Today amongst other things we’ll take a look at SpaceX’s Starship SN15 and what’s going to happen with it.
Will it fly again? Will it be scrapped?
When is the orbital flight going to take place?
We’ll also take a look at Virgin Galactic and their recent spaceflight with VSS Unity and what kinds of implications it has on space tourism.
My name is Felix, and I am your host for today’s episode of What about it!?
And as always, there’s been a lot going on in the space industry lately, so let ’s dive right in!
Starship Updates
A lot is happening in Boca Chica.
SpaceX is working towards its first ever fully reusable launch vehicle and the time of small steps has long passed.
And here we are again. Boca Chica Texas.
SpaceX’s Starbase. If you don’t know, what that stands for, take a look at the last episode,
where I did a deep dive into why SpaceX is building this in the first place.
We’re looking at the suborbital test facility here.
The old tank farm and the two suborbital pads A and B. Starship SN15 is currently sitting on suborbital Pad B, going through some modifications.
It’s still unknown, if it will ever fly again as stated by Elon Musk or what’s going to happen with it in the future.
And this is work being done inside SN15’s engine skirt.
To be more precise, an engine is being removed.
Raptor number 54. By now, all three Raptor engines have been removed from Starship SN15 and it’s unclear, what’s going to happen next.
There are a few options right now.
After its very successful flight, SN15 is in a waiting position now.
Musk stated that the team might try to re-fly this prototype.
This would be yet another first, as no Starship has ever been flown twice yet.
For this, SpaceX would need to make sure that it’s safe to fly it again.
I expected the removal of all three engines for some time now.
They at least need to be thoroughly checked before any re-flight can be done and that can be done best at the construction site and there still
is the rumor that one of them didn’t properly relight on the SN15 flight.
Replacements might be needed.
Another possible option would be to retire Starship SN15 and go with SN16.
As seen here through Mary’s lens for NASA Spaceflight.com it’s sitting inside SpaceX’s high bay right now.
Stacked and apparently ready for a flight.
Ready to show the world that a landing can be done again.
At some point, SpaceX will need the space as well.
The high bay can only hold so many prototypes and SpaceX does have some very important ones to finish here soon.
SpaceX’s production line doesn’t look like it would stop any time soon.
More and more parts for all sorts of prototypes are being manufactured.
Besides the progress on SN20, which is supposed to fly to orbit for the first time, we can already se first parts of SN21,
which of course is going to try its luck as the second Starship to fly to orbit.
Likely built in the same way as SN20, it will be a backup candidate for SpaceX, which will likely be needed as well.
Musk has already stated that several Starships will be needed to figure out the heat shield, the orbital reentry and a complete recovery.
There will be plenty of flights here in the future.
Meanwhile at the construction site, SpaceX has been busy, working on the next booster.
BN3 is taking shape and it will likely be the one to carry Starship SN20 up to its first orbital flight.
And this is one of the coolest pictures taken by Mary in a while.
It’s the perfect peek through the fence and it shows the first picture ever of a super heavy fuel distribution system.
The system will be comprised of two levels.
The lower level for the 8 center engines is going straight down.
The upper level of another 20 pipes will feed the outer and fixed engines on the booster.
Taking a look at one of RGV Aerial Photography’s pictures where we can see the booster aft dome the system becomes apparent easier.
Here the inner cluster of 8 engines and the outer ring of 20 can clearly be seen.
And with a little help from Caspar Stanley and his awesome creativity,
we can even visualize the whole thing in 3D and most likely what it will look like installed inside the booster.
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So, this is it. One of the most complex fuel distribution systems ever designed for a rocket
This of course is take one. It’s a complex problem to solve and SpaceX will likely go through a couple of iterations until they find the most efficient variant.
Here is the center piece that was photographed by Mary just with the center cluster of 8 Raptor engines attached.
And here it is again with all the engines attached.
An impressive amount of pipes
That’s what you need to get a Starship up into orbit.
The combined force of 28 Raptor engines firing for 169 seconds.
To be able to recover Starships though, SpaceX will need heat tiles.
Lots of heat tiles.
Here for example, we have a segment of SN17.
And it has lots and lots of heat tiles on it.
What can be seen quickly though is that this can’t be anywhere close to the final product.
The tiles break off on occasion, the placement is not symmetrical, and, on the sides, we can also see,
that the tiles are tilted in all sorts of directions.
This is not a smooth surface at all, and every irregularity gives the heat a point of attack when a Starship re-enters the atmosphere.
SpaceX is practicing a lot. Where in the beginning a heat tile was a sensation on its own, they’re a common sight now.
Every Prototype is more and more covered with them and the SpaceX Workforce is practicing on how to build the perfect Starship heat shield.
On we go with cryo jacket construction at the Sanchez site.
Besides being the place to build huge segments for the launch support structure, the site has become a second construction site recently.
SpaceX is constructing huge tank jackets here.
As soon as they’re finished, these will be sleeved over the new GSE tanks at the launch site and flooded with nitrogen.
This will provide an excellent insulation for the cryogenic tanks, enabling SpaceX to store cryogenic commodities over a long time.
And here is the next epic milestone at the SpaceX south Texas launch site.
Do you remember the Liebherr LR13350 crane from Episode 164?
It’s fully assembled by now, ready for the task of stacking hundreds of tons heavy launch tower segments on top of each other.
Here you can see, how the work crew raised the power boom assembly.
This is one of the largest mobile cranes on the planet.
Built for the toughest tasks there are.
And here’s what the Liebherr LR13350 was preparing for.
What you’re looking at here is LabPadre’s 24/7 live cam feed directly from Boca Chica Texas.
And it shows something huge traveling down highway 4 towards the launch site.
It’s the first of 5 segments that will in the end make up the entire tower.
Built at the Sanchez site and moved to the launch site when ready, SpaceX chose to preassemble them and stack when ready.
This gives SpaceX the advantage of being able to do the heavy work on the ground.
The tower is supposed to be more than 140 meters tall in the end and working at these heights can be very dangerous.
By assembling separate segments and moving them over the launch site for stacking, SpaceX avoids this and speeds up construction at the same time.
It won’t be long until we see the whole tower standing tall at the Boca Chica coastline.
Ready to support the first orbital Starship launch in human history.
We’re learning more and more about how SpaceX will assemble the tower on site as well.
A work elevator has been lifted inside the tower structure showing that SpaceX is getting ready for the assembly.
It is a McDonough US-60- 1RX and it uses a rack and pinion system.
It doesn’t need cables and will run along a girder structure.
It’s unknown, if SpaceX will only use this lift for the assembly work or if it will stay attached to the tower.
One thing is for sure though. This will make the construction process much quicker!
The orbital fuel farm has seen some major upgrades as well with new tanks being delivered and installed.
All this effort show that SpaceX is not just building a second tank farm like the one they already had.
This whole facility is to replace the old tank farm in the end.
According to SpaceX’s internal plans this is one of two new orbital tank farms as well, so expect the building to continue here for some time.
SpaceX’s priority number 1 right now is the orbital flight.
Since SN15 has landed, the tempo and the direction, SpaceX is moving into have changed.
Hops do not seem to be the biggest priority anymore and SpaceX is putting all the power they have into preparations for the orbital flight.
It’s unknown, if SpaceX is still tracking July 1st, for the first flight, but right now an August 1st or even September look more realistic.
Exciting times in Boca Chica!
Spaceport America Virgin Galactic launch
The next topic is all about one of the coolest looking rides to space ever built.
Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two or Unity is Richard Branson’s take on Space Tourism and its just done its third flight to Space.
Spaceport America, New Mexico, May 22nd 2021.
Virgin Galactic is getting ready to make history.
VSS Unity, hanging under VMS Eve is setting out to become the first manned vehicle to be launched into Space from New Mexico.
White Knight Two and Spaceship Two are working as a team to be able to deliver passengers to space.
Virgin Galactic’s goal is to make a trip to Space actually somewhat affordable.
Where Jeff Bezos is auctioning off the first seat on a New Shepard rocket for roughly 3 million dollars right now,
Virgin Galactics current ticket price is standing at 250000 dollars.
2, 1, release, release, release, fire.
And for those 250000 dollars you’re supposed to get this.
Here you can see the two Astronauts CJ Sturckow and Dave Mackay pilot VSS Unity at a top speed of mach 3 and to an altitude of 89.23 kilometers.
And for those, who do not think that this is space, take a close look at the pictures.
There’s no doubt, that this journey can be called very unique and as long as there’s no Starship flight available yet,
250000 dollars to get to space sounds pretty amazing!
Virgin Space Ship Unity or short VSS Unity, as Virgin Galactic calls its latest toy is a so-called suborbital spaceplane.
Meaning that it can not achieve orbit, similar to Blue Origins New Shepard rocket.
Contrary to Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic chose to take the glider approach, which created a very unique plane to say the least.
Powered by a RocketMotorTwo Hybrid rocket engine that runs on Hydroxyl-Terminated polybutadiene the spaceplane is capable of creating 310 kilonewtons
of thrust with a specific impulse of 250 secolnds and a total burn time of 60 seconds the plane has a built in feather mechanism that can make
the whole back part of the plane tilt for aerodynamic reasons.
Virgin Galactic fulfilled a number of test objectives during the flight too.
Unity carried revenue-generating scientific research experiments as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program.
It collected data to be used for the final two verification reports that are required as part of the current FAA commercial reusable spacecraft operator’s license.
It tested the spaceship’s upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls.
And on top of that CJ, who flew as pilot-in-command, becomes the first person ever to have flown to space from three different states.
After the successful flight VSS Unity landed safely back at Spaceport America, demonstrating a full flight without any problems.
With this successful test,
Virgin Galactic is on the final stretch to be able to get the FAA license required to start the boarding process for hopefully many flights to come in the future.
250000 dollars for a flight on VSS Unity.
Would you do it, if you had the money readily available?
Tell me in the comments! What’s your thought about Space tourism?
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