Update on SpaceX activities leading to the next Superheavy/Starship orbital test flight
Link here. Lots happening, including fueling and static fire tests of Starship prototype #26 (which will not fly) and major changes on Starship prototype #30, which is slated to make that fifth test flight:
Ship 30 continues to receive upgrades, preparing it for Flight Five. Now, with most of the older tiles removed [18,000 total], new similar-sized tiles are being attached to Ship 30. These tiles could potentially have a different formula, which would make them more resistant to heat while holding a similar size.
Also, an ablative pyron layer is being added to the hot spots where Ship 30 is most likely infiltrated by plasma during entry. Pyron is used in the Falcon 9’s engine bay and is a material that SpaceX knows and trusts.
SpaceX has said it is targeting July for the flight, and the FAA has said the company’s launch license will allow it to launch whenever it is ready, with no FAA red tape to stand in the way.
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Link here. Lots happening, including fueling and static fire tests of Starship prototype #26 (which will not fly) and major changes on Starship prototype #30, which is slated to make that fifth test flight:
Ship 30 continues to receive upgrades, preparing it for Flight Five. Now, with most of the older tiles removed [18,000 total], new similar-sized tiles are being attached to Ship 30. These tiles could potentially have a different formula, which would make them more resistant to heat while holding a similar size.
Also, an ablative pyron layer is being added to the hot spots where Ship 30 is most likely infiltrated by plasma during entry. Pyron is used in the Falcon 9’s engine bay and is a material that SpaceX knows and trusts.
SpaceX has said it is targeting July for the flight, and the FAA has said the company’s launch license will allow it to launch whenever it is ready, with no FAA red tape to stand in the way.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
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Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
” . . . FAA has said the company’s launch license will allow it to launch whenever it is ready, with no FAA red tape to stand in the way.”
Could it be, that the ‘We really need this capability, folks’ lobby is gaining influence in Washington?
Actually there is a caveat wrt the launch license status. As it stands SpaceX appears clear to fly again with a mission profile substantively similar to that flight 4. If however they do want to attempt a true Return to Launch Site booster recovery with a Megazilla Catch maneuver, then they are going to need to file an updated launch profile and an amended license for the flight.
Given the heat shield refurb under way on ship 30 and the pace of progress on Tower 2, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do decide to go for it. My logic here is as follows:
– The ship 30 work will probably take a few more weeks than expected, so call it late August instead of July
– All the parts for Tower 2 are essentially done and ready to stack
– The crane to stack them is now on site and being assembled too, so erecting the tower by lickity split seems feasible
– With that done but not yet plumbed into the tank farm or having an orbital launch mount, Tower 2 would still seem fully ready to try a catch with
– And if that goes badly they hit a snag, but the main Tower 1 and Stage 0 infrastructure would likely be OK unless they fubar wildly
So my guess is end of August with a catch attempt on Tower 2.. But that is all it is, a guess.
MDN: While everything you say makes sense, I think it would be a mistake for SpaceX to go for a chopstick landing on the next launch. I say, better to get off the ground quickly to test the new tiles and learn more about getting Starship back to Earth in one piece. If they launch in July and succeed at this, they could then apply immediately with the FAA for a chopstick landing on the next flight, and possibly be ready to launch again in August or early September, with FAA approval.
This provides a much faster pace of operations, something SpaceX is known for.
Agreed… maybe an even steeper trajectory to see how much Starship can take.