Thread Rating:
  • 1 Vote(s) - 5 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

BFR Developments

Reply
Reply
Yazata Offline
The TFRs in the post above have disappeared, replaced by an unlimited altitude flight TFR for Friday. But a road closure remains in effect for tomorrow (Wednesday) and Mary has been handed one of those by-now-familiar 'overpressure' warning notices. So expectation is that they will attempt a static fire tomorrow and hope to fly Friday if the SF goes well.

Here's a great photograph of Sn15 on its pad with Hoppy looking on taken by RGV Aerial Photography this morning during their latest photographic flyover. A pile of shredded Sn11 debris is visible at the edge of the concrete apron at the lower right.

https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos

It kind of adds gravitas to the scene to remember that nasa has chosen a much-modified fin-less variant of these crazy scifi things to perform the human return to the Moon after 50 years. The plan is for it to remain up at the Moon, cycling back and forth between the Moon's surface and Lunar orbit. Stepping into one of these things in Lunar orbit after arriving from Earth in an Orion capsule will be like stepping out of a kayak onto a cruise ship. Artemis proposes to land two astronauts on the Moon and this thing could just as easily carry 100. It will dwarf the planned Gateway lunar space station. If they want a space station, just send a Starship. If they want a starter-Moon-base, just leave a Starship down on the surface. It's tall, but they plan to coat the top of it in solar panels turning it into a solar power tower. Lots of internal pressurized volume, cargo bays, airlocks... (For scale, the little speck below and to the right of hoppy is a man. There's another man on the ramp by the white pickup truck in the center right.)


[Image: EzcFgvwUcAEQ9gU?format=jpg&name=large]
[Image: EzcFgvwUcAEQ9gU?format=jpg&name=large]

.



Here's a extraordinarily good artists-conception video render of the lunar Starship in action by ErcSpace. Taking off from the Boca Chica Starbase. Superheavy booster returning to land in Boca. Refueling from a tanker Starship in Earth orbit. (Perfecting orbital refueling will be an absolute game-changer and SX just tossed it in as a bonus feature in their nasa proposal.) Transiting to the Moon and docking with the Gateway station in lunar orbit where the astronauts board it. Then landing on the Moon where we see two electric Tesla cybertrucks setting off across the Sun-baked lunar surface.


https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EHASCqyBw9E
Reply
Yazata Offline
This morning a nose incased in what is believed to be a giant nosecone testing rig was transported by SPMT to the launch area where it ended up next to Pad B. My guess is that they will pressurize it with ambient temperature nitrogen from GSE connections at the pad, and then subject it to various mechanical loads on its nose, flap actuators etc, to simulate passing through Max-Q, supersonic flight and perhaps even some of the rigors of orbital reentry.

https://twitter.com/KSpaceAcademy/status...5600375812

In other launch area news, a second new giant GSE tank has gone in. These look like repurposed Starship tanks (because that's what they are) but actually they look like grain silos. More are expected in the new tank farm.

https://twitter.com/daily_hopper/status/...7413780481

The six legs of the new launch platform are being prepared to accept the launch platform upon which Superheavies will sit. The huge new 'Tower of Elon' launch tower is under construction.  (When complete it will be the largest structure in Texas south of San Antonio.) Crazy Elon envisions it sticking out steel robot arms to catch returning Superheavies. He points out that heavy shock absorbers can be built into the tower without the kind of mass penalities they would encounter on the rocket.

After what happened to Sn11 (scattered for a mile around) they are taking great care to fully test 15. First of a new block of Starships with new features, they really want it to succeed. This evening some kind of test is scheduled with won't involve engine ignition. Then a static fire tomorrow morning. Probably additional static fires early next week. Finally a flight attempt late next week. This week's flight TFRs have again disappeared.   

https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/stat...D53509.100

And local resident Austin Bernard has applied for this new Boca Chica Stargate position. I love how Elon tries to dodge the conventional legacy media and once again do things differently. Austin is a good guy, he shares Elon's crazy sci-fi vision and Elon already knows him. While he may lack media experience (he's just a local 20-something), there's an engaging space-geek purity to Austin. I think that will communicate well and whatever he puts out won't seem too slick and overly commercial. It will be from the heart, space-geek to space-geek. I hope that Elon hires him. 


[Image: Ezg8OzaUUAImZJ4?format=jpg&name=large]
[Image: Ezg8OzaUUAImZJ4?format=jpg&name=large]

Reply
Yazata Offline
It's still unclear what's happening with Sn15. Belief seems to be a static fire (or more than one) on Monday. (They want to test fire off both the main tanks and the headers.) Then (big maybe) a flight on Tuesday or Wednesday.

But the worker-ants at Elon's Starbase hive aren't waiting around. They are swarming around everywhere in non-stop frantic activity.

Here's Mary's latest update video, filmed yesterday. The first half shows the build site, the second half the launch site.

The build site features the newest GSE-3 tank (destined for holding propellants at the new tank farm), lots and lots of rings and barrels, the newest Superheavy thrust dome and its sleeving in a barrel, various deliveries of cryptic items manufactured off site that Mary laborously documents, the new Sn16 nose taking shape, the orbital launch table being finished and all kinds of things. There's even glimpses of the new fuel refinery being built behind the High Bay.

The launch site is a non-stop 24/7 construction zone. There's workers taking forms off a concrete building that may eventually house electrical transformers, there's lots of circular rebar forms that will be the concrete bases of huge propellant tanks (like GSE-3 above), there's the blast-reinforced 'bunker' with black railings above it that houses pumps and valves, there's berms, retaining walls and earthworks. There's the six huge legs that will soon support the orbital launch table upon which fully stacked orbital Starships will sit, and rising above it all, the launch tower, the grand Tower of Elon. On the other side of the landing pad at the old (only a year old) launch area is Sn15 awaiting its fate, plus the structural test rig encasing a nose for expected structural testing simulating Max-Q and supersonic aerodynamic loads. 

And perhaps most importantly, there's a look at the black and white (SpaceX company colors are black and white) SpaceX cat that reportedly has been living at the build site since the time of Mk.1.

And on that same note... Zeus the Boston Dynamics robodog has a new companion, a second yellow Spot that the space-geeks are calling Apollo. The two of them were photographed out together at the launch site the other day.

That's today's news update..


https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ADOYBEC2DXw
Reply
Reply
Yazata Offline
Sn 15 got in what looked like a good static fire/ignition test today. Appeared to be a staged ignition of all three Raptors in quick succession. But they only managed to get in one SF today, and the anticipated plan is that they want to light the engines up from both the main tanks (like in initial launch) and from the headers (like in the landing flip maneuver engine relight). As we know, they've been having trouble with the landing burn.

So indications are that there will be another static fire tomorrow so that they can close out all of their test objectives. Talk is that Mary has gotten another overpressure warning notice for tomorrow, but no public verification from her yet. (She's said to be busy editing video.) Road closures have been announced.

And there are both road closures and unlimited altitude flight TFRs for Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/status/...1841879041
Reply
Yazata Offline
Second header tank static fire conducted Tuesday. By all accounts it was successful. Talk is that they wanted to test out their autogenous pressurization system.

Indications are that they are targeting Thursday or Friday for flight. That's still unclear.

https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/status/...9727045632
Reply
confused2 Offline
Re:Content Producer-
Have you [Yazata] thought about applying? They won't get anyone better.
Reply
Yazata Offline
Flight may be on for today! (Or not...)

Many fuel and LOX tankers unloaded yesterday. Flight termination system (plastic explosives to blow vehicle up if it goes off course) installed late last night. (This is usually done immediately before a flight). Road closures and temporary flight restrictions have been announced. the Coast Guard has sent out a notice to mariners. The FAA's updates to air traffic controllers notes a rocket launch in Boca Chica today. FAA approvals seem to all be in place. The ducks are lining up in a row.

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp

Still waiting on evacuation warning to residents. I believe that they have been told to be ready to leave by 10 AM local but that this will be conditional on weather. There are only a handful of residents like Mary and Nomadd who aren't SpaceX employees and they are in close contact with SX. (How many people can say that they have entertained Elon Musk at home?)

Weather is the big question mark. There are scattered thunderstorms forecast today that might make a launch impossible. Will have to wait and see. They can spool it up quickly if they see a break in the weather, in an hour or two.


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


https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rXG7W7skekw


https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sTA0GTgFn5E
Reply




Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)