Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX Starship/Falcon9 and AX-3 updates

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SpaceX Starship/Falcon9 and AX-3 updates · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
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  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
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  and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
• 0:17
  episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
• 0:20
  clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
• 0:26
  show notes. So Elon Musk recently shared
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  insights into the second full scale Starship test flight,
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  which ended unexpectedly, and the starship's upper stage
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  exploded due to a fire ignited during the venting of liquid
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  oxygen propellant. Musk clarified this.
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  He said the reason that it actually didn't quite make it to
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  orbit was we vented the liquid oxygen, and the liquid oxygen
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  ultimately led to a fire and an explosion.
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  Now looking ahead, SpaceX has set very ambitious targets for
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  the next Starship Test objectives include reactivating
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  the Raptor engines in space, conducting an in flight
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  propellant transfer and also operating the payload Bay door
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  potentially as early as February of 2024.
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  Now the in flight propellant transfer is possibly for an
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  upcoming NASA Artemis mission. The payload door is for Starlink
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  satellite deployment and reigniting.
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  The Raptor engines in space propels the Starship spacecraft
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  all the way to Kauai near Hawaii and that's where it will splash
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  down in the ocean now. Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 and the
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  Falcon Heavy rockets remain in Spacex's operations and these
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  rockets will continue their service into the late twenty 20s
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  and possibly beyond 20-30 carrying satellites, cargo and
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  also astronauts. Now significant enhancements are
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  planned for the Falcon series. Musk aims to certify Falcon
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  first stage boosters for up to 40 flights and reduced turn
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  around times for launchpads to under 24 hours.
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  And a key event for SpaceX has the launch of the private
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  mission to the International Space Station.
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  With four individuals on board, this mission, facilitated in
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  collaboration with Axiom Space, is a huge step for commercial
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  Space Flight. Now funded by Axiom Space
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  itself. This mission represents the
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  third group of paying passengers to the International Space
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  Station. Axiom Space, aspiring to build
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  its own space station similar to the International Space Station,
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  is using these missions as fundamental experiences now.
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  The mission faced A slight delay for additional pre launch
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  checks, particularly focusing on the Parachute Systems Energy
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  Modulator. Once resolved, SpaceX confirmed
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  readiness for the rescheduled launch and during their two week
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  stay at the ISS, the crew will engage in around 30 experiments
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  encompassing microgravity research, technological
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  administrations and educational activities.
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  The mission, dubbed AX3, saw the crew Dragon spacecraft freedom
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  making its third journey to space.
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  Leading the crew was Axioms chief astronaut Michael Losav
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  Allegra, accompanied by three international astronauts.
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  Now there's a Turkish astronaut on board, and this mission
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  represents the commencement of an expansive space exploration
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  journey, he said. This Space Flight is not a
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  destination, but it's a journey. This is just the beginning of
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  our journey for a long growing space journey in our future.
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  And Spacex's collaboration with Axiom Space led to the
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  successful launch of the AX 3 mission to the International
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  Space Station. The Falcon 9's rocket launch
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  from Kennedy Space Center was a key moment in this partnership
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  and the missions delay was partly attributed to issues with
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  parachute strap known as Energy Modulators detected during the
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  CRS 29 Cargo Dragon mission. These were rectified in time for
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  the AX3 launch. Now following a smooth docking
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  process, the AX3 crew commenced their scientific and technical
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  word inside of the International Space Station and their two week
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  tenure will contribute significantly to ongoing Space
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  Research. AX3 plays a vital role in Axiom
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  Space's long term vision of establishing commercial modules
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  on the ISS, eventually transitioning into a stand alone
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  commercial space station post ISS retirement.
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  The diverse crew of AXE 3, representing various European
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  governments, highlights the increased international
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  collaboration in space missions as well.
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  This includes astronauts from Italy, Turkey, and Sweden.
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  In alignment with NASA's broader strategy, Private astronauts
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  missions like AX3 are instrumental in the development
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  of commercial space habitats, which is a key focus of NASA as
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  they pivot to lunar and eventually to Mars missions.
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  The repeated use of these Falcon 9 boosters and the Crew Dragon
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  spacecraft in the AX 3 mission shows that SpaceX is committed
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  to sustainability and reusability in space travel.
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  That's their mantra. They have to reuse every single
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  booster and possibly every single upper stage, and that's
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  what they're working for with the Starship system now.
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  All of the Axiom 3 astronauts successfully docked at the ISS
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  at 5:42 AM Eastern Time on January 20th, 2024.
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  This is achieved as Dragon seamlessly docked to the space
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  station orbiting approximately 262 miles above the Pacific
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  Ocean West of South Africa, or, sorry, South America.
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  Now, this successful docking is a significant achievement for
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  both SpaceX Axiom Space and for the International Space flight
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  community. The precision and the
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  coordination demonstrating this operation show the advanced
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  capabilities of space XS technology and the growing
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  potential of commercial space missions.
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  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
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  to patreon.com/stage Zero and please take care of yourselves
• 6:20
  and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.