Just today, Booster 7 has been removed from the launch mount and returned to the Mega Bay at the build site, where it is having its 13 inner engines installed. Then its expected to return to the launch site for still more static fires. (We are all looking forward to the prospect of an epic 33 engine static fire!)
YazataAug 13, 2022 05:59 AM (This post was last modified: Aug 13, 2022 06:00 AM by Yazata.)
Lab's latest weekly update video. Pretty much everything of interest that happened during the week. So if you aren't one of the space-nerds that watch all day every day, this will get you up to speed.
Of particular interest to me are the images of developments at Cape Canaveral, where the new Starship launch complex and the new Starship manufacturing factory are coming along much more quickly than anticipated.
We also see what's happening at Blue Origin where they finally seem to be manufacturing rocket tanks and domes inside their beautiful factory buildings. We also see Relativity Space, which is preparing for the first orbital attempt of their initial Terran-1 rocket. And we see Astra whose Cape Canaveral pad looks pretty dead at the moment.
And just a month or so ago. Things have grown gargantuan, but the old Hoppy-way still lives on as you see workers out in the weeds hauling on ropes. SpaceX has never done things the NASA way.
And for those of us who grew up on science-fiction, this is finally the way it's supposed to be done.
YazataSep 9, 2022 09:58 PM (This post was last modified: Sep 9, 2022 10:04 PM by Yazata.)
There was some excitement at Starbase last night.
They successfully completed a full six-engine static fire of Ship 24.
But... the rocket blast ended up starting a major grass fire. It took several hours and ignition of backfires to get it under control last night. Thankfully, nothing was damaged and nobody was hurt.
YazataSep 16, 2022 09:18 PM (This post was last modified: Sep 16, 2022 09:21 PM by Yazata.)
Patents are for the Weak!
Jay Leno's Garage visits Elon's Garage at Starbase.
Elon says that SpaceX doesn't patent its developments. "Patents are like land mines. They don't really advance anything, they just prevent people from following you. Most patents are BS."
Says the Raptor engines are still manufactured in California and that they are currently cranking out Raptors about one a day.
YazataSep 19, 2022 08:30 PM (This post was last modified: Sep 20, 2022 12:59 AM by Yazata.)
Exciting seven engine static fire on B7 today.
Scary how powerful it was. It rocked LabPadre's rover-2 cam clear across the site and lit another small grass fire near the coastal dunes. (Which thankfully burned itself out.) When it lights 33 engines at full thrust for full stack orbital launch, it will be a monster.
Elon confirms good test. Says that B7 will be returning to the bays for robustness upgrades, and B8 will be rolling out for its acceptance tests.
YazataSep 22, 2022 03:46 AM (This post was last modified: Sep 22, 2022 05:44 AM by Yazata.)
(Sep 16, 2022 09:18 PM)Yazata Wrote: Patents are for the Weak!
Jay Leno's Garage visits Elon's Garage at Starbase.
Elon says that SpaceX doesn't patent its developments. "Patents are like land mines. They don't really advance anything, they just prevent people from following you. Most patents are BS."
Says the Raptor engines are still manufactured in California and that they are currently cranking out Raptors about one a day.
Jay sounds super impressed by Elon. Says that it's rare to meet a true genius, a visionary who is always ahead of the curve. Leno loves how there was nothing at Starbase three years ago and now it's like Cape Canaveral. Giant spaceships the size of skyscrapers! And he loves the atmosphere at Starbase, how employees walk up to Elon and ask for his opinion on problems or his approval for something. There aren't any obvious bosses in suits and ties, it's more like a college campus. Everybody in t-shirts, Elon mixing and socializing with the troops. Leno likes how Elon comes across in conversation as just a regular guy, no haughtyness, none of that 'Goldfinger' thing with yachts and stroking his white cat (that's Jeff Bezos). Jay says that Elon lives in a little airstream trailer, and Elon corrects him to say that he's moved up in the world to a very modest $50k house in Boca Chica, but he's fixed it up quite a bit.
YazataSep 22, 2022 09:48 PM (This post was last modified: Sep 22, 2022 10:04 PM by Yazata.)
Cosmic Perspectives makes some of the most beautiful Starship videos out there. And this latest video of the recent seven-engine static fire that they just released is no different. It starts by showing the SF in real time, just a few seconds long. Then in more and more powerful slo-mo, up to 900 frames/second. You can see the Mach-diamonds in the rocket exhaust and how the engines ignite in a staggered start, one after another over a span of milliseconds. (As always, watch in full screen with the sound on.)
YazataSep 23, 2022 04:10 AM (This post was last modified: Sep 23, 2022 04:21 AM by Yazata.)
You may recall that there was an explosion under booster 7 a while back during a spin-up test that was delivering lots of unburned propellant under the vehicle where it formed an explosive mixture.
Well, in their spirit of 'always learning and adapting' SpaceX is taking additional precautions. They have installed sprayers under the launch mount that spray both water and gaseous nitrogen to disrupt and smother explosive mixtures.
If there's any question what the sprayers are all about, ZacK discovered that they have it helpfully labeled for our convenience. "FIREX and detonation suppression supply"
Aug 12, 2022 04:23 PM
(This post was last modified: Aug 13, 2022 06:22 AM by Yazata.)
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