Subj : One year since SN15, Starbase lays groundwork for orbital attempt To : All From : NasaSpaceFlight Date : Thu May 05 2022 22:15:04 One year since SN15, Starbase lays groundwork for orbital attempt Date: Thu, 05 May 2022 21:12:11 +0000 Description: Its been a whole year since the last launch out of Starbase, Texas as The post One year since SN15, Starbase lays groundwork for orbital attempt appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com . FULL STORY ====================================================================== Its been a whole year since the last launch out of Starbase, Texas as SpaceX continues to lay the groundwork for the orbital launch attempt. Somewhat a victim of their own success, the achievement of SN15s test flight removed the need for additional hops, with Chief Designer Elon Musk opting to go all-in on taking Starship orbital requiring vast amounts of work. Despite the lack of launches since, numerous test objectives have been achieved to set the stage for the full-stack launch, hopefully aligning with the final competition of paperwork to greenlight the attempt. Starship SN15: See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2 SN15s flight came after an intensive test campaign that was the third phase of objectives for SpaceXs South Texas launch site. Opening with the historic first flight of a Raptor engine with Starhopper, SN5, and SN6, then repeated the 150-meter hops to gain additional data on a configuration that matched Starships design, albeit without a nosecone. Thanks to the success of those two flights, SpaceX opted to move along into high altitude testing, with three Raptor engines powering the prototypes with aero surfaces to altitudes that would prove the vehicle could bellyflop back to the launch site before a flip and burn landing. While the Raptors performed admirably during ascent, and the vehicles stability and control were proven during the bellyflop, the landing element proved the need for several test flights to refine this part of the test. All eyes were on that critical phase of the SN15 flight, with Starship having already proven and repeated numerous major milestones while only landing in one piece during the SN10 test . However, that was a hard landing, resulting in the vehicle exploding minutes later. Moving on from those initial series of tests with SN8 through SN11, SN15 was the first vehicle to sport major improvements ranging from the Thrust Puck to her avionics and, notably, the Raptor engines . SN15 completed all of the primary objectives, retiring itself, and SN16 (Ship 16) was already being stacked. The Next Big Launch: The initial overly ambitious goal was to launch Booster 3 (BN3) and Ship 20 by July 2021. Those orbital ambitions were cited in actual SpaceX documentation, as reported by this site and confirmed by the thats the goal tweet from Elon . However, with any new system, the timeline has been stretched. From a vehicle standpoint, the orbital pairing is currently yet to be confirmed. Booster 4 and Ship 20 both sport Raptor 1 engines and have been removed from consideration for launch. However, the pair have provided a wealth of ground testing milestones, with Ship 20 conducting the first full set Static Fire test with all six engines including the three RVacs through testing the fit checks of a full-stack, later via the use of the Mechazilla chopsticks. Hosted on the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM), the validation of the Mechazilla system pushes SpaceX along the milestone path, given the original plan was as first seen with a full-stack fit check the use of a crane to mate the Booster and Ship, followed by the Booster splashing down off the coast and Ship 20 splashing down near Hawaii. The complexity of the launch site hardware, known as Stage Zero, has often been referenced as more complex than the actual vehicles. The vast amount of testing on Stage Zero has occurred over recent months and continues to be conducted, focusing on the Mount and Quick Disconnect (QD) systems for Booster and Ship. The new Ship QD umbilical is now installed at the launch site, via Nic (@NicAnsuini) for NSF/L2. The whole suite of ground pipe systems, pumps, ground tanks, and pressure systems were tested as well. This has resulted in the entire Ground System Equipment (GSE) being put to the test with the numerous cryo tests Ship 20 and Booster 4. Booster 7 was the last Super Heavy to be hosted on the OLM, undergoing a series of cryo proofing tests before being rolled back to the Production Site. It was hoped that the installation of the Raptor 2 engines would then take place. However, via an online leak, it came to light that its transfer tube had been damaged during the testing at the launch site. While it was assumed that would mark the end of Booster 7s life, it remained in the High Bay before what appeared to be internal repair work. The coming days will confirm if Booster 7 will continue to undergo testing when it next rolls, either to the launch site or to the Rocket Garden, the latter to take its place with the retired Ships SN15, Ship 16, Ship 22, and Booster 5. Starbase Rocket Garden, via Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF/L2 However, there is currently a road closure that points to Booster 7 returning to the launch site on Friday morning. While Booster 8 has already begun build-up operations outside of the production facilities and will be the Super Heavy to take over Booster 7s role if not deemed flightworthy, Ship 24 is still expected to be the prime candidate for the orbital test. Ship 24 is just waiting for nosecone installation and is the first Ship to sport the payload deployment system which looks not unlike a Pez Dispenser. We accidentally removed a small section of video from the April 9 daily video showing Ship 24's payload bay door. Wanted to make sure we shared it as it's so cool to see this in such detail! Footage Mary ( @BocaChicaGal ). Check out the daily video here: https://t.co/rbdw7q4K9C pic.twitter.com/CNs66ctrMg Chris Bergin NSF (@NASASpaceflight) April 10, 2022 It is highly possible that even if Ship 24 is the first vehicle to head towards orbit, it may carry a batch of Starlink V2s, which will be the primary payload for the initial Starship launches. Powering these initial launches, the Raptor 2 engines have already begun to arrive at Starbase. As is a tradition with the Raptors arriving at the Production Site, each appears to be sporting their own meme style stickers, with the latest theme being Lego Movie characters. Its not known how many Raptor 2s are currently at Starbase, but its clear that numerous engines are currently undergoing testing ahead of shipping based on the rate of hot fires at the McGregor test site. With five test bays for Raptor, numerous firings per day are being observed via NSFs new 24/7 coverage of the test center, alongside additional testing with Merlins, Dracos, and Falcon 9 stages. Who here ACTUALLY understood the level of activity at SpaceX's McGregor engine test facility? 2 tests a month? 1 a week? They capped off an astounding 7 tests TODAY with a beauty. Train ain't stopping til there's boots on Mars. Experience it with us: https://t.co/ussbUOZGHU pic.twitter.com/r5S9p86rtN Kerbal Space Academy (@KSpaceAcademy) April 30, 2022 SpaceX also requires the FAA Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and Launch License process to complete, which will allow for the orbital launch attempt from Starbase. KSC: Meanwhile, work continues over at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), where a Starship pad is being constructed at LC-39A. A huge amount of construction work is also taking place at the nearby Roberts Road, with a Starship production facility being built next to its current building that is used for Falcon and Dragon. With land cleared, foundation work is underway for the large Starship facility, land is being utilized to construct the tower segments that will be installed at 39A to provide the historic pad with its own Mechazilla launch and catch tower. SpaceX is also in the process of working with NASA to evaluate the potential of a dual Starship launch site at LC-49, and potentially elsewhere on the Space Coast. With work ongoing with its two former oil rigs that are being converted to ocean-based launch platforms, the groundwork for the crazy launch cadence required for the ultimate goal of making life multi-planetary with a rapidly and fully reusable launch system is at the very least being laid. For live updates, follow NASASpaceFlights Twitter account and the NSF Starship Forum Sections . ** Support NSFs YouTube channel by subscribing and/or joining here ** Grab some cool gear along with the ability to support our content: https://shop.nasaspaceflight.com/ The post One year since SN15, Starbase lays groundwork for orbital attempt appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com . ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/05/one-year-since-sn15-starbase-lays-grou ndwork-for-orbital-attempt/ --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100) .