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May 4, 2020 08:06 PM
They cut last nights testing short (I was about ready to fall asleep) because they judged that the liquid methane was getting too warm and they had to detank it. So more testing expected tonight. A preburner test? Nobody's sure (except SpaceX) and they ain't talkin'.
Meanwhile, here's Alex Rex's latest virtual Boca Chica flyover.
May 6, 2020 02:31 AM
(This post was last modified: May 6, 2020 05:08 AM by Yazata.)
Yesterday they planned to perform a static fire, but it turned out to be coitus interruptus. Sirens were wailing in Boca Chica village, but all that happened was an underwhelming puff of vapor from under SN4. The rocket was never ignited and speculation is that the fire was aborted at the last millisecond.
So they are back at it tonight. The road is closed and the pad looks like it's already (8:20 PM CDT) clear. 8:33 PM CDT It looks like fueling is already underway. 8:40 PM CDT the Cylinder is getting frosty 8:48 PM CDT Mary reports that the sirens are howling in Boca Chica village. They sound 10 minutes before the engines fire. 8:57 PM CDT Spectacular static fire! Amazing how quickly this went! https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/stat...9826823175 https://twitter.com/fael097/status/1257856792421425152 And Elon confirms https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1257874406484795392 The first ever firing of a Raptor engine on a Starship prototype! Hopefully the first of many. Elon wasn't in Boca Chica though. He was in California because he and his girlfriend had something else going on. (It's a boy.) ![[Image: EXO_b8uU0AMf2tk?format=jpg&name=small]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXO_b8uU0AMf2tk?format=jpg&name=small) Streams are... NSF's, with beautiful professional quality video by Mary. Elon called this one "MST3K" (Mystery Starship Theatre 3000) and said that he thought that it was very entertaining. And LabPadre's stream. This one is improving visually and is very good too.
May 6, 2020 09:07 PM
(This post was last modified: May 7, 2020 01:51 AM by Yazata.)
It looks like they have most of the parts of SN5 already assembled and some are being stacked. (They build spaceships in three or four ring 'barrel' segments with pressure domes etc sleeved inside, then stack them.) In addition, the first parts of SN6 are starting to appear (barrels and domes). Rings are being moved around and liquid methane tankers are unloading at the tank farm down at the launch area. They are also constructing a second test stand at the launch area as Hoppy watches with its new eyes. Mary has lots of photos.
Nomadd reports that the local residents have again received leaflets announcing "spaceflight activities" this evening (night of May 6-7) with warning of explosion hazard and requires that they exit their homes and go outside when a siren sounds to avoid flying debris if a blastwave hits their houses. They got the same warning last night when a police siren sounded before the successful static fire. ![[Image: k3lYI6b.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/k3lYI6b.jpg) Here's Mary's video and sound from last night.
May 7, 2020 03:17 AM
Tonight 5-6 9:15 PM CDT, the road has been closed for several hours but there are still workers at the launch site.
May 7, 2020 04:18 AM
Sure would be nice to see some actual "Flight Activity" for first time since August.
May 7, 2020 09:32 AM
(This post was last modified: May 7, 2020 07:15 PM by Yazata.)
Another successful static fire 2:39 AM Thursday morning CDT.
Somebody asked it tonight's test was successful and Elon wrote: Yes. Static fire feeding from fuel header vs main tank. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1258305746082516992 https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/statu...5083129856 (May 7, 2020 04:18 AM)C C Wrote: Sure would be nice to see some actual "Flight Activity" for first time since August. Everyone agrees! Even Elon, I'm sure. One or more short Hoppy-style hops are next on the agenda. Maybe only a few weeks away. (They might be competing for our attention with DM-2 around the end of the month.) I think that I heard somewhere that there's a question of government approval for them. Not sure if Hoppy's old approval for its 150m hop still applies and would authorize a 150m Starship hop. Unclear if SN4 will receive one of the nosecones in the interim to better simulate vertically landing a complete vehicle. If it is going to be a rocket, it needs a pointy-end, now that they have demonstrated that the flamey-end works. But they definitely need new approvals for the coming 20km flight that will test the rather exotic landing sequence. Falling sideways like a skydiver with its fins out, then pitching up 90 degrees at an absurdly low altitude like 1000 feet and completing the landing propulsively. (Everyone expects to see a few spectacular crashes before they perfect it.) But seeing as how SN4 won't be getting fins and aerodynamics, that's probably an assignment for SN5 or SN6. SN5 is being stacked right now as we speak and SN6 is beginning construction. So maybe in the late summer, though fitting the untested fins and their actuators for the first time will consume additional time.
May 9, 2020 12:47 AM
(This post was last modified: May 9, 2020 05:54 AM by Yazata.)
The Raptor engine (SN18) has been removed from SN4 and replaced by the hydraulic ram thrust-dome agitator. More cryo tests are scheduled for tonight (May 8) from 9PM CDT) onwards. (Apparently the 4.9 bar reached on the earlier cryo test wasn't enough to satisfy them and they hope to hit 8 or more tonight. Without blowing the whole thing up.) Saturday and Sunday are backup days, but unlikely to be used since a storm is bearing down on Boca, scheduled to hit tomorrow.
Then another static fire on tap for Monday May 11, with two backup days if the storm hasn't cleared out. The FAA has announced temporary flight restrictions. https://www.cameroncounty.us/wp-content/...0.docx.pdf Edit: Road closed and pad clear. Whatever they are going to do, they had better do it quick. Powerful thunderstorms are moving east and McAllen is already experiencing 60 mph gusts. Severe thunderstorm warning from National Weather Service. Flash flood watch for Brownsville. . ![[Image: 1888296.jpg]](https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/assets/48895.0/1888296.jpg)
May 10, 2020 05:53 AM
(This post was last modified: May 10, 2020 05:55 AM by Yazata.)
Big cryo test tonight. SN4 appears to have passed the dreaded cryo-test, the test that led to the demise of mk.1, SN1 and SN3.
SN4 passed high pressure (7.5 bar) & engine thrust load at cryo https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259344535991140352
May 11, 2020 06:48 PM
(This post was last modified: May 12, 2020 02:43 AM by Yazata.)
Mary was out there all day Sunday. In the morning she caught them removing the thrust dome agitator from Starship SN4. And right before sunset she captured Raptor #20 being transported by forklift from the build area to the launch area. (The engine that did the last static fire was a different Raptor, #18.) In the video at the bottom, it's all distilled to 9 minutes, with some shots of a barrel apparently destined for upcoming Starship SN6 in the middle of the video.
Tim Dodd likes how the world's most advanced rocket engine just drives casually down a public road. https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/statu...5796518914 And while SN4 was getting all the attention, the barrels and bulkheads of the next Starship (SN5) were being stacked inside the High Bay into two pieces (tanks in a big section and the thrust dome and skirt in a smaller one). The development there is that the newest Giant Crane was setting up last night in front of the High Bay, presumably in preparation to stack the tank segment on the thrust segment. Then presumably SN5 will exit the High Bay where the pieces of SN6 will start to take form. (Screenshot from LabPadre's stream) Edit: The stacking of SN5 hasn't happened yet on Monday. ![[Image: 1896285.jpg]](https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/assets/48895.0/1896285.jpg) In more news, the temporary flight restrictions and road closures scheduled for tonight (Monday) have been pushed back to Tuesday. The plan is to do another static fire, but they probably need more time to integrate the engine. Edit: The next static fire has been pushed back again, to Wednesday this time. Test time will apparently be from 9AM to 9PM CDT, so some daylight testing for a change. https://twitter.com/bluemoondance74/stat...0932579328 Mary's video of Sunday events: Mary's Monday video. Not much new, apart from another new nosecone that Mary spotted inside the third Giant Tent. You can see how much better the workmanship is compared to the earlier ones. (Almost looks like professional work.) They are building nosecones faster than rockets. It may be because these are the hardest parts to make (each piece has to be precisely shaped and curved) and they are practicing their manufacturing technique. Watch the video below with the sound on to get the true sound of building spaceships, it isn't quiet.
May 12, 2020 03:15 AM
It appears that SN5 stacking is happening. From LabPadre's stream:
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