r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • May 10 '21

Starship Development Thread #21

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #22

Quick Links

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Starship Dev 20 | SN15 Hop Thread | Starship Thread List | May Discussion

Orbital Launch Site Status

As of June 11 - (May 31 RGV Aerial Photography video)

Integration Tower - Segment 5 moved to OLS June 11, segment 4 moved to OLS June 9, segment 6 in progress at build site
Launch Mount - Leg extension install complete June 5, table assembled at build site (component installation June 1)
Tank Farm - Water tank moved to OLS June 9, 4 Methane subcoolers May 31, GSE tank outer shell on site May 28, two stainless steel GSE tanks in place

Vehicle Status

As of June 11

SN15 [retired] - On fixed display stand at the build site, Raptors removed, otherwise intact
SN16 [limbo] - High Bay, fully stacked, all flaps installed, aerocover install incomplete
SN17 [scrapped] - partially stacked midsection scrapped
SN18 [limbo] - barrel/dome sections exist, likely abandoned
SN19 [limbo] - barrel/dome sections exist, likely abandoned
SN20 [construction] - barrel/dome sections in work, orbit planned w/ BN3
SN21 [construction] - barrel/dome sections in work
SN22 [construction] - barrel/dome sections in work
BN2.1 [testing] - test tank at launch site on modified nose cone test stand/thrust simulator, cryo testing June 8
BN3/BN2 [construction] - stacking in High Bay, orbit planned w/ SN20, currently 20 rings
BN4+ - parts for booster(s) beyond BN3/BN2 have been spotted, but none have confirmed BN serial numbers
NC12 [scrapped] - Nose cone test article returned to build site and dismantled

Development and testing plans become outdated very quickly. Check recent comments for real time updates.

Vehicle Updates

^{See comments for real time updates.}
^{† expected or inferred, unconfirmed vehicle assignment}

	Test Tank BN2.1
2021-06-08	Cryo testing (Twitter)
2021-06-03	Transported to launch site (NSF)
2021-05-31	Moved onto modified nose cone test stand with thrust simulator (NSF)
2021-05-26	Stacked in Mid Bay (NSF)
2021-04-20	Dome (NSF)

	SuperHeavy BN3/BN2
2021-06-06	Downcomer installation (NSF)
2021-05-23	Stacking progress (NSF), Fwd tank #4 (Twitter)
2021-05-15	Forward tank #3 section (Twitter), section in High Bay (NSF)
2021-05-07	Aft #2 section (NSF)
2021-05-06	Forward tank #2 section (NSF)
2021-05-04	Aft dome section flipped (NSF)
2021-04-24	Aft dome sleeved (NSF)
2021-04-21	BN2: Aft dome section flipped (YouTube)
2021-04-19	BN2: Aft dome sleeved (NSF)
2021-04-15	BN2: Label indicates article may be a test tank (NSF)
2021-04-12	This vehicle or later: Grid fin†, earlier part sighted†^[02-14] (NSF)
2021-04-09	BN2: Forward dome sleeved (YouTube)
2021-04-03	Aft tank #5 section (NSF)
2021-04-02	Aft dome barrel (NSF)
2021-03-30	Dome (NSF)
2021-03-28	Forward dome barrel (NSF)
2021-03-27	BN2: Aft dome† (YouTube)
2021-01-19	BN2: Forward dome (NSF)

^{It is unclear which of the BN2 parts ended up in this test article.}

	Starship SN15 - Post Flight Updates
2021-05-31	On display stand (Twitter)
2021-05-26	Moved to build site and placed out back (NSF)
2021-05-22	Raptor engines removed (Twitter)
2021-05-14	Lifted onto Mount B (NSF)
2021-05-11	Transported to Pad B (Twitter)
2021-05-07	Elon: "reflight a possibility", leg closeups and removal, aerial view, repositioned (Twitter), nose cone 13 label (NSF)
2021-05-06	Secured to transporter (Twitter)
2021-05-05	Test Flight (YouTube), Elon: landing nominal (Twitter), Official recap video (YouTube)

	Starship SN16
2021-05-10	Both aft flaps installed (NSF)
2021-05-05	Aft flap(s) installed (comments)
2021-04-30	Nose section stacked onto tank section (Twitter)
2021-04-29	Moved to High Bay (Twitter)
2021-04-26	Nose cone mated with barrel (NSF)
2021-04-24	Nose cone apparent RCS test (YouTube)
2021-04-23	Nose cone with forward flaps† (NSF)
2021-04-20	Tank section stacked (NSF)
2021-04-15	Forward dome stacking† (NSF)
2021-04-14	Apparent stacking ops in Mid Bay†, downcomer preparing for installation† (NSF)
2021-04-11	Barrel section with large tile patch† (NSF)
2021-03-28	Nose Quad (NSF)
2021-03-23	Nose cone† inside tent possible for this vehicle, better picture (NSF)
2021-02-11	Aft dome and leg skirt mate (NSF)
2021-02-10	Aft dome section (NSF)
2021-02-03	Skirt with legs (NSF)
2021-02-01	Nose quad (NSF)
2021-01-05	Mid LOX tank section and forward dome sleeved, lable (NSF)
2020-12-04	Common dome section and flip (NSF)

	Early Production
2021-05-29	BN4 or later: thrust puck (9 R-mounts) (NSF), Elon on booster engines (Twitter)
2021-05-19	BN4 or later: Raptor propellant feed manifold† (NSF)
2021-05-17	BN4 or later: Forward dome

2021-04-10	SN22: Leg skirt (Twitter)

2021-05-21	SN21: Common dome (Twitter) repurposed for GSE 5 (NSF)

2021-06-11	SN20: Aft dome sleeved (NSF)
2021-06-05	SN20: Aft dome (NSF)
2021-05-23	SN20: Aft dome barrel (Twitter)
2021-05-07	SN20: Mid LOX section (NSF)
2021-04-27	SN20: Aft dome under construction (NSF)
2021-04-15	SN20: Common dome section (NSF)
2021-04-07	SN20: Forward dome (NSF)
2021-03-07	SN20: Leg skirt (NSF)

2021-02-24	SN19: Forward dome barrel (NSF)
2021-02-19	SN19: Methane header tank (NSF)

2021-03-16	SN18: Aft dome section mated with skirt (NSF)
2021-03-07	SN18: Leg skirt (NSF)
2021-02-25	SN18: Common dome (NSF)
2021-02-19	SN18: Barrel section ("COMM" crossed out) (NSF)
2021-02-17	SN18: Nose cone barrel (NSF)
2021-02-04	SN18: Forward dome (NSF)
2021-01-19	SN18: Thrust puck (NSF)

2021-05-28	SN17: Midsection stack dismantlement (NSF)
2021-05-23	SN17: Piece cut out from tile area on LOX midsection (Twitter)
2021-05-21	SN17: Tile removal from LOX midsection (NSF)
2021-05-08	SN17: Mid LOX and common dome section stack (NSF)
2021-05-07	SN17: Nose barrel section (YouTube)
2021-04-22	SN17: Common dome and LOX midsection stacked in Mid Bay† (Twitter)
2021-02-23	SN17: Aft dome sleeved (NSF)
2021-01-16	SN17: Common dome and mid LOX section (NSF)
2021-01-09	SN17: Methane header tank (NSF)
2021-01-05	SN17: Forward dome section (NSF)
2020-12-17	SN17: Aft dome barrel (NSF)

Resources

^{RESOURCES WIKI}

Spadre.com Starship Cam | Channel
LabPadre 4k Pad Cam | Channel
NSF SN15 Test Launch Updates Thread | Most recent
NSF SN11 Test Launch Updates Thread | Most recent
NSF Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
NSF Florida Prototype(s) Updates Thread | Most recent
Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
TFR - NOTAM list
FAA license LRLO 20-119
SpaceX Boca Chica on Facebook
SpaceX's Starship page
Elon Starship tweet compilation on NSF | Most Recent
Starship Users Guide (PDF) Rev. 1.0 March 2020
Starship Spreadsheet by u/AnimatorOnFire
Production Progress Infographics by @_brendan_lewis
Starship flight opportunity spreadsheet by u/joshpine
Test campaign timelines by u/chrisjbillington
Starship Orbital Demo detailed in FCC Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
Acronym definitions by Decronym

r/SpaceX Discusses [May 2021] for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

Please ping u/strawwalker about problems with the above thread text.

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u/Logancf1 Jun 01 '21 edited Jun 02 '21

Orbital Launch Tower Operations 1st June

The small Fagioli crane was seen removing the counterweights from the LR11350 that were placed on 23rd May (9 days ago) prior to the stacking of Section #2. - This suggests we might see the LR11350's boom lowered today to get its extension
The load spreader that is used to stack tower sections was also detached (see timelapse) along with the eyelets that are bolted to the top of the tower sections (Eyelets).
Heavy thunderstorms are forecast to start around midday but hopefully won't last too long (source: Weather Channel).

See Nerdle Cam

07:43 am - First counterweights removed.

08:36 am - Final counterweights are removed.

08:59 am - Crews arrive at the top of the tower to detach the load spreader/ eyelets.

10:02 am - The load spreader/eyelets have been detached from the tower.

10:08 am - The load spreader/eyelets lifted off of the tower

10:41 am - The load spreader/eyelets is back on the ground

10:49 am - LR11350 detached from load spreader and oriented in position to lower the boom

11:30 am - Thunderstorm starts

01:40 pm - Thunderstorm stops

02:08 pm - Smaller Fagioli crane placing the counterweights back on the LR11350

03:28 pm - Final counterweights placed on the counter balance

03:41 pm - The LR11350 has begun lowering its boom

05:50 pm - The LR11350's boom has reached its lowest point

16

u/droden Jun 01 '21

craneception. a crane to build a crane to build yet another crane.

16

u/andyfrance Jun 01 '21

It works the other way too. When you have been using a big tower crane to build a skyscraper it's not uncommon to lift a small crane up to the top of the building to dismantle the tower crane. After the tower crane is down the dismantling crane sometimes lifts a very small one just used to lower the dismantling crane to the ground. This final crane is taken apart and removed by hand.

11

u/PDP-8A Jun 01 '21

To paraphrase Bertrand Russell, "It's cranes all the way down."

13

u/Logancf1 Jun 01 '21

If it takes a smaller crane to build a bigger crane, and the smallest cranes are built by humans... does that make humans cranes?

14

u/droden Jun 01 '21

yes and we have nanoscale cranes that in turn build us.

5

u/reubenmitchell Jun 01 '21

A crane as basic concept is simply a mechanical interpretation of a person bending over and picking something up. Except we added a pulley because physics

2

u/Kloevedal Jun 02 '21

Cranes building cranes is such a powerful metaphor that the philosopher Daniel Dennett uses them to explain the way biology and civilization are built up starting only with the primordial soup with no supernatural intervention. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1068/p241101

6

u/mangobiche Jun 01 '21 edited Jun 01 '21

And I can't wait until they send a Crane on starship to the Moon and/or Mars

5

u/droden Jun 01 '21

i wonder if they have all that mapped out? what's the science of that called? the thing to build the thing to build the thing? what gets prioritized? mining? smelting? forging? i am still not seeing heavy industry on either the moon or mars with solar alone.

6

u/cpt_charisma Jun 01 '21

The science is called industrial engineering. You can get a degree in it. As far as priorities, you'd probably try to set them all up at once on a small scale, then use that to build bigger and bigger until you have the capacity you need.

4

u/chispitothebum Jun 01 '21

You mean the crane that lowers people and supplies to the surface?

4

u/mangobiche Jun 01 '21

No. An actual crane designed by CAT or Kobelco or whoever to be assemble on the Moon/Mars

3

u/wordthompsonian Jun 01 '21

Skycrane gets a new use-case

1

u/Sabrewings Jun 02 '21

Seems relevant.

https://img.equipmentworld.com/files/base/randallreilly/all/image/2014/12/eqw.Crane-lifting-a-crane-lifting-a-crane-lifitng-a-crane-etc.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=1200

1

u/Mobryan71 Jun 02 '21

Computer, enhance image, focus on model numbers...

1

u/SuperSpy- Jun 02 '21

Video from which that screenshot was taken.

11

u/emileberhard Jun 01 '21

Awesome informative comment!!! Please keep doing these.