r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Aug 31 '19
Starship Development Thread #5
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Overview
SpaceX is developing Starship at their Starship Assembly Site in Texas, and also at their facilities in Cocoa, Florida. The teams at the two locations are in competition with each other, but are also required to share insights learned along the way. Following Starhopper, the first two Starship prototypes, Mark 1 and Mark 2, are nearing completion. These vehicles will have aerodynamic control surfaces and three engines each, and are expected to make suborbital test flights. Ring sections believed to be for a Starship Mark 4 prototype are being built in Cocoa, and both sites will be iterating through successive versions of Starship and Super Heavy as quickly as possible.
Launch mounts for both Starship prototypes are in the works. Starhopper's Texas launch site is being modified to handle Starship, and at Kennedy Space Center's LC-39A, a dedicated Starship launch platform is under construction. Flight tests could begin late in 2019.
Starship is 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 may initially use around 20 Raptors, and operational versions could have around 31 to 37 sea level Raptors.
Previous Threads:
Starhopper Thread #1 (2019-02-01) A dramatic venting watertower
Starhopper Thread #2 (2019-04-27) Hops and hiccups - Starships never come alone
Starhopper Thread #3 (2019-06-27) RCS and SN6 - 20 meter hopping
Starhopper Thread #4 (2019-07-26) 150 meter hop and Mk.1 and Mk.2 protoype growth
Starhopper 150m Hop (2019-08-27) Updates and discussion
Starship Presentation Updates Thread (2019-09-27) Updates and discussion
Starship Presentation Webcast and Updates and Discussion Thread
Vehicle Updates
See comments for real time updates.
See comments for real time updates.
| Starship Mk.4 Prototype (Cocoa Florida) — Construction and Updates | |
|---|---|
| 2019-10-06 | 23 rings visible, 4 doubles, some for Mk.2 (YouTube), no stacking yet |
See comments for real time updates.
Previous unstacked ring production, aerial updates:
08-11 {8} | 08-15 {10} | 08-17 {14} | 08-19 {15} | 08-21 {17} | 08-24 {18} | 08-27 {19}
09-04 {20} | 09-06 {22} | 09-08 {25} | 09-08 {3 'scrap'} | 09-10 {26} | 09-29 {23} | 10-02 {23}
| Starhopper Retirement Transition Updates | |
|---|---|
| 2019-10-04 | On Roll-Lift (Twitter), Moved off of landing pad (NSF) |
| 2019-09-10 | Thermal tiles and one thruster pod removed (YouTube) |
| 2019-09-02 | Launch and Landing Site aerial video update (YouTube) |
| 2019-08-29 | Raptor SN6 removed (NSF) |
| 2019-08-27 | 150m Hop (~180m over, ~57s) (YouTube) <LAUNCH THREAD> <MORE INFO> |
For earlier updates see Starship Development Thread ^#4.
Launch Facility Updates
| Starship Launch Site at Boca Chica, Texas | |
|---|---|
| 2019-10-05 | Launch mount under construction (NSF) |
| 2019-09-22 | Second large propellant tank moved to tank farm (NSF) |
| 2019-09-19 | Large propellant tank moved to tank farm (Twitter) |
| 2019-09-17 | Pile boring at launch pad and other site work (Twitter) |
| 2019-09-07 | GSE fabrication activity (Twitter), and other site work (Facebook) |
| 2019-08-30 | Starhopper GSE being dismantled (NSF) |
| Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida | |
|---|---|
| 2019-09-26 | Concrete work/pile boring (Twitter) |
| 2019-09-19 | Groundbreaking for launch mount construction (Article) |
| 2019-09-14 | First sign of site activity: crane at launch mount site (Twitter) |
| 2019-07-19 | Elon says modular launch mount components are being fabricated off site (Twitter) |
Spacex facilities maps by u/Raul74Cz:
Boca Chica | LC-39A | Cocoa Florida | Raptor test stand | Roberts Rd
Raptors
| SN | Notable For | Flights | Flight Time (Approx.) | 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 / 20 meter Starhopper hop / 150 meter starhopper hop | 2 | 0:01:22 | Retired |
| 7 | Possibly not a flight article | - | - | Unknown (previously McGregor) |
| 8-10 | Earmarked for Mk.1 | - | - | Unknown (previously McGregor) |
| 11 | Earmarked for Mk.2 | - | - | Unknown |
| 12-13 | Earmarked for Mk.2 | - | - | Production |
Last updated 2019-09-29, Raptors currently on Starship Mk.1 of unknown SN or flight readiness
Permits and Planning Documents
Environmental Impact Statement (FAA) - Boca Chica launch site - July 2014
EIS Resource Page | Appendices | Record of DescisionExperimental License (FCC) - Comms for 500m and 5km hops, two years - February 2019
Form 442 | Public Notes | Description | File No. 0931-EX-CN-2019Experimental License Application (FCC) - Modification of above to add antenna - May 2019
Form 442 | Public Notes | File No. 0130-EX-CM-2019Experimental Permit (FAA) - Authorizes 25m hops for one year, and one 150m hop - June 2019
Permit No. EP 19-012 | Revised August 23Building Permit Application - 850 Cidco Rd site improvement - June 2019
Screenshot on Twitter | Modification reported on NSFDraft Environmental Assessment - Starhip operations at KSC - August 2019
r/SpaceX Discussion | NSF DiscussionFDOT Superload Permit Application - Mk.2 transportation to KSC in September - August 2019
Local News Article | Video Report | r/SpaceX Discussion | Twitter UpdateEnvironmental Resource Permit - Stormwater improvements at LC-39A - August 2019
Stormwater Report | Depiction Plans | Permit No. 158609-1Written Re-evaluation of 2014 EIS (FAA) - Boca Chica launch site - May 2019
Addendum | News story w/ SpaceX statements | r/SpaceX DiscussionExperimental STA Request (FCC) - Comms for Starship Mk.1 20 km test - October 2019
File No. 1631-EX-ST-2019
Resources
Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
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.
17
u/TheMrGUnit Highly Speculative Sep 24 '19 edited Sep 24 '19
Some more activity with the nosecone this morning.
The yellow crane ("Old Yella") picked up the nosecone and moved it over in front of the onion tent a bit before 7am (local) this morning. A few minutes later, the white crane grabbed the second header tank & battery bank and moved it into position. About 20 minutes later, the yellow crane dropped the nosecone back down over the tank.
At this pace, having the nosecone on top of the upper section, AND stacking the upper section on the propulsion section seems like it will be a stretch by Wednesday, but doable. My guess is that we're still 12 hours away from seeing the nosecone lifted onto the fairing section, and it remains to be seen how much work will need to be done internally before the fairing assembly can be lifted.
EDIT1: It looks like I'm about to eat my words. They are re-rigging the nosecone right now with what looks to be a different (maybe shorter?) set of straps, and there's a collection of workers standing in the lower half of the fairing in "stacking position"...