BFR Developments

[Yazata]

SpaceX says, "Flight 5 Starship and Super Heavy are ready to fly, pending regulatory approval. Additional booster catch testing and Flight 6 vehicle testing is planned while waiting for clearance to fly."

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1821650606626631760

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We all saw the photos of the elegantly simple verson 3 Raptor engine that McGregor released a few days ago, that elicited all the exclamations from the engineers.

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But Tory wasn't buying it:

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Today, McGregor watchers spotted from a distance what they believed was the initial Raptor 3 in the photograph being test fired.

So Gwynne posted a closeup photo of today's test fire, with the words, "Works pretty good for a “partially assembled” engine "

https://x.com/Gwynne_Shotwell/status/182...6885924923

SpaceX photo from Gwynne

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[Yazata]

The giant crane has been reconfigured (not without some drama) to make its boom longer and it has already stacked the seventh and eighth tower segments (of nine total).

Aerial photo by Mauricio (RGVaerialphotography)

The Two Towers

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[Yazata]

And this morning the ninth and final segment of Tower-2 was lifted, topping it out.

There's still lots of work to be done before the tower is complete, not the least of which are installation of the catching Arms and the Ship Quick Disconnect arm.

Plus lots of welding. (The segments are initially bolted in place, then welded on.) Plus pumping the tower corner legs full of concrete (for strength in compression).

Note the US flag in the upper right. It's a longtime tradition with American iron-workers to fly a flag from the top of a structure when it is finally topped off.

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[Yazata]

Mechazilla art on Ship 30, the flight-5 ship. (Mechazilla is nickname for the catching tower with the giant arms.)

Photo by Starship Gazer

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[Yazata]

Starship Gazer has video of the first Version-2 Starship coming together in Megabay-2. We see the thrust section (bottom dome of the lox tank, thrust structure to which the engines attach and engine skirt). Then we see a bridge crane move a mostly-stacked ship above it. The thrust section was hung dangling beneath the ship, then the bridge crane moves the whole thing back to a construction stand out of view, where it will be aligned and welded together by welding robots.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mBTyfXuwUmY

[Yazata]

The new office building next to the Starfactory is coming along well.

It now appears that the office building and the factory will be connected together as one single building when all is completed.

(Photos by Shaun Gisler)

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Mountings are visible for a SpaceX stylized X on the side of the office. (Top right. I hope it's illuminated.)

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[Yazata]

Today is the fifth anniversary of Hoppy's wonderful, glorious flight!

They've come a long way since then: four increasingly successful full Starship flights including reaching orbit twice (flights 3 and 4) and more-or-less successful orbital reentry & landings for both booster and ship for the first time on flight 4, the flip-n-burn landing experiments, the suborbital launch pads built, used and then torn out, the orbital launch pad (with a second under construction), several iterations on the orbital tank farm, the progressively larger vertical assembly bays, the giant tents coming and going, the Starfactory (capable of eventually building 100 Starships a year in assembly-line fashion), the office building (into which SpaceX's headquarters reportedly will move), major expansion to Boca Chica village, the Massey's test site...

Heaven only knows what the next five years will bring... hopefully a lot more infrastructure development, another Starship factory and launch pads at Cape Canaveral, lunar landings, orbital fuel depots and the first Starships to Mars...

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[Yazata]

Absolutely magical photo by Jack Beyer of Nasaspaceflight.com

Tolkien's 'The Two Towers'!

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[Yazata]

While we wait for the FAA to approve Flight 5, which will include the first booster catch attempt, SpaceX crews are swarming inspecting and improving the catching arms. In this photo there are at least 13 crew-lifts and four cranes visible.

Photo by Fabian Ramirez (@texas_lizard)

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[Yazata]

SpaceX appears to be filming an interview on the tip of one of the catching arms. (Awesome camera angle!) I'd love to see them produce a documentary about the totally crazy idea of plucking giant rocket boosters (bigger than the Saturn V) out of midair with insane huge mechazilla arms.

Photos by Genna Hammer

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nsNS