Starship #11 moves to launchpad
Capitalism in space: Less than a week since the flight and destruction of Starship prototype #10 post flight, SpaceX has now moved Starship #11 to the launchpad.
There is no firm word on when they will attempt to fly this prototype, but based on past history, they will likely do at least one static fire test this week and schedule the flight for next week. All will depend of course on weather and on the results of the static fire test. For example, with #10 they found they needed to replace one engine after the first static fire test.
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Capitalism in space: Less than a week since the flight and destruction of Starship prototype #10 post flight, SpaceX has now moved Starship #11 to the launchpad.
There is no firm word on when they will attempt to fly this prototype, but based on past history, they will likely do at least one static fire test this week and schedule the flight for next week. All will depend of course on weather and on the results of the static fire test. For example, with #10 they found they needed to replace one engine after the first static fire test.
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 refuse 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
P.O.Box 1262
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.
Is there a more exciting company in the world?
This must be like watch RCA in the roaring Twenties.
They were cryotesting on Tuesday. Move in on Monday. Start testing on tuesday. Bets of flight? Engines already installed, static fire then fly! Woo Hoo!
Lots of heat shields on SN11, like on SN10. Notice the left flap has a small patch on the non-airflow side.
They have to figure out the header tank pressurization issue before they can fly. Apparently helium gets into the engine and this caused the low thrust on the last landing.
They will work you to death-but there, engineers are loved. That makes all the difference.
We are all impressed by the tests and progress SpaceX is making, but is anyone else impressed with the rate of the construction of these prototypes? In the beginning these prototypes appeared and were tested every six or so months, then a new one every month, and now two weeks later after SN10, they are static firing SN11.
Building all these prototypes will make construction of the production model a snap.
“Building all these prototypes will make construction of the production model a snap.”
Jay, you hit the nail on the head. I foresee the StarShip becoming componentized to the point where different thrust, tankage, and cargo / passenger sections can be assembled lego-like to build a range of models. The construction techniques being developed should also lead to a just-in-time spaceship capability. It is even possible that modularity will allow sections to be swappable, allowing users to configure and re-configure!) their own Starships from among an inventory of components! Pretty crazy I know but I think that’s where things could go!
Ps. I mean “pretty crazy” like rockets that land on their tails, like God and Robert Heinlein intended!
Elon stated in a presentation/interview early on that they weren’t building a rocket, they were building a factory that makes rockets. This has been an emphasis from the very beginning, and it’s heartening to see how far they’ve come.
Jeff Wright noted: “They will work you to death . . . ”
‘I know a guy, who knows a guy’ who works at SpaceX. He agrees. You work all the time, but you are also visibly, and rapidly, building a positive future. And you’re likely under 35, which helps.
Ray,
I never thought I would ever see J.I.T. construction and spaceship in the same sentence!