This video is sponsored by Surfshark! Hey, Hey Marcus House with you here.This week, thrilling
developments in the world of space updates. From the exciting Starship and Starbase construction
to Soyuz MS-23's launch to replace the leaky Soyuz MS-22, but so much to dive into around this ever
more interesting story. Perseverance celebrates 2 years on Mars, but the future is looking even
more incredible. And for all the Kerbal Space Program fans out there, we've got some exciting
news. Yes! Buckle up. This one is jam packed! First today, the testing that Booster 7
underwent last weekend, and I have got to say that was quite the interesting testing that
went on that day. It all started off with the usual tank farm venting, however before we had
cryogenics being loaded onto the booster we had another full speed Booster Quick Disconnect or
BQD retraction test, shortly followed by it once again engaging with the booster.
Not long after that the venting increased from the subchillers and there we go, a frostline
appeared on the Liquid Oxygen tank. Shortly after the propellant load was finished we had this.
Was that a single engine spin prime test we saw there? Well we are not actually sure as it lacks
the usual force we tend to see associated with a spin prime test. That if you don’t know by the way
is an engine test with turbo pumps being brought up to speed, with propellant flowing through,
and that is essentially it. Nothing is ignited. It looked interesting indeed and unlike any of
the more recent tests the Fire Suppression system was not running either. Testing continued with
another retraction test of the BQD, this time with the cryogenics still loaded in Booster 7.
Just look at the venting coming out of that quick disconnect. This wrapped up testing for the day.
Now one great bit of news about the future orbital test flight that I think went a little
underreported was that Gary Henry, the security space senior advisor at SpaceX, dropped some neat
information at the Space Mobility conference early in the week. He stated that both the Super Heavy
booster and its launch pad were in good shape after the 31 engine static fire. And really
this was the last big hurdle to pass excluding of course the final approvals by the Federal Aviation
Administration. This is really great news as I suspect that they are not going to need to do
any more big static fire events before the launch, hopefully sometime still in March.
On Tuesday, more testing with the road closing at 8am. The curious thing, what was going to be
tested? Ship 25 was unlikely, seeing that SpaceX parked a lot of the equipment close by including
a Ship transport stand. Booster 7 was also out of the picture as the Orbital Launch Mount work
platform was still lifted up. Yes, it was time for the first test of Ship 26! The suborbital
tank farm came to life with a few new vents on suborbital pad A. Soon we got confirmation that
the team were indeed loading cryogenics into Ship 26. Most likely liquid nitrogen. Over
the course of a few hours the oxygen tank was almost completely filled. Before long,
frost on the methane tank began climbing as well. A pretty significant amount of propellant flowed
into that tank before the test ended and it began to unload. This was a pretty neat effect right
here actually because it almost appeared like the vehicle had three propellant tanks. Of course
that was just the way the frost was melting, but it did confuse a few out there I’m sure.
Now in an earlier episode we touched on the fact that these kinds of cryogenic proofing
tests could be done at Masseys instead so that SpaceX doesn’t need to close down the entire
orbital launch site and block the access to the beach for safety. One question that I
suspect some of you may have had is this. How would SpaceX perform the thrust puck testing
at Masseys? That is essentially when they apply stress to the vehicle's undercarriage to simulate
the force of the Raptor engines at full thrust with these hydraulic rams. Well that could be a
rather simple answer actually! In the past during the suborbital hop period SpaceX only performed
the puck testing on a new revision on the Ship. But with the design maturing now, hopefully this
shouldn’t be necessary for each new Ship. An example already is Booster 9. Unlike Booster 7
which spent a bunch of time on the can crusher to perform these tests, Booster 9 has only performed
several cryo tests on its transport stand. Anyway, let’s look at the Masseys site! Over the
past few weeks the progress has been absolutely massive. We can see the tankfarm is progressing
a lot once again, and the main cryogenic pipes are now almost at the Ship cryostation here. The
structure of this looks very much like the one they have in use at the Orbital launch site. The
Quick Disconnect interface looks like the other Ship plates at Starbase, both on the cryostation
as well as the two on the suborbital pads. All of this talk about the Ships might have you
wondering: how is Ship 27 doing. Well, this week its tank section made up of the thrust, middle
liquid oxygen, and common dome section, was moved inside the highbay. SpaceX at the time had the top
of this covered with this tarp to stop any debris getting inside I imagine. Later in the week teams
added a scaffolding walkway on the outside. And this was right near the top of the tank section
indicating that the stack was imminent. And there we go, that now brings the fully stacked Ships to
four in total! Perhaps SpaceX are planning to do the initial cryogenic proof testing of this one at
the Masseys site, because it sure looks like they want that cryostation ready to go soon!
There is more ship movement as well. The structural test nosecone here was lifted
on top of the testing base. One you may not have noticed is that this nosecone is absolutely packed
with sensors for its upcoming testing with what we’ve been calling the nose cone testing jail.
It’ll be an intriguing test that one. It has also been welded on top of a single ring which
also has a crew access hatch. Let’s just look at the base it’ll be tested on for a moment as
it’s quite the interesting contraption! Right away you can see this extension in
the middle, with what appears to be three big pistons on top. Those pistons had eyes mounted
on top two weeks ago but those got removed for unknown reasons. Now how does this all work?
Well I suspect that those three pistons will have ropes attached and those ropes will pull down on
the nosecone top. That way they can simulate the nosecone going through maximum aerodynamic
pressure. Some of these ropes are actually visible inside the cap which will be lifted on top.
So now that that nosecone is on the base, I suspect that SpaceX will move this rig towards
the Masseys site to perform the testing over there. With the latest flight from RGV, we can see
that the nosecone jail structure was at that point split in half all getting ready to be lifted over
the nose cone, which was still at the Buildsite. SpaceX also gave some attention to Ship 25.
The SpaceX crane hooked up to it, the aft flaps were secured with chains, and it was lifted from
suborbital pad B. Now this was kind of strange really because it had been resting here since
January the 17th with no testing done during all that time. At least no significant testing. So
it is about this time that the community erupts with questions wondering if it is going to be
scrapped due to it already being obsolete, being moved to the Buildsite for temporary storage,
or perhaps it’s even undergoing preparations for a future orbital flight. Once it was rolled back to
the buildsite, SpaceX parked it in the ringyard here so yes that is all we know right now.
Alright, back to the orbital launch site and Booster 7. Last week I talked about the fact that
it gained a new hydraulic power unit, with serial number 15. Well this week another one was being
installed, this one being serial number 14. During this week’s flyover RGV managed to spot both of
the HPU aerocovers delivered at the launchsite. One of them spotted here being attached.
On the topic of the covers and shielding, I talked about those on the outside of the
Orbital Launch Mount potentially being installed soon last week. Well wait no more, as SpaceX began
installing them early in the week! First a plain cover was installed followed the next day by the
installation of a second piece with a door. Wait, what? Yes that looks like a door to nowhere? It
does look like a pretty hefty blast resistant door capable of being opened both from the inside
and the outside. And I suspect that perhaps they want this door so they can lift bigger equipment
up. Components such as new control valves or sections of pipe and that sort of thing. That
will be useful as they can enter here right into the inside walkway when needed.
SpaceX also installed these stairs which split off from the main staircase and go further up
the orbital launch mount. This should make it easier for the crew to get up on top of
the work platform when that is raised. That would be great as it would mean they don’t
need these scissor lifts and other such things just to get up in here. The platform actually
spends most of its time raised these days when no testing is going on anyway, and that also has the
added benefit of protecting the booster from the elements. Starship Gazer also managed to
catch the arrival of another protective hood for the back of the Booster Quick Disconnect. And the
installation of that took place shortly after. The Orbital Launch Mount shield installation
continued mid week.Thursday arrived with a terrific sunrise, and with that we could
see that multiple pieces were installed overnight, and more have been added since
then. One of the other installed pieces also contains a door, so another point of entry.
I will say, it is going to be great seeing all of the launch mount with the full external shielding
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So last week we discussed the Progress MS-21 leak, ending with the Progress spacecraft
undocking. Well there is a bunch more to cover since then. Now if you are up to date of this,
you may have seen some of the shots taken from the International Space Station of the leak area
while the spacecraft was rotating. That gave a better view of this assumed leak point to help
provide some clues as to why it happened. Almost a day later, the Progress spacecraft performed its
final deorbit burn, and it re-entered over the Pacific Ocean shortly after.
Roscosmos then announced that the rescue capsule, Soyuz MS-23, which was supposed to safely get the
three stranded crew back, was scheduled now to launch on the 24th of February. All this was
a little bit confusing, since earlier Roscosmos had announced that they will take their time to
more thoroughly check over this new rescue Soyuz. It was previously stated that this
launch would be no earlier than the 10th of March. Anyway, while this one was preparing to be rolled
to the pad, more news from Roscosmos about the mysterious leaks. First this brand new clip where
we can see the coolant leaking out of the radiator of Progress MS-21. We hadn’t seen this before,
and if we compare it to the Soyuz MS-22, this one doesn’t seem to be as intense. Now this
could be a smaller leak, or it could just be variations in backlighting, or timing between
the two different clips. That remains uncertain. But yes, lets just take another look at the image,
showing the damaged area from the new leak. Right there, you can see a tiny hole,
estimated in this case to be around 12 millimeters in diameter. Roscosmos has stated that the cause
of the leak was because of some ”external influence”. But this is the puzzling thing
I guess isn’t it? If you just compare this to the image of the Soyuz MS-22, both of the tiny
holes have occurred in very similar places to each other. You would have to think that the chances of
the same problem happening twice in a row in a similar spot randomly seems unlikely. You never
know though. Not that it could ever be determined, but it would be pretty poetic if these issues were
caused by debris from the destroyed Cosmos 1408 satellite. Back in 2021 of course, Russia decided
to destroy this in a demonstration anti-satellite missile test. A test that created this huge
cloud of debris which could contribute to such a problem for any vehicle with intersecting orbits.
Anyway this leads us to the rescue mission for the first damaged Soyuz MS-22. The uncrewed
Soyuz MS-23 here, filled with cargo for the ISS, was prepared to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome,
in Kazakhstan late this week. And there we go that brilliant plume of fire as it roared off the pad.
Slowly at first with a thrust to weight ratio of roughly 1.4. It rapidly gathered momentum though
the flight as it prepared for the quadruple strap-on boosters to eject and create the
always fun Korolev cross. All went smoothly of course. Very rare that a Soyuz launch doesn't
these days. It is taking a very lengthy trip to the station and it will not actually dock
until sometime Saturday after this video is live. So the two cosmonauts Sergey, and Dmitry, along
with NASA’s Frank Rubio now have their new return vehicle to come home in. Their damaged craft,
MS-22, is going to be returned autonomously sometime next month after they rearrange all
of the seat liners to go into the new vehicle. What is interesting however is that the crew are
going to need to stay aboard the ISS for a lot longer yet. Their return is now scheduled all
the way into September, right when the Soyuz MS-24 will fly in with a new crew. They obviously would
have been originally been flying on MS-23. A much longer mission than any of the crew
would have initially expected as they would have normally been returning home in the coming weeks.
Now it doesn’t seem like that long ago since the perseverance rover landed on Mars at
Jezero Crater does it?! But can you believe that it was now over two years ago?! Yea,
I know right!? That was its planned mission length, and as predicted, it has passed with
flying colors. Along with a small Armada of orbiting spacecraft and a couple of other die
hard robotic buddies on the surface; Perseverance continues to break new ground in our current goals
to study the Martian environment. Its primary mission is, of course, to explore the ancient
river delta that flowed through Jezero Crater approximately three and a half billion years ago
and hopefully it’s going to find evidence for the past existence of life. All to help answer
the question, are we alone in the universe? Following the progress of the Perseverance
rover was its little companion, the Ingenuity helicopter, over the last 24 months it has been
both jaw dropping and awe inspiring to see these missions. Often stealing the limelight
with this fantastic display of extra terrestrial aeronautics. Ingenuity's design has turned out
to be so robust, that its initial mission goals have long since been superseded by its current
missions. Dozens of successful flights - each often longer, higher and faster than the last.
These missions evolved really from just a proof of concept into a rock solid scouting platform,
laying out the path for the next generation of aerial spacecraft. In fact, the next ones destined
for Mars may have already been selected. You see, the rover has been busy collecting various surface
samples, some of which have been re-deposited back onto the surface in these little backup
capsules. The primary ones are still stored within Perseverance itself. The plan is for
it to deposit them into a future sample retrieval lander, but what about these ones that are already
on the surface? Well Sample Recovery Helicopters may well be attempting to collect those. That is
going to be pretty incredible to see I must say. The whole endeavor is of course also serving as an
introduction to the first crewed missions to Mars. Gaining confidence and familiarity down there on
the surface is crucial if we want the first human landings and excursions to go as well as possible.
Now in my opinion, a big highlight of the week is Kerbal Space Program 2! It was scheduled for Early
Access release on February the 24th. YES! That was yesterday. As a long-term fan of the original
game, I'm just thrilled about this! In fact, my love for the game was what even inspired me to
create a YouTube channel in the first place. If you've never played Kerbal Space Program before,
you're missing out on an incredible opportunity to explore the wonders of space travel and rocket
science. Not only is it a blast, but it's also an excellent way to learn about basic rocket
development, orbital mechanics, and mission planning and that sort of thing. And trust me,
the fun really starts when things start to go wrong! I certainly have no shortage
of that experience. I've spent thousands of hours probably tinkering with this game over the years,
and I'm just so excited to see what is in store with this new version. Just before you
dive in though, be aware that the early access version is missing a few things that people
may have been expecting. There's no career or science mode, no interstellar travel or
colonies or any of that sort of thing, and no multiplayer yet either. Plus, the performance
requirements at this early stage are pretty monstrous which did take many by surprise,
so make sure to check them before committing. A lot of optimisation will reduce that in future
releases I’m certain. I wouldn’t let any of the missing things discourage you though! Even in
sandbox mode, there's still plenty of fun to be had. And with Steam, the Epic Games Store,
and the Kerbal Space Program website offering the game for PC only during this early access period,
it's easier than ever to join in on the action. Yep. It is time for me to get
playing again even if only in sandbox mode. I’m a little rusty I will say, but I cannot wait!
Just remember as well, the Crew-6 mission of course is launching over the next few days
assuming that the schedule holds, and the crew there arrived early in the week. Taking the stand,
the two NASA astronauts, UAE astronaut, and Russian cosmonaut talked about their mission
which I thought was actually quite interesting. Link to that in the description below. The Falcon
9 rocket with the Crew Dragon on top will lift off from Launch Complex 39A. And SpaceX shared this
images of the vehicle just the other day. Crew Dragon Endeavour. The same one that launched Bob
and Doug in the first crewed flight for SpaceX, and the exact same that last flew on the Axiom
Mission 1 in April last year. Gosh, where did those 10 months go!? Anyway, keep your eyes peeled
for that massive event. That is the sixth crew rotation mission using the SpaceX’s Dragon, and
I’ll cover this in a lot more detail next week. Thank you for joining me on this exciting journey
through inner and outer space this week, and of course for being subscribed. Couldn’t do
it without you! I’d just be some crazy guy sitting here talking to himself! Colossal
thanks of course to the amazing Patreons and YouTube members helping even make this possible
in the first place. If you'd like to support us and gain exclusive perks like these ones here,
we love chatting with you all in the closed Discord channels we have got set up.
In the tile in the bottom left today, we’ve got my video talking all about the 31 engine
static fire comparison when matched to the Saturn V and the N1 record holder. On the
right some of my deeper dive topics such as the artificial gravity one, and the problems
with cosmic radiation. Thank you, everyone, for watching and I'll see you all in the next video.