Hello, we are TheSpaceXFans and welcome to TheSpaceXShow, the place where you can stay
up to date with everything SpaceX.
We have a load of updates once again today, starting with the recent launch of Starlink-18
with another 60 satellites.
The booster which launched, B1060, landed for the 5th time having flown less than one
month prior, a great turnaround time.
Tweeting about the landing of B1060, Musk posted saying “This was a tough one.”
In response to that, Everyday Astronaut asked “What made it tough?
Did you guys expand the envelope again on landing conditions or performance?”.
Musk responded and said “High seas & wind.”
SpaceX posted a tweet saying they were moving the launch of Starlink-17 to Sunday to give
themselves additional time.
However, on Friday, they then posted another tweet delaying the launch further once again.
They said “Standing down from this weekend’s launch attempt of Starlink from LC-39A for
additional inspections before flying one of our fleet-leading boosters, as the team continues
to drive toward a separate Falcon 9 launch of Starlink from SLC-40 at the end of next
week.”
Thought I’d share this really cool shot SpaceX posted on Twitter.
You can see the Starlink-17 Falcon 9 stack in the foreground as another Falcon 9 launches
Starlink-18 in the background.
On the topic of Starlink, CNBC posted an article recently which says “SpaceX disclosed in
a public filing on Thursday that its Starlink satellite internet service now has ‘over
10,000 users in the United States and abroad.’”
There’s another article, this one from ArsTechnica about information released in a recent FCC
filing.
The article says “A new SpaceX filing outlines plans for Starlink to offer phone service,
emergency backup for voice calls, and cheaper plans for people with low incomes through
the government's Lifeline program.”
SpaceX have posted about another mission they’re going to be launching in the coming years.
They said “Falcon 9 will launch NASA’s SPHEREx mission – which will collect data
on more than 300 million galaxies and explore how the universe began – from our launch
site at Vandenberg AFB as early as June 2024.”
With Boca Chica stuff, new Super Heavy ground support equipment was spotted.
For Starship, a new thrust dome was spotted having been sleeved.
A new upper bulkhead was also spotted on the sleeving mount.
SpaceX were previously building a Mark 2 prototype in Florida before dismantling it.
John Winkopp has posted some shots of some interesting components spotted at the same
site.
He said “They are building something cool at the SpaceX Cidco Road site.
Can it fit inside the cargo section of a Starship?
Last picture is the top section before being attached in first to pictures.”
SpaceX have begun dismantling SN5, they were seen cutting away at it.
Rest in pieces SN5, you did good.
SN7.2, made from new 3mm steel, was pressure tested for the second time, this test though
was to destruction.
With some SN8 news, there are a couple of tweets from Christian Davenport.
The first says “Some Congressional staffers were briefed *yesterday* on the SpaceX FAA
launch license violation.
They were told there was a miscommunication on modeling for how far any shockwave would
travel from a blast and the damage it would cause--ie broken windows--in changing weather.”
Then he also posted “Given the communication problem, FAA investigated not only the SN8
hard landing but also did "a comprehensive review of the company’s safety culture,
operational decision-making and process discipline."
The investigation was done quickly and changes were incorporated for SN9.”
By now, you’ll all know of SN9’s launch to 10km in altitude.
You’ll also know about its subsequent demise.
Here’s a view of some of the wreckage.
Musk posted SN9 with the text pull up on Twitter with the caption “Next time, we try pull
*up* method.”
Somebody responded and asked “Why only light 2 engines for landing?
Any engine failure means loss of vehicle, so you have two single points of failure.
Why not light all 3, do the flip, then pick the best two and turn off the other?”
Musk then said “We were too dumb.”
In relation to this, Musk posted a tweet in response to Everyday Astronaut.
He said “It was foolish of us not to start 3 engines & immediately shut down 1, as 2
are needed to land.”
He was then asked “Will these changes be able to be implemented into the SN10 test
flight?”, to which he responded “Yes.”
In another tweet Musk was asked “Wouldn't it be safer to light 3, and throttle 3 for
landing just in case there's 1 engine failure?”.
He responded with “Yes, but engines have a min throttle point where there is flameout
risk, so landing on 3 engines means high thrust/weight (further away from hover point), which is
also risky.”
In response he was asked “So it will be determined which to cut off based on data
available right after relight?”.
Musk responded and said “Yeah.
By default, engine with least lever arm would shut down if all 3 are good.”
In relation to that tweet, Brendan Lewis made and posted a diagram to demonstrate what Elon
Musk meant.
Musk responded with “Yes.”
With even more tweets, Everyday Astronaut asked Musk “Someday the leverage arm won’t
matter as much when you go to hot gas thrusters though, right?”.
He responded with “Intuitively, it would seem so, but turbopump-fed Raptors have much
higher thrust & propellant mass fraction than pressure-fed gas thrusters & they’re already
there.”
In response to that, he also added “Higher Isp too.”
Musk added some more info with “That said, the ship landing burn has a clear solution.
My greatest concern is achieving good payload to orbit with rapid & full reusability, without
which we shall forever be confined to Earth.”
Musk was also asked “So does that mean for the time being you’ll be sticking with cold
gas rcs?”.
He said “Will still use hot gas maneuvering (RCS) thrusters, as ~5X more efficient than
nitrogen (300 sec vs 60 sec Isp).”
SpaceX moved Raptor engine SN50 to the launch pad to be installed onto SN10.
They’ve also recently moved SN39 to be installed on SN10 too.
Looking at possible SN10 testing, Cameron County has posted some road and beach closures.
There’s a primary date of Monday 8th, then another primary of Wednesday 10th.
Plus, there are backup date of Thursday 11th and Friday 12th, so hopefully we will see
some SN10 testing.
SN11’s nose was continuing to be worked on.
As they get closer to stacking, the SN11 tank was moved into the high bay.
SN16’s leg skirt with the legs extended was seen rolling into a tent.
SN18’s upper bulkhead has also been spotted.
To finish up the video, we once again have the latest Starship and Super Heavy build
diagram thanks to Brendan Lewis.
As always, thanks to Mary, or BocaChicaGal for going out all day every day to film the
awesome Boca Chica content.
Also thanks to the NASASpaceflight team working hard behind the scenes on their videos, livestreams
and other space content.
That’s it for this episode of TheSpaceXShow, I hope you enjoyed the video, if you did,
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