Space Update 18th May

SpaceX starship updates 150 meter hop test aid and May 27th 2020 launch day preview

Starship

SpaceX is preparing for something big in South Texas Boca Chica is very close to witnessing a historic moment the first flight of a starship in human history last-minute preparations are in full swing right now and there's a good reason for it quite a few things are still missing before a first hop test can commence for example the landing pet we're in child's brothers aerial footage from a few days ago the second pad built as a landing site for test launches was completely covered with all sorts of stuff it's recently been cleaned out so we can put a checkmark on this item

Safe landing spot done next up we have the launch site this is where starship SN4 will takeoff from but until now this has only been used for cryo tests and a few very short static fires so it needs modification for that first launch vital parts like the fuel and data connections need to be covered what if SN4 decides to make the flight a bit shorter if it falls over onto the fuel lines that would be rather spectacular so the crew in Boca Chica got busy installing a protector around the fuel lines this will at least fend off most of thedamage in case of an R.U.D. at the launch site so we can put a checkmark on this item

Save launch site check next up we have another very important part of the launch documentation first of all it will be very important for us of course we'll want to see that hop from as many angles as possible in slow-mo in fails colors and if possible with x-ray vision well I can't promise you the x-ray vision but if we take a look at star hopper it becomes clear that SpaceX seems to have the same desire for documentation after all this is a test launch what good is a test if you can't exactly see what's happening for SpaceX the footage of that hop will be extremely valuable not only for promotional purposes but much more importantly for analysis the more cameras are pointed at the starship in flight the better most likely drones will be in the air too while the test is conducted and work on stop until the past few days it now seems like they might have even installed an upward facing camera on top of hoppy it's hard to tell though but it would make total sense so he can film under starships skirt that came out wrong so we can put a checkmark on this important item

 

Documentation of the launch check and Raptor SN 20 recently installed in SN4 underwent a pre burner test on Sunday this basically is half a static fire the pre-burners or turbo pumps are used to drive fuel and oxidizer through the engine with incredible pressure in case of a raptor engine they are creating a chamber pressure of around 300 bar a first step before igniting the engine is the so called pre burner test this means that the pre-burners are spun up for a test but there is no ignition in the combustion chamber so a static fire should occur today what we can also put a check mark on 

RCS thruster actually is it seems the updated plumbing already is the reaction control system SpaceX did first tests with it yesterday as well this is no venting this is actual RCS firing cold gas thrusters are nothing more than controlled venting from the co PVS so SN 5 is capable of course correction

The only thing missing now is the static fire and one last item on the list is missing the FAA approval and here it is an Odom has been filed late last week and its state's safe environment for space launch and re-entry operations even though starship serial number force flight of course won't go to space this is a solid indicator for SpaceX actually wanting to take off from Boca Chica

We go to the shipyard there are a few interesting things happening here first of all SpaceX seems to have gotten rid of the starship traffic jam while SN5 is still in the high bay it's parking valuable work space for SN6 which is still waiting in parts to be stacked SpaceX has more buildings suitable for stacking than the high bay though the good old windbreaker seems to have been chosen for work on SN5 now a first ring segment is demonstratively sitting in it already and if this guess is right stacking work will soon commence for SN6

The differences between SN5 and SN6 are very important to SN5 is supposed to have a nose cone while SN6 will hopefully feature a full body work including Kennard and aft fins for aerial control in theory SN6 should be able to perform a belly-flop maneuver Musk has already said though that we should expect an R.U.D. or rapidly unscheduled disassembly which basically means it's likely it will crash into the ground so we might get a pretty spectacular test with SN6 and there is new information on the new nose cone as well do you see these holes those are RCS thruster openings SpaceX is implementing the RCS thrusters into the nose cone of SN5 

This is great news SN5 is far along we might see the SN4 and SN5 flights in short succession there's another opening and the new nose best seen on nomads picture thank you for taking them it's hard to say though what that's for could be venting for the header tank but that's pure speculation. 

Right now and SpaceX is increasing the footprint again another building has appeared in just a few days the gara structure for walls and roof is already up and it's a rather small building this time yet again though it's not a tent anymore it's very much needed working space with solid walls and roof not long and it will be in use and the high bay has seen an upgrade to a second wall lift is going up right now these lifts give SpaceX workers access to the starship prototypes without the need for a scissor lift the Boca Chica infrastructure is already at a pretty good level by now huge improvements have been made over the past few months last but not least let's take another look at our stacking animation this is where we keep track of the current prototypes manufacturing process as it's really hard to keep track with all the separate parts we are changing our focus from SN5 for now as we know have room for SN6 not in the high bay but in the windbreaker so where are we at with SN6

We're surprisingly far already we have the engine skirt which marks the foundation for SN6 next up we have the oxygen tank skirt which goes here we also have the already sleeved common dome which makes up the middle of the tank section and it goes here and next up we also already have the top dome with the appropriate ring segment sleeved around it and it goes here we were also able to spot the top dome skirt and it goes here and we have a two ring segment already sitting in the windbreaker which most likely is the segment directly under the SN6 nose cone and it goes here last but not least we have plenty of nose cones laying around it's still not clear which nose will go on to which starship but since we have them sitting around we'll just put one on starship SN6 and it of course goes here that's it SN6 is only missing the first section and aerodynamic surface on the outside and stacking work must talked about subtle changes to the fins and aerodynamic covers so it will be very interesting to see what exactly he means

Demo 2

Progress in Boca Chica Texas is fast as always starship SN4 sitting on the test stand closing in on the countdown SN5 almost stacked SN6 coming along right behind it pretty fast too my guess is that Boca Chica will see many launches in the near future may 27th 2020 launch day, it's demo mission two it's #launchAmerica it's Bob and Doc going on a field trip to the ISS directly from Kennedy Space Center it's one of the most important launches of the decade marking the end of a long drought when it comes to crewed flights from Kennedy Space Center it's one of those launches that the whole world will be watching its crew dragons first trip to the ISS with astronauts on board marking the first time in human history that astronauts traveled to the ISS onboard a privately designed and built spacecraft SpaceX is in the very last preparations right now yet these are trainings for a possible in flight aboard and for the recovery after Bob and Doug have returned from the ISS and SpaceX has recently moved the crew dragon from a fueling facility at Cape Canaveral space force station to the integration hangar next to pad 39A where it will now be joined with the booster the next upcoming events are a Flight Readiness review on May 21st a static fire test on May 22nd a full launch day dress rehearsal on May 23rd and a final launch readiness review on May 25th and since it's such an extraordinarily important day. 

I am Bruno and im waiting for Demo 2