Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / No landing for Starship Booster on Flight 5?

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No landing for Starship Booster on Flight 5? · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Space News Pod.
• 0:02
  This is a show about SpaceX, NASA and spaceflight, and I'm
• 0:05
  your host, Will Walden. Now, don't mind the stuff behind
• 0:08
  me. We're moving houses, so there's
• 0:11
  a bunch of stuff that's being moved.
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  There's boxes over here and there's like blankets and stuff.
• 0:16
  So don't mind that. But what we really need to talk
• 0:20
  about is the progress of Starship.
• 0:23
  And it's really been heating up as Spacex's Starbase and the
• 0:27
  past week alone saw the unveiling and initial testing of
• 0:31
  the Raptor 3 engine. There's some spin prime testing
• 0:35
  for ship 30 and continued construction on orbital launch
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  mount. Now, simultaneously, SpaceX is
• 0:43
  preparing for its 5th orbital test flight while awaiting
• 0:47
  regulatory approval from the FAA, and that's with the
• 0:51
  possibility of attempting to catch the booster using the
• 0:55
  Meccazilla chopsticks on the tower down at Star Base in
• 0:59
  Texas. Now, ship 33, which is part of
• 1:03
  Spacex's next flight crew, is nearing full assembly.
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  It'll be the first Block 2 ship having 21 rings instead of 20
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  found on Block one ships, and the additional ring allows for
• 1:14
  approximately 300 extra tons of propellant, which could
• 1:18
  significantly enhance the ship's capabilities and the
• 1:22
  performance. Now, 2 remaining sections
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  include the bottom liquid oxygen tank section and the aft engine
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  section, which are each composed of four rims.
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  Now, the recent debut of the Raptor 3 engine was a surprise
• 1:38
  to most Starship enthusiasts like myself.
• 1:40
  I was like, where'd this thing come from?
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  The engine set to replace the existing Raptor 2 on future
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  Starship flights, and Raptor 3 is a refined iteration, with
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  much of the external plumbing either internalized and hidden
• 1:53
  or completely eliminated, including regenerative cooling
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  channels that are now integrated into the engine casing itself.
• 2:01
  You can't even see this stuff now.
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  This allows the engine to operate at higher pressures
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  leading to improved performance while reducing the weight also
• 2:12
  and the need for support of the outside plumbing.
• 2:15
  Now Raptor One, which was used in early suborbital test flights
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  and on vehicles up to booster four and Ship 20 generated 185
• 2:23
  metric tons of thrust and weighed approximately 2080kg or
• 2:29
  3630 kilograms with vehicle side commodities.
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  Raptor 2, which replaced it, started from booster 7.
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  Ship 24 delivered 230 metric tons tons of thrust while
• 2:40
  reducing the engines weight to 1630kg or 2875 kilograms with
• 2:45
  additional hardware. Now Raptor 3 which is currently
• 2:49
  undergoing testing at MacGregor, well this engine is incredible.
• 2:57
  It promises 280 metric tons of thrust with a further reduction
• 3:01
  of weight to 1525 kilograms or 1720 kilograms when accounting
• 3:06
  for vehicle side components. Now the engines design
• 3:08
  improvements, such as the removal of flanges and seals on
• 3:12
  the high pressure side enable it to operate at even higher
• 3:16
  pressures, enhancing its thrust capabilities.
• 3:21
  It remains uncertain when Raptor 3 will be integrated into any
• 3:26
  vehicle. More testing is likely to occur
• 3:29
  over the next month, which will require to validate the
• 3:33
  finalized design and the final product of this ship.
• 3:36
  And on the operational front, Ship 30 underwent further engine
• 3:40
  testing last week, specifically a spin Prime test.
• 3:44
  The test was necessitated by the swap of a Raptor vacuum engine,
• 3:48
  with R 398 being replaced by R 384.
• 3:52
  Whoa, just hit that. Although the exact reason for
• 3:54
  this engine swap remains unclear, is not uncommon for
• 3:58
  SpaceX to replace engines before a new test.
• 4:03
  Now, following the Spin Prime test, Ship 30 returned to the
• 4:06
  production site for final preparations, which include
• 4:09
  completing the heat shield and other last minute tasks.
• 4:13
  Now these steps are being taken in anticipation of Orbital
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  Launchpad A becoming available and once they're both Ship 30
• 4:22
  and Booster 12 will likely undergo a wet dress rehearsal,
• 4:27
  although the timing and the likelihood of this happening in
• 4:31
  the next week or so remain uncertain.
• 4:33
  We don't know exactly when they're going to be doing this.
• 4:35
  And regarding the 5th Orbital test flight, SpaceX has
• 4:38
  indicated via X that both the Flight 5 vehicles, Ship 30 and
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  Booster 12, are ready to go, and that is pending FAA flight
• 4:48
  approval now. However, past experience
• 4:51
  suggests that such statements they may be optimistic as there
• 4:56
  have been instances where the vehicles were not fully flight
• 5:01
  ready despite similar claims. It may take them a little while
• 5:05
  to get this ready. And while awaiting regulatory
• 5:08
  approval for Flight 5, SpaceX has already commenced catch
• 5:12
  testing for the upcoming flight, possibly 5 or 6.
• 5:16
  Now, B 14.1, which is a booster used for these tests, has
• 5:20
  returned to the orbital launch mount for further evaluations.
• 5:24
  Meanwhile, Ship 31 is currently undergoing a heat shield
• 5:27
  overhaul similar to the work done on Ship 30, which is
• 5:32
  expected to occupy the High Bay tailing station for some time
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  now. Now, Booster 13 paired with Ship
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  31 has been stationed at Mega Bay One since completing
• 5:44
  cryogenic proof testing at April.
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  Currently, a tent is erected over the forward Dome,
• 5:50
  indicating that significant work is likely underway.
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  Notably, Booster 13 still lacks its grid fins, which is a huge
• 5:59
  component for controlling descent during landing.
• 6:01
  They need these things. And As for Orbital Launchpad B,
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  construction continues to progress now.
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  The tower now has 6 standing modules, and the next three
• 6:14
  modules are being prepared for installation once the crane,
• 6:19
  which is undergoing reconfiguration, is operational
• 6:24
  once again. Now, crews are also reinforcing
• 6:27
  the tower by filling its hollow walls with concrete, which will
• 6:30
  increase the structure's strength.
• 6:34
  Now going forward, work on the suspected flame trench
• 6:37
  continues. The flame trench didn't know
• 6:39
  there was going to have one as the teams drive sheet piles into
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  the ground, which is expected to take several more months to
• 6:46
  complete. They're not going to be flying
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  off this thing anytime soon. Additionally, the environmental
• 6:50
  assessment proposed released recently provides further
• 6:54
  insight into the structures development, though its final
• 6:58
  shape remains to be seen. We kind of get an idea what it's
• 7:01
  going to be like, but not 100%. SpaceX has also been refining
• 7:06
  the landing rail system on the Meccazilla arms, replacing many
• 7:09
  of the linkages and upgrading the actuators to handle immense
• 7:14
  forces involved during a catch attempt of the booster.
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  Now, these attachments and enhancements are crucial to
• 7:23
  SpaceX moves closer to catching the Super Heavy booster.
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  This thing's 250 feet tall, and once it separates from the ship,
• 7:30
  it'll fly back to Starbase and then be caught by the arms.
• 7:33
  Now for this attempt, SpaceX may conduct conduct more tests that
• 7:38
  we haven't seen much of where both arms of Meccazilla move in
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  for a simultaneous closure, mimicking the forces of an
• 7:45
  actual booster catch. Now moving in like this, the
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  test could be pivotal in ensuring the system's
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  reliability during the next flight, possibly Flight 5 or
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  five. Flight 6.
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  Now the issue to public advisory too for Flight 5 for possible
• 8:02
  Sonic booms during the upcoming Flight 5 test as it'll be the
• 8:07
  first attempt catch of the Super Heavy booster.
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  Possibly post launch, possibly, I'm saying this possibly it's
• 8:14
  going to be 7 and 9 minutes after the launch and it'll be
• 8:17
  caused by the booster decelerating from supersonic
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  speeds and it will create sort of like a Thunder sound.
• 8:23
  If you've never heard it or felt it, it's pretty cool when a
• 8:27
  Falcon lands, it does a Sonic boom rumbles you.
• 8:32
  It's pretty cool. Now their experience with 330
• 8:36
  Falcon rocket landing so far. So they know all about the Sonic
• 8:40
  booms and they're just warning people in the nearby area.
• 8:43
  I mean it's a cool thing to happen and it goes pop pop.
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  You know when they when they when they do a Sonic boom, it's
• 8:49
  like a big pop. But if there's two for a super
• 8:51
  heavy, not super heavy, but a Falcon Heavy, pop pop, 2 Sonic
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  booms, very cool. When this giant booster comes
• 8:58
  back, it's going to be like, boom, it's going to be a big
• 9:01
  one. But they're still waiting
• 9:03
  approval from the FAA for this. And this is despite the existing
• 9:07
  license that's issued in June before the 4th flight.
• 9:11
  SpaceX must seek a modification to allow the booster to land a
• 9:14
  starbase. They can't do this quite yet.
• 9:18
  There's new regulatory clearances that need to be done
• 9:20
  through the FAA, and the FAA also acknowledged that it is
• 9:24
  evaluating Spacex's proposed license to land back at Starbase
• 9:31
  for this 5th mission. And if they don't approve it,
• 9:33
  that's OK. SpaceX can do another soft water
• 9:36
  landing in the Gulf of Mexico and then possibly for Flight 6,
• 9:40
  they can come back to come back to the pad.
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  Now safety is the primary concern of course for the FAA
• 9:48
  during this whole process and if everything looks safe, there
• 9:53
  should be no issue with this at all.
• 9:56
  So please leave a comment down below when you think flight 5
• 9:59
  will happen and also will they catch flight 5 booster at
• 10:02
  Starbase? Make sure to hit the subscribe
• 10:05
  and like button with maximum dynamic pressure.
• 10:09
  Dynamic pressure. What was that all about?
• 10:12
  So you can get all the new Starship updates and please hit
• 10:15
  the, you know, while you hit the like button and the subscribe
• 10:20
  button, leave a comment and if you don't have anything quite
• 10:23
  about Starship to say, just leave a rocket emoji.
• 10:25
  I really do appreciate that. It helps out the algorithm a
• 10:28
  little bit. And also, you know, it helps out
• 10:30
  the channel a lot. So it helps me.
• 10:33
  It helps you because when you do that, I was going to say SpaceX,
• 10:37
  but YouTube sees that you're interested in spaceflight and
• 10:40
  they'll continue to send you more spaceflight content in your
• 10:44
  feed on a daily basis. Not just from me, but from like
• 10:48
  other creators out there that are doing spaceflight stuff like
• 10:51
  SpaceX, NASA, other spaceflight creators.
• 10:54
  I've found so many spaceflight creators because I've done that.
• 10:58
  I've just saw someone out like, hey, that was a cool video.
• 11:01
  I'm just going to give it a like, next thing you know,
• 11:04
  they're in my feed again, but also I get some rando that has
• 11:08
  really great content in my feed and I was like, how did that
• 11:12
  happen? That's why, because YouTube uses
• 11:15
  the algorithm to give you the things that you actually want to
• 11:17
  listen to and watch on YouTube. Imagine that.
• 11:20
  That's right. So let me know down in the
• 11:23
  comments. What do you think?
• 11:25
  Flight 5 or Flight 6? I don't know.
• 11:27
  Again, we're moving, so all the stuff in the background, it's
• 11:30
  going to change in the next, I don't know, 20 days, 25 days or
• 11:36
  so. You'll see a whole new set,
• 11:38
  whole new everything behind me. Everything's changing, upgrading
• 11:41
  everything. So I want to say thank you to
• 11:44
  everybody who's been supporting the channel, especially members
• 11:46
  of the channel. Without you, I couldn't have
• 11:48
  done this, so thank you for that.
• 11:50
  We're almost at 100,000, so if anything, hit the subscribe
• 11:53
  button to help us out to get to 100,000.
• 11:57
  Thanks everybody, I appreciate your time.
• 11:59
  Take care of yourselves and each other and I will see you in the
• 12:03
  next.