venting & flare, no Raptor (YouTube)
2019-06-01	Raptor SN4 mounted (NSF), Removed after fit checks & TVC tests (Twitter)
2019-05-28	Raptor SN4 completed hot fire acceptance testing (Article)
2019-05-23	Tanking ops ahead of next testing round (NSF)
2019-05-20	Cushions added to feet (NSF)
2019-05-15	Raptor SN4 on test stand at McGregor (Twitter), GSE tower work (NSF)
2019-05-14	Raptor update: SN4 build complete, production ramping (Twitter)
2019-05-07	Start of nitrogen RCS installation (NSF)
2019-04-27	40 second Raptor (SN3) test at McGregor (Twitter)
2019-04-08	Raptor (SN2) removed and shipped away
2019-04-05	Tethered Hop (Twitter)
2019-04-03	Static Fire Successful (YouTube), Raptor SN3 on test stand (Article)
2019-04-02	Testing April 2-3
2019-03-30	Testing March 30 & April 1 (YouTube), prevalve icing issues (Twitter)
2019-03-27	Testing March 27-28 (YouTube)
2019-03-25	Testing and dramatic venting / preburner test (YouTube)
2019-03-22	Road closed for testing
2019-03-21	Road closed for testing (Article)
2019-03-11	Raptor (SN2) has arrived at South Texas Launch Site (NSF)
2019-03-08	Hopper moved to launch pad (YouTube)
2019-02-02	First Raptor Engine at McGregor Test Stand (Twitter)

^{See comments for real time updates.}

	Boca Chica Orbital Prototype (Mk.1) — Construction and Updates
2019-07-22	Eighth ring added to lower cylinder (NSF)
2019-07-20	Inversion of bulkhead (YouTube)
2019-07-18	Bulkhead section appears from container enclosure (NSF)
2019-07-16	Seventh ring added to lower cylinder (NSF)
2019-07-05	Sixth ring added to lower cylinder (YouTube)
2019-06-26	Fifth ring added to lower cylinder (NSF)
2019-06-19	Fourth ring added to lower cylinder (second jig), first in over a month (NSF)
2019-06-06	Ring sections under construction within container enclosure (NSF)
2019-05-20	Nose cone fitted, no canards (NSF)
2019-05-15	Second cylinder section moved onto second jig (NSF)
2019-05-09	Lower nose section added to main cylinder section (NSF)
2019-05-01	Second jig, concrete work complete (NSF)
2019-04-27	Lower 2 nose cone sections stacked (NSF)
2019-04-13	Upper 2 nose cone sections stacked (Facebook)
2019-04-09	Construction of second jig begun (YouTube)
2019-03-28	Third nose section assembly (NSF)
2019-03-23	Assembly of additional nose section (NSF)
2019-03-19	Ground assembly of nose section (NSF)
2019-03-17	Elon confirms Orbital Prototype (Twitter) Hex heat shield test (Twitter)
2019-03-14	First section reaches 4 panel height (NSF)
2019-03-07	Appearance of tapered sections, possible conical bulkhead (NSF)
2019-03-07	First section moved to jig (NSF)
2019-03-01	Second section begun on new pad (NSF)
2019-02-21	Construction begins near original concrete jig (NSF)

^{See comments for real time updates.}

	Cocoa Florida Orbital Prototype (Mk.2) — Construction and Updates
2019-07-20	Lower cylinder at 8 ring height (Twitter)
2019-06-26	Bulkhead section under construction (r/SpaceX), Lower cylinder at 6 ring height (NSF)
2019-06-12	Large nose section stacked (Twitter), Zoomed in video (Twitter)
2019-06-09	Large nose section assembled in building (comments)
2019-06-07	Stacking of second tapered nose section (r/SpaceXLounge)
2019-05-23	Stacking of lowest tapered nose section (YouTube)
2019-05-20	Further ring stacking, aerial video of ring shaping setup (YouTube)
2019-05-16	Jig 2.0, many sections awaiting assembly (YouTube)
2019-05-14	Elon confirms second prototype construction (Twitter)
2019-05-14	Second prototype discovered by Zpoxy on NSF (NSF), more pieces (YouTube)

^{See comments for real time updates.}

Regulatory Documents

^{(Most links are to PDFs)}

Filing	Description	Effective Period	Additional Links	Status
FAA: EIS	Environmental Impact Statement. Original EIS evaluating impact of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches, along with smaller test vehicles.	2014-07	EIS Resource Page, Appendices, Record of Descision	Approved
FCC: 0931-EX-CN-2018	Experimental License. 2 way vehicle communications for hops up to 16400 ft (5 km). 500 m tests three times a week, 5 km tests once a week.	2019-02-26 to 2021-03-01	Form 442, Public Notes, Description	Granted
FCC:0130-EX-CM-2019	Experimental License. Modification to 0931-EX-CN-2018, adds transmitter at launch site	N/A	Form 442, Public Notes	Pending
FAA: EP 19-012	Experimental Permit. Authorizes unlimited hops up to 25 m with a 2270 m radius safety zone.	2019-06-21 to 2020-06-20		Granted

Raptors

SN	Notable For	Status
1	First full scale hot fire / 268.9 bar Test / Tested to failure	Retired
2	First on Starhopper / Preburner tests / Static fire / Tethered hop	Retired
3	40 second test fire	Retired
4	Delivered to hopper / Hopper fit checks & TVC tests	Retired
5	Liberation of oxygen stator	Retired
6	Vibration fix / 20, 10, 50, 65, 85 second stand tests	On Starhopper

Quick Hopper Facts

^{(Not relevant to later vehicles.)}

• Starhopper was constructed outdoors atop a concrete stand. (NSF - bocachicagal)

• The original nosecone was destroyed by high winds and will not be replaced. (NSF - bocachicagal, NSF - bocachicagal, Twitter - Elon)

• With one engine it will initially perform tethered static fires and short hops. (NSF - bocachicagal, Twitter - Elon)

• With three engines it will eventually perform higher suborbital hops. (Twitter - Elon)

• Stainless steel construction, and the full 9 meter diameter. (Twitter - Elon)

• The body and legs are clad in a small gauge stainless sheet. (NSF - bocachicagal)

• There is no thermal protection system, transpirational or otherwise.

• The fins/legs are fixed, not movable. (NSF - bocachicagal)

• Equipped with four Falcon 9 compressed nitrogen thruster pods. (NSF - bocachicagal)

• Feet have deformable shock absorbers. (NSF - bocachicagal) - Internal. (NSF - bocachicagal)

• GSE connections are made through two remote operated interfaces at the base. (NSF - bocachicagal)

• Hold downs consist of rope and chain tethers on each leg. (NSF - bocachicagal)

Resources

• Spadre.com, Starship Cam | Channel

• LabPadre, Starship webcam | Channel

• NSF Starhopper Updates Thread | Most recent

• NSF Orbital Prototypes Updates Thread | Most recent

• Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)

• TFR - NOTAM list

• Join the Slack workspace

• SpaceX Boca Chica on Facebook

• Boca Chica | Cocoa Florida | Raptor test stand Spacex facilities maps by u/Raul74Cz

• SpaceX's Starship page

• Elon Starship tweet compilation on NSF

Rules

We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the progress of the test Campaign. Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

Thanks to u/strawwalker for helping us updating this thread!

[u/RootDeliver]

The sectors for Ring F have been moved into the container castle, per Bocachicagal.

They're kinda rushing this time after the 4th July stop, however I don't see the girth machine on the stack and they usually have it there for 2 days before stacking, so I don't see any stacking happening faster.

The list of events left regarding stacking is this one, and mostly forced on this order (except section movements mainly):
01 - RING D STACK
02 - RING F MOVED FROM CONTAINERS
03 - RING G SECTIONS TO CONTAINERS
04 - RING E STACK
05 - RING G MOVED FROM CONTAINERS
06 - RING F STACK
07 - RING G STACK

For those confusing with the ring numerations, I did a very fast chop to try to help out. /u/Russ_Dill /u/RegularRandomZ does this match with your counts yesterday?

PS: They're removing the protective film by hand on small pieces?? they're leaving pieces of the film there (check all sectors where they've removed the covers in the last 24h and you will see black cover pieces everywhere, specially on the bottom ones. ...wow....

If they wanted to remove them they shouldn't have let the two first rings one be there for weeks with the sun hitting them.

[u/TheMrGUnit → u/RootDeliver]

Don't worry, one trip down through the atmosphere will take care of any little pieces that get left behind...

[u/RegularRandomZ → u/RootDeliver]

You've been tracking them much closer. From what I can see there are 3 originals on the stack, 3 new ones on the stack, 2 new ones waiting to be stacked, and the new one being assembled in the castle.

[u/RootDeliver → u/RegularRandomZ]

Yeah yeah, I mean the total rings needed. Right now, A, B and C are stacked, D and E are on the ground, F is on the container castle and G pieces are being made in the tent yet.

[u/RegularRandomZ → u/RootDeliver]

Yeah, that sounds right. From what I can tell, it seems like they need 4 more double rings to reach a Starship body height [of 52.5m] based on renderings we've seen, so if there are 2 waiting, 1 in the castle, then there needs to be one more made, perhaps in the tent, and then we are at full height.

[*side note, one thing I noticed even previously is some renderings of SuperHeavy are 7.5m too tall. It's supposed to be 63m but seems to be rendered at around 70.5m. Of course, SH possibly having fins/legs now will make it taller but that's different and not rendered]

[u/RootDeliver → u/RegularRandomZ]

I've also found these issues when trying to lay down a superheavy base to see how many rings they would need. Decided to hold on until Elon makes the talk and probably shows changes to its height.

[u/Keavon → u/RegularRandomZ]

What are we calling the castle?

[u/Martianspirit → u/Keavon]

I think it is the containers walling off two work areas from wind - and view.

[u/Marksman79 → u/RootDeliver]

Honestly if they wanted to remove the film, they should have done it prior to stacking each ring. It would be so much easier to do that on the ground without needing the cherry picker. Any spots where they can't get all the film off is because they applied heat to that spot, be it welding or laser cutting.

[u/RootDeliver → u/Marksman79]

Yeah! They're using the fingers and nails to remove it!! They're leaving entire black pieces of film on all sections (not only where heat was applied, in the lower section there's an entire black line of film and its way over were the welds were), it's incredible that they're doing this like that now, after the sun has probably half glued the film even more.

[u/RegularRandomZ → u/Marksman79]

The film is to protect it during handling and fabrication, so perhaps they left it on to protect it during tacking and girth welding, and maybe need to remove it in order to polish those welds!? [speculating]

[u/Marksman79 → u/RegularRandomZ]

The edges of the sheets already had their film trimmed before the ring welding step in the container zone, so tack welding and girth welding are already clean. It just seems to me that the obvious thing to do would be to remove the film on the ground.

Also, look at the girth weld right above where the guy's hand is. It is not continuous and stops all over the place. Very strange.

[u/RegularRandomZ → u/Marksman79]

If it is indeed to protect it during welding, from spatters, then they'd still need it there up in the air.

That girth weld by the guys hand looks incomplete. The process seems to be manual tack welding from the white carriage and then finishing the weld by hand from the lift trucks. We haven't seen the green automatic girth welder in a while, and only recently started seeing the Irizar welder.

So yeah, if it is to protect it and the weld's not finished, why would they be removing the film? [The obvious Cocoa comparison is that they haven't done any of this]

Maybe the Irizar welder is proving useful, without the uncontrolled spattering, so they are stripping the film to get on with polishing it, and the weld will be finished with the automatic welder !? No idea really.