Hello, we are TheSpaceXFans and welcome to TheSpaceXShow, the place where you can stay
up to date with everything SpaceX. We’ll begin today by looking at the recent launch
of Starlink-8, after which, we will check out the work happening in preparation for
testing and other things in Boca Chica. Then we will take a brief look at SN5 and SN6 before
we move onto the big SN7 change, with a new test tank. Let’s head straight in and get
up to date… As I said starting with the recent launch of Starlink-8 where SpaceX also
launched some SkySat satellites. It was the third time lifting off for this booster B1059,
which previously launched CRS-19 and CRS-20. Then B1059.3 came back down and performed
a flawless landing on OCISLY. During the stream, SpaceX confirmed that they’d sent out Go
Ms. Tree and Go Ms. Chief, the fairing catchers. However, whilst there may have been a catch
attempt, I’m not sure of the outcome yet. Not too much SpaceX news other than that recent
launch so now let’s go to Boca Chica. You can see here that the auger which we saw last
episode is still being put to work over at the Starship / Super Heavy launch pad. Further
work has been continuing on the test stand which is looking almost ready for testing.
I think that soon we might see SN5 sitting on top of it and getting ready for proof testing.
Workers were also spotted working over at the fuel farm once again. You can see here
that they’re excavating the ground which I’m guessing is where they plan to build
a new structure. I believe they previously removed the building damaged by SN4 so maybe
it’s something to do with that. As you can see here, they have also started working on
the new building. Over by the construction area, some new metal beams have been moving
around. I may be wrong but I believe this is near the new site for the giant high bay
Elon talked about. So my guess is that what we're seeing here is the start of the Super
Heavy high bay. Before we move onto the Starship stuff, let’s take a quick look at a couple
of tweets from Mr. Musk. He was asked about the latest developments of Raptor by someone
curious to know about the improvements. Musk said “Hundreds of improvements in manufacturability
primarily (this is by far the hardest problem), mass down, thrust up, Isp up. Current improvement
list continues past SN50. As the saying goes, it’s 1% inspiration & 99% perspiration…”
Later, somebody thought that by SN50, Musk was referring to Starship but they misunderstood
that he was referring to Raptor. Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter that SpaceX is currently
on Raptor SN30. The new little nose cone tip we saw in the last video appears to have grown
some more. It looks like it’s gained one additional tapered section so far, so there’s
now 3 differently sized nose cones. My guess for this nose would be SN7, assuming SpaceX
are planning to still build a full sized SN7. However, more on SN7 in a minute, for now
though let’s take a look at SN5. The nose cone stack as you can see is still sitting
outside so after proof testing we could see it attached to the top of the tank. As you
can see from the latest view of SN5 and SN6 in the high bay, not much has changed. Although
they’re still progressing nonetheless, and I was hoping that soon SN5 might leave the
high bay. Turns out that it’s happened quicker than I thought. You can see here that SN5
has now been moved outside the high bay and will probably soon head to the launch area.
Once there, I’m expecting test 1 should be a proof test with some thrust load simulation.
Some really exciting components have recently arrived at the construction site. These tarp’d
components appear to be some new fins, most likely for SN5. You can see here SpaceX were
spotted lifting a new fin and placing it back down. These new fins are probably for SN5
but could also be for SN6. Just before we move onto SN7, here is a great shot of SN5
outside with the SN6 thrust section. The SN6 section is hooked up to be moved into the
high bay and stacked with the rest of the tank. I imagine in the next few days we should
have a full size SN6 tank. With SN5 and SN6 being prepared for testing, let’s now take
a look at SN7. Last episode we saw this newly sleeved bulkhead flipped and as expected work
has continued on it. You can see that they have been attaching these strips of metal
to the outside of the tank. Whilst I’m not entirely sure what they’re for, I believe
I remember seeing them on previous small boppers like this. As you can see here, they also
recently moved the upper dome sleeved with rings outside for stacking. I’ve seen quite
a lot of suggestions that these tank components are made from the new 304L so it’s possible
that’s what they’re testing. Then as expected, they lifted the upper dome to begin stacking
with the rest of the tank section. Once it had been stacked, SpaceX obviously continued
to work on it to prepare it for rollout. Which is exactly what happened next, whilst they
were continuing work, the roll lift was spotted arriving. It was moved into the construction
area and SN7 was placed on it behind the scenes for what would soon be rollout. Sure enough,
it was not long before SN7 started heading down the road to the testing area. After being
moved into the test area the tank was left on the construction mount. They will most
likely test this tank away from everything in the likely event of a pop. As you can see
here, Cameron County currently has some planned road and beach closures. Whilst I’m not
entirely sure, I’m guessing that these dates are for the SN7 bopper. There’s currently
Monday June 15th as the primary testing date, with Tuesday and Wednesday as backup dates.
Just before we finish up the video, I will show you this one other Starship section that
was spotted. Upon closer inspection, you can also see that the rings are made from the
304L stainless steel again. It’s a new thrust section stack without the bulkhead I believe
and was moved outside for further work. I think it may have been moved into another
tent though. Like I usually do, this is the part of the video where I say an enormous
thank you to Mary BocaChicaGal, who spends an immense amount of time and effort getting
this fantastic footage. Also a thank you to the rest of the NASASpaceFlight team for all
their incredible work and for sharing the footage from Mary. None of these regular updates
would be possible without you guys so thank you. I also want to say a massive thank you
to each and every one of my subscribers. I’ve been uploading for 3 months and have now hit
5 nearly 6 thousand subscribers. The support has been phenomenal and I’m working on a
whole load of cool stuff in the background. I love SpaceX and to be able to create these
videos and share their progress with people who share the same interests is incredible.
I literally cannot thank you all enough. That’s it for this episode of TheSpaceXShow, I hope
you enjoyed the video, if you did, make sure to hit the like button and leave a comment
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