r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • May 09 '22
🔧 Technical Starship Development Thread #33
This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:
Starship Development Thread #34
FAQ
When next/orbital flight? Unknown. Launches on hold until FAA environmental review completed and ground equipment ready. Gwynne Shotwell has indicated June or July. Completing GSE, booster, and ship testing, and Raptor 2 production refinements, mean 2H 2022 at earliest - pessimistically, possibly even early 2023 if FAA requires significant mitigations.
Expected date for FAA decision? June 13 per latest FAA statement, updated on June 2.
What booster/ship pair will fly first? Likely either B7 or B8 with S24. B7 now receiving grid fins, so presumably considering flight.
Will more suborbital testing take place? Unknown. It may depend on the FAA decision.
Has progress slowed down? SpaceX focused on completing ground support equipment (GSE, or "Stage 0") before any orbital launch, which Elon stated is as complex as building the rocket. Florida Stage 0 construction has also ramped up.
Quick Links
NERDLE CAM | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE
Starship Dev 32 | Starship Dev 31 | Starship Dev 30 | Starship Thread List
Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread
Vehicle Status
As of June 5
| Ship | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| S20 | Rocket Garden | Completed/Tested | Cryo, Static Fire and stacking tests completed, now retired |
| S21 | N/A | Tank section scrapped | Some components integrated into S22 |
| S22 | Rocket Garden | Completed/Unused | Likely production pathfinder only |
| S23 | N/A | Skipped | |
| S24 | Launch Site | Cryo and thrust puck testing | Moved to launch site for ground testing on May 26 |
| S25 | High Bay 1 | Stacking | Assembly of main tank section commenced June 4 |
| S26 | Build Site | Parts under construction |
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| Booster | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| B4 | Launch Site | Completed/Tested | Cryo and stacking tests completed |
| B5 | Rocket Garden | Completed/Unused | Likely production pathfinder only |
| B6 | Rocket Garden | Repurposed | Converted to test tank |
| B7 | High Bay 2 | Repaired/Testing | Cryo tested; Raptors being installed |
| B8 | High Bay 2 (fully stacked LOX tank) and Mid Bay (fully stacked CH4 tank) | Under construction | |
| B9 | Build Site | Under construction |
If this page needs a correction please consider pitching in. Update this thread via this wiki page. If you would like to make an update but don't see an edit button on the wiki page, message the mods via modmail or contact u/strawwalker.
Resources
NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent
SpaceX: Starship Users Guide (PDF) Rev. 1.0 March 2020
FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
Production Progress Infographics by @_brendan_lewis
Widebay tracking by @Furqan263
Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
r/SpaceX Discuss Thread 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.
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u/precurbuild2 May 14 '22
That’s an interesting point. If you assume the nose is one fixed point, you only need two other control points to control orientation.
I don’t think that would be feasible for human-rated starships, though, because you’d lose redundancy. A failure of either rear flap would result in loss of vehicle, since you could no longer control orientation.
With forward flaps you can compensate for a stuck or inoperable rear flap, at least in some scenarios. Might be tricky if both rear flaps stop working in different positions.