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threelonmusketeers @sh.itjust.works

Starship Development Thread #49

SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

  1. When (first) orbital flight? First integrated flight test occurred April 20, 2023. "The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship."
  2. Where can I find streams of the launch? SpaceX Full Livestream. NASASpaceFlight Channel. Lab Padre Channel. Everyday Astronaut Channel.
  3. What's happening next? SpaceX has assessed damage to Stage 0 and is implementing fixes and changes including a water deluge/pad protection/"shower head" system. No major repairs to key structures appear to be necessary.
  4. When is the next flight test? Just after flight, Elon stated they "Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months." On April 29, he reiterated this estimate in a Twitter Spaces Q&A (summarized here), saying "I'm glad to report that the pad damage is actually quite small," should "be repaired quickly," and "From a pad standpoint, we are probably ready to launch in 6 to 8 weeks." Requalifying the flight termination system (FTS) and the FAA post-incident review will likely require the longest time to complete. Musk reiterated the timeline on May 26, stating "Major launchpad upgrades should be complete in about a month, then another month of rocket testing on pad, then flight 2 of Starship."
  5. Why no flame diverter/flame trench below the OLM? Musk tweeted on April 21: "3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount. Wasn’t ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch." Regarding a trench, note that the Starship on the OLM sits 2.5x higher off the ground than the Saturn V sat above the base of its flame trench, and the OLM has 6 exits vs. 2 on the Saturn V trench.

​

Quick Links

RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE

Starship Dev 48 | Starship Dev 47 | Starship Dev 46 | Starship Dev 45

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

Type Start (UTC) End (UTC) Status
Primary 2023-08-24 13:00:00 2023-08-25 01:00:00 Cancelled
Alternative 2023-08-25 14:00:00 2023-08-26 02:00:00 Concluded
Alternative 2023-08-28 13:00:00 2023-08-27 01:00:00 Cancelled

Up to date as of 2023-09-05

Vehicle Status

As of 2023-09-22

Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Ship Location Status Comment
S20 Rocket Garden Retired
S24 Gulf of Mexico Destroyed Destroyed on during Flight Test 1
S25 Stacked on B9 Spin Prime and Static Fire
S26 Test Stand B Cryo tested
S27 Rocket Garden Scrapped Common dome imploded
S28 Engine Install Stand Raptors installed Previously tested at Masseys
S29 Masseys Awaiting testing
S30 High Bay Under construction
S31 High Bay Under construction
S32 Build Site Parts spotted
S33 Build Site Parts spotted
S34 Build Site Parts spotted

 

Booster Location Status Comment
Pre-B7 & B8 Scrapped or Retired B4 is in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
B7 Gulf of Mexico Destroyed Destroyed April 20th in Flight Test 1
B9 Launch mount Hot-stage ring installed Static fire (August 5th)
B10 Megabay 1 Cryo tested
B11 Megabay 1
B12 Megabay 1 Grid fins installed
B13 Megabay 1 Stacking
B14 Build Site Parts under construction
B15 Build Site Parts under construction

Resources

55 comments

  • Elon has posted the list of 63 corrective actions: https://nitter.net/elonmusk/status/1700789411279966339#m

    Congrats to SpaceX for completing & documented the 57 items required by the FAA for Flight 2 of Starship!

    Worth noting that 6 of the 63 items refer to later flights.

    • A readable text version of the 63-item list can be see on Reddit here and a reply.

      • I copied and pasted it here. Thanks to @threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works for pointing me back at the RES extension so I could get the source.

        Each item is on its own line. C## is the ID#. If there's text before it on its line, that's its Observation / Description section name; if it's at the start of the line, the Observation / Description string is the next one above.

        List of Actions:

        Observation / Description ID# Corrective Action Description Status
        Tank sensing C1 Replace certain fittings with welds inside tank Complete
        Aft end cavity environment failure C2 Increase fire suppression capacity by 15x Complete
        C3 Replace certain manifolds with dedicated drain per corresponding valve Complete
        C4 Replace certain flanges with better seals and improve joint design Complete
        C5 Replace certain fittings with welds in specific location Complete
        Booster leak C6 Replace accessible valves of a certain type with new design Complete
        mitigation C7 Replace certain flange bolts with higher strength bolts and increase torque Complete
        C8 Disallow certain seal re-use, and add cameras to monitor all engines during ground operations Complete
        C9 Increased scrutiny on leak checks Complete
        C10 90+ cameras added to detect leakage during operations Complete
        C11 Add leak capture and drain hardware for valves of a certain type Complete
        C12 Add leak check and screen for porosity on igniter units Complete
        C13 Improved igniter seal design Future Action
        C14 Weld certain alignment bolt holes shut Complete
        Raptor leak C15 Reassess k-factor and torque for engine hot joint #1, add leak capture and route overboard Complete
        mitigation C16 Reassess k-factor and torque for engine hot joint #2 Complete
        C17 Add safety cable to certain fluid lines on high risk locations Complete
        C18 Add one methane sensor per engine bay Complete
        C19 Ground test campaign to better characterize typical engine leakage Complete
        C20 Improve structural FEA/fatigue analysis for all medium to high criticality lines Complete
        C21 Add insulation to engine lines sensitive to thermally driven loads Complete
        Collateral C22 Add insulation to avionic harnessing Complete
        damage from fire C23 Add backup wire to specific harness Complete
        C24 Improve thermal protection of avionics tray Complete
        C25 Change routing to flight computers Complete
        C26 Replace sensor with more reliable units Complete
        C27 Coat gimbal assembly with lubricant Complete
        C28 Add pump pressure sensors to certain location Complete
        C29 Add pump temperature sensors to certain location Complete
        Booster reliability C30 Replace certain bolts, and increase torque for certain flanges Complete
        improvement C31 New seal design for certain areas of booster Complete
        C32 Add electric actuation system Complete
        C33 Better manage engine bay pressure by increasing fire suppression capacity by Complete
        C34 Change certain booster valve timing Future Action
        C35 Add final leak checks for critical joints Complete
        C36 Add support bracket for certain sensor Complete
        C37 Add support bracket for certain sensor Complete
        C38 Add check valves to certain areas of engine Complete
        C39 Improve oxygen valve design Future Action
        C40 Improve oxygen valve seal design Future Action
        Raptor reliability C41 Improve design of hot manifold Future Action
        improvement C42 Change nitrogen shutdown usage Complete
        C43 Change engine shutdown logic Complete
        C44 Increase capability for ground leakage mitigation Complete
        C45 Redesign fire suppression system Complete
        C46 Change conditions around bolts Complete
        C47 Change timing of specific valve actuation Complete
        Avionics reliability C48 Eliminate certain type of connector Complete
        improvement C49 Redesign network architecture Future Action
        Risk Process C50 Improve risk tracking process Complete
        C51 Implement improvements to safety system Complete
        Safety System C52 Verify flight safety system design improvements using additional type of test article Complete
        C53 Verify flight safety system design improvements via analysis Complete
        C54 Perform component testing Complete
        C55 Review and improve operations surrounding flight safety system Complete
        C56 Improve CAD controls Complete
        Control C57 Add engineering walkdown Complete
        Change C58 Improve use of change management system Complete
        C59 Redesign of launch pad deck Complete
        Pad Design C60 Improve assumptions for new pad deck design Complete
        C61 Add water cooled pad deck Complete
        Pad Design Process C62 Improve pad deck design documentation Complete
        C63 Improve pad design process Complete

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    7:24am- LR11000 picks up the ring lifting jig and swings over to hot staging ring. Looks like they are done with the work on top of B9

    7:30am- Lowers the lifting jig down to the ring

    8:10am- Workers are on the SQD and on top of B9

    8:47am- Workers retract the work platform on the SQD

    9:00am- Lifts went up to the staircase and dance floor overnight. More sparks could be seen coming from the OLM ring to the right of the staircase. AWP left the pad area

    9:08am- Ring is lifted and 2 AWP’s are going up

    9:20am- Swings over to B9

    9:25am- Workers helping to line it up

    9:31am- Down on top of B9

    9:34am- Worker climbs into the HSR

    9:39am- Workers disconnecting the lifting cables

    9:47am- Lifting jig is lifted away from B9 and AWP's go down

    10:04am- SQD work platform is swung back over to the end of the arm

    10:38am- LR11000 disconnected from the lifting jig

    12:20pm- Workers up on the SQD

    1:00pm- LR11000 moves over to the sub orbital pad area

    1:15pm- Lift has been up at the top of the staircase

    3:44pm- AWP goes up to one of the latch points between B9 and the HSR.

    4:09pm- Work platform at the end of the SQD is swung away

    4:21pm- AWP goes back down. Sensor was showing the latch didn’t work?

    4:30pm- AWP goes back up. Needed to grab something?

    4:33pm- After some quick work, they go back down again

    6:24pm- Venting at Massey’s. S29 cryo starting?

    6:47pm- LR11000 is lowering the squid to the top of S26 and an AWP is going up to hook it up

    7:04pm- Klaxon and announcement. I can make out personal and orbital pad.

    7:17pm- Frost on S29

    7:41pm- Lox tank is full frosty on S29

    8:12pm- Full frosty

    9:10pm- Lift has been up at the right chopstick

    9:27pm- AWP goes back up to the top of B9. Other side of booster compared to earlier

    9:55pm- AWP comes back down. No view of what they were doing on SBL or Rover 2

    10:30pm- Frost is receding on S29. Lift up to the dance floor

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase Live-

    6:25am- Workers returning to the pad

    7:26:54am- SQD retracts

    7:47am- SQD work platform is extended

    7:49am- Worker on the SQD arm climbs up to S25’s QD. Installing covers?

    7:58am- Work platform is retracted

    8:41am- SQD arm swings to the side

    8:54:55am- S25 is lifted off of B9

    8:56:40am- Swinging to the side

    9:04:40am- Going down

    9:21:26am- Starts swinging over the stand

    9:23:44am- Lowering onto the stand

    9:45am- Looks like it’s down

    10:32am- Workers back at the pad

    11:04am- AWP going up to S26

    11:12am- Squid is being disconnected from S26

    11:34am- Lift up behind the cryo leg

    11:54am- LR11000 swings away from S26

    12:40pm- Workers on top of the OLM

    1:55pm- AWP goes up to the Hot stage ring. Lifts up to the top of the OLM and behind the cryo leg

    2:15pm- LR11000 starts moving towards the OLM for HSR removal most likely

    3:30pm- Klaxon, storm warning announcement. Lifts go down

    6:34pm- Some workers return to the pad after one heck of a storm. Over on the NSF discord, they said their weather station showed 48mph winds

    9:58pm- Workers have been on top of the OLM and the AWP has been back up at the HSR.

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    3:09am- B11 starts rolling

    3:17am- Stops

    4:00am- Starts rolling again

    4:44am- Stops at the end of Remidos

    5:05am- Turns onto Hwy 4

    5:17am- Turns into the production site

    5:25am- Stops outside the mega bay

    5:31am- Rolls into the mega bay

    7:42am- AWP goes up to the top of B11 to hook up the bridge crane

    7:43am- 2 lifts go up under the OLM

    9:00am- Workers on top of the OLM

    10:13am- Lift goes up to S26

    11:05pm- 2 lifts up at the cameras on the inside of the legs and 1 lift up at the top of the OLM.

    11:16am- S26’s methane tank opened and vent hose installed

    1:15pm- 3 lifts have been up at the camera locations on the legs. Backhoe has been bringing in dirt and dumping it along the edge of the pad.

    2:42pm- B11 is lifted off the transport stand and over to the right side of the mega bay

    8:20pm- 2 lifts have been up under the OLM. Higher than the cameras this time.

    9:53pm- For the last hour there has been a worker on a lift going around the OLM inspecting the pipe work with a flashlight

    Rover 2-

    16:58- Vans and buses bringing in employees for pictures

    17:15- Staging in front of the deluge tanks

    17:28- Photographer is up on a lift

    17:35:55- Everyone smile

    17:38:26- Okay back to work

    18:03- Another bus and more vans. A different picture for each shift maybe? (No pictures. Could never see what the people were doing)

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    10:00pm- Dance floor is raised up under the OLM

    10:38pm- Dance floor stand drives out from under the OLM

    11:27pm- Crane lifts a box over by the right side of the OLM and moves it closer to the base

    1:34am- B10 is frost free

    2:30am- Lift goes up and Lots of movement can be seen on the dance floor

    4:48am- Railing going up on the dance floor

    6:47am- SQD being disconnected

    7:14am- SQD arm swings away

    8:05am- S25 is lifted off of B9

    8:13am- Starts swinging to the side

    8:20am- All the way over

    8:21am- Starts going down. (Someone grease that thing)

    8:26:46am- Pauses

    8:28:48am- Moving again

    8:30:10am- Pauses again

    8:31am- Swings closer to the booster

    8:32:30am- Lowering again

    8:38am- Pauses again

    8:41am- Translates to over top of the stand

    8:43am- Lowering again

    9:15am- Touchdown on the stand

    11:30am- Lifts have been up at the OLM and left rear flap of S25

    12:06pm- Lift goes up to S25 and replaces missing tile by left rear flap

    1:46pm- Lift goes up by the right side lifting pin on S25

    4:37pm- Workers on top of B9. One thinks he is the king of the world.

    5:05pm- Scissor lift has been up under the OLM. Pick ups have brought in a trailer of equipment and an air compressor. Mini excavator has been moving around the base of the pad. Lift also up at S28.

    6:25pm- More fondag is being broke up in the area right in front of the camera

    7:30pm- Drone is up looking at the pad. Lift is up at the pivot point for the chopsticks.

    10:15pm- 2 lifts up at S28. Light towers are blinding the cameras at the OLM.

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    11:13pm- B10 is frost free

    7:50am- Work on S26 has resumed with a single lift up at the methane tank hatch. A lift was also up at the top of the staircase on the OLM for awhile overnight

    8:43am- Crane extends and swings towards OLM

    9:07am- Tool van is back

    9:24am- Crane lifts a piece of metal railing and a small platform up to the back right side of the staircase where the access door is. 2 lifts up working with it (Something to do with getting on and off the dance floor at that location?)

    10:45am- Scissor lift is up at the OLM along with the crane and the 2 lifts working on the railing. 2 lifts up at S26 and 1 lift up at the backside of the OLT.

    12:00pm- The platform has been tack welded into place and lifts go down

    1:36pm- Lifts go back up and disconnect crane from the platform

    2:13pm- Small set of stairs is lifted up to the new platform. Will go from platform to dance floor

    3:10pm- Work continues on the platform and 2 lifts have been up at S26

    3:52pm- Crane lifts another set of steps with a handrail up to the platform

    4:05pm- Crane lowers and leaves the OLM area

    5:10pm- Scissor lift has been up to the left of the staircase. 1 lift was up on the backside of the OLM as well as the 2 lifts working on the platform. 2 lifts are up working on S26.

    7:50pm- Scissor lift is still up as well as one lift at the new platform. Another lift is up on the backside of the OLM

    10:00pm- Lots of grinding and welding on the new platform.

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    12:22am- B10 turns into the production site

    12:29am- Turns into the mega bay

    7:45am- An AWP went up to B9 in several places overnight. A lift was up at the top of the OLM and one was up welding at the new platform. People could also be seen working on the dance floor. Lifts were up at B10 inside of the mega bay getting it hooked to the bridge crane.

    10:00am- 2 lifts up at the OLM

    10:22am- Lift goes up to the top S26 to disconnect the squid

    11:20am- Squid disconnected and crane swings away from S26

    1:12pm- B10 starts being lifted off of the thrust simulator stand

    1:55pm- Bridge crane moves B10 to the back left corner of the mega bay

    2:00pm- One lift up at the new platform

    2:18pm- LR11000 starts rolling from the suborbital pad to the OLT.

    3:26pm- Arrives at the tower. Adding more stairs to the tower or moved in preparation of a S26 static fire?

    4:02pm- In a weird move, the LR11000 lowered its hook to the top of B9 several times before swinging away. Testing to see if it could remove the hot staging ring if need be?

    8:20pm- No lifts up but workers can be seen on the dance floor. Some of the tarps along the edge are coming down

    9:16pm- New ship lifting jig is picked up in the high bay by the bridge crane

    10:20pm- Booster thrust simulator stand turns onto Hwy 4 to head back to Massey’s

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    8:15am- Work continued on the dance floor overnight. A lift went up to the shielding on top of the staircase but no discernible work was done

    1:15pm- AWP was up at the left chopstick. A different lift is up at the top of the staircase. Some HVAC ducting was removed from the electrical bunker at the launch site. Work continues on the new mega bay’s roof and the Star factory.

    3:45pm- AWP has been up and down to the left chopstick. Lift has been up and down to the staircase. Forklift removed some equipment from around the pad. (Test soon? I don’t think they’d do anything with S25 sitting right there though.)

    6:10pm- Lift about 2/3rd of the way up the staircase. Worker looking at something on the side it looks like

    9:42pm- SPMT delivers something to the launch site (Thought to be the outriggers for the LR11000 and the old 2 point ship lifting jig)

    10:30pm- AWP is up at the left chopstick. Lift has been up and down to the top of the staircase.(I wonder if they’ve turned part of the cross bracing into a gate or if they really are just climbing over it) Sparks could be seen falling out from under the bottom of the OLM ring to the right of the staircase. So someone is obviously working inside of it.

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase live-

    3:13am- Before leaving the pad, lifts were up to the top of the OLM and to the back right chine of B9

    5:50am- Pad has been cleared of equipment overnight and It looks like they may be removing the tarp covering the deluge plate right now

    7:30am- OLM area looks clear. No sign of pressure washers yet

    7:51:22am- Cyber truck drives in front of the OLM. (Please tell me they didn’t clear this all out for a photo op)

    7:56:40am- Drone and Cyber truck

    8:04:55am-Now 2 people on bikes are riding around the OLM (Tesla bikes?)

    8:10:49am- Cyber truck leaves the launch site

    10:11am- Looks like a manifold for a set of the methane sub coolers being delivered

    12:40pm- Lift was up at the bottom of S26. Still no sign of anyone pressure washing at the OLM. So between that and the tarp going back on, a test is looking doubtful. (It’s normally 5 to 7 hours from the start of pressure washing to a deluge test.)

    1:33pm- New manifold delivered for the Lox side sub coolers .

    2:33pm- Vent hoses are in both of S28’s tanks. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere tonight.

    3:15pm- A crane is up over by the orbital tank farm but the tanks are blocking the view of what it’s doing. (Not by the sub coolers)

    4:12:33pm- Cyber truck now pulling an Rvac is back at the OLM with a photo car in front

    4:17:41pm- Round and round it goes. (The tarp was removed again for the video)

    4:34:14pm- Here they come again

    4:40:22pm- Taking the chains down that keep equipment off the deluge plate. They were apparently ruining the shot.

    4:47:24- Left the OLM and now coming back in. Do one lap and leave the pad area again.

    5:05pm- Back to do some still photos

    5:37:45pm- S29 nosecone venting

    5:56pm- I mean, who doesn’t want to drive circles around the OLM?

    6:34pm- Venting from bottom of S29

    6:39pm- And the road closure is for……taking video of Cyber truck pulling the Rvac up and down the road with no one else around

    7:12pm- Drone following the truck down Hwy 4 this pass

    7:45pm- B13’s transfer tube is lifted for install in the mega bay

    8:35pm- Headlights can be seen to the side of the pad but no workers have returned yet

    8:58pm- S25’s stand is moved to beside the OLM. Here comes another de stack

    (This gets synced)

  • New comment from /u/santacfan on Reddit:

    Starbase Live-

    11:56pm- S27 aft end test tank rolled out to Massey’s

    12:11am- SQD retracts (Rover2)

    1:20am- S29 frost free

    1:43am- S27 test tank arrives at Massey’s

    1:54am- Grinding on the left chopstick

    6:42am- More sparks under the OLM ring to the right of the staircase

    6:59am- Sparks to the left of the staircase

    7:57am- S25 venting. Looks like the stabilizer pins are engaged

    8:20- Lifts were up to both chopsticks, the staircase, the top of the OLM, and to S28 overnight.

    10:21am- Chopsticks start lifting S25

    10:35am- S27 test tank lifted into the structural test stand at Massey’s.

    10:40am- Chopsticks stop

    10:41am- SQD swings back over

    10:46am- Start swinging over B9

    10:53am- Over B9

    10:54am- Start lowering

    11:27am- Down on top of B9

    1:09pm- SQD work platform extended

    1:34pm- Worker up on SQD. Looks like they are removing covers on S25’s QD

    1:40pm- SQD work platform retracted

    1:45pm- Lift has been up at S26 off and on this morning

    1:54:55pm- SQD extends

    2:17pm- SPMT’s headed to Massey’s. S29 coming back already?

    5:00pm- Lift has been up and down to the top of the staircase. The elevator in the tower has been getting a work out today as well going up and down to the SQD level.

    5:15pm- Venting at Massey’s. S29 is go for round 2

    5:24am- S26’s Lox tank is open with a vent hose run to it

    6:16pm- Frost on S29

    7:50pm- S29’s lox tank is mostly frosty. Just a small line at the bottom of the methane tank. Lift up to the back side of the OLM and of course, there is one at the top of the staircase

    8:19:39pm- S29 depress vent. Never got full frosty

    9:48pm- Lift up at S26’s lox tank, back side of the OLM, and to the staircase. More grinding going on inside of the OLM ring to the left of the staircase

    10:17pm- S25’s stand is being moved back to the production site/storage area

    (This gets synced)

55 comments