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what’s the biggest difference between SpaceX’s Starship and traditional rocket development and what to expect for Super Heavy
My name is Felix and I am your host for todays 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
Before SpaceX came into existence, the general opinion about rocket development was, that it could take decades from a first
design to the finished and ready for flight result. Development times even slowed down throughout the decades after the Apollo program.
The general idea was that developing a new idea from scratch would actually be bad,
as proven and old technology was more reliable and safer to operate.
And then came Elon Musk and his team completely ignoring established philosophies and taking such a different approach
that in the beginning people even said, that his approach was reckless and dangerous.
Fast forward to 2020 and the view about what SpaceX is creating has changed.
Several times a month Falcon rockets deliver payloads into orbit and even crewed flight is now part of the portfolio.
All of it done with rather untraditional systems,
even though Musk had to take it a step back
for example with ideas like propulsively landing his Dragon capsules. Even that is not enough change for SpaceX though.
They want to take such a radically different approach that it can’t really be compared to a normal rocket anymore.
It’s incredibly large, versatile and revolutionary.
An idea for a different age of spaceflight. And it’s safe to say, that it won’t take decades to get this idea operational.
On September 12th Elon Musk tweeted, that he expects Starship Serial Number 8 to be finished by the end of this week.
Main body, flaps and nosecone. Right after that, SpaceX will do a first static fire, then checkouts and a second static fire to be
absolutely sure about the construction.
Once all that is done, which in theory should take another week or so,
SpaceX will be ready to take the first fully built Starship prototype to a height of 20 kilometers or 60000 feet.
So, A 20 kilometer flight is to be expectred in the first week of October already.
This flight will be special in many ways. If successful, it will give SpaceX first real in-flight aerodynamics data. Smaller
hops are good for testing internal plumbing, engine integration, thrust vector and reaction control systems.
They’re able to test weld strength and see, if the general design is able to withstand the needed forces.
What these small hops are not enough for though is for collecting data on flight behavior.
The Starship will reach much higher speeds. The engines will ignite for a much longer time.
There will be much more fuel inside the tanks.
Corey from C Bass 3D did a wonderful job of showing the difference between Serial Number 6 and 8 on his latest animation.
Check him out on Twitter! Link is in the description! It’s not clear yet,
if Serial number 8 will attempt a belly flop maneuver and skydive its way back down,
but even without this key feature, SpaceX is now leaving the small 150-meter
test hops behind. Many were surprised, when Musk said, that a first Super Heavy prototype would maybe even fly by the end of next month.
The reason becomes clear with his recent statement of a 20-kilometer flight within the next two weeks.
SpaceX is just not planning on lingering around and doing small hops for a prolonged time.
The internal plan is likely set to short intervals for milestones.
Two small hops to 150 meters. Then a few hops to 20 kilometers.
Then, as soon as possible, orbital flights to test reentry and Starship and Super Heavy landings.
We’re so stuck in thinking that this takes decades to develop, where SpaceX shows us every week,
that milestones can in fact be achieved in short succession. A huge
thank you goes to Mauricio from RGV Aerial again for doing these flybys for all of us!
Check out his Patreon and consider becoming a Patron. Help him out with some gas money for his plane! He deserves it!
Maybe the best indicator for a fast schedule in
Boca Chica right now is the new High Bay. When such a large building is being constructed,
it normally takes time. Half a year. Maybe longer. SpaceX though doesn’t plan in so much time.
Musk needs the High Bay done before the end of next month. He needs Super Heavy boosters.
He wants to go for tests as soon as humanly possible. And so, the workers in Boca Chica did, what needed to be done.
They stacked level upon level so fast that every week I was able to talk about the progress. Now,
it’s almost finished. Towering over everything at the construction site,
the new High Bay is almost ready for business. And
right after it’s possible at all to do work inside, maybe even before it’s completely finished,
SpaceX workers will start stacking work on the floor.
First super heavy segments are likely already worked on inside the large construction tents next to it. It’s pretty incredible.
There are no empty stretches. No breaks or pauses. No delay at all.
It’s always onwards to the next milestone. Right next to the High Bay is the Mid Bay. SpaceX’s Starship construction
hangar. Serial Number 5 and 6, the two prototypes that recently did the successful 150-meter
hops are sitting out in the open now. After being the big milestone for around 4 weeks,
they’re now already obsolete. Musk is openly thinking about making Serial Number 6 a monument at the road to South Padre.
After being asked by Gene & Rachell from Spadre Island, if he’d consider the idea,
he only replied, asking if there was anyone able to provide a boat service. And Serial Number 8 is racing towards its launch.
Also visible on the shot from RGV Aerial Photography are two new aft flaps, delivered by semi truck to the construction site.
It’s not clear yet,
if Serial Number 8 will be able to actuate the flaps or if they’re just being put on to get data on aerodynamics,
but they will be mounted. At the small bay, SpaceX’s Nosecone and fairing department, parts come and go. Right now
there are two pairs of forward fins, two fairings, three nosecones and one already assembled nose section.
It’s still not clear, which nose will be used for Serial Number 8,
but there are plenty to choose from. Same as for the aft fins though,
none of the noses seem to be equipped with actuators for the forward flaps.
So, it might be possible that Serial Number 8 won’t be able to wiggle it’s flaps just yet.
Which is no big deal at all, as Serial number 9, 10 and 11 are already in development as well.
Not long, and SpaceX will be in need of a Starship prototype graveyard. Below
one of the pairs of forward flaps, aerodynamic covers can be seen and even further down below the small bay
COPV production seems to be running hot as well.
Parts, parts, parts. Parts, parts, parts.
The steady stream of Starship prototypes seems to have good supply. The same picture can be seen at the growing Launch Complex.
SpaceX is putting large amounts of work into preparing it for the next step. Higher and more frequent flights.
There’s no time to be wasted. SpaceX wants this done by yesterday.
Serial Number 7.1 is still sitting on the test stand, waiting for some action and a chance to prove the 304L stainless steel construction.
Next to it,
the older main test stand is empty after Serial Number 6 did a successful hop and got
transported back to the Construction site. Next to it though,
SpaceX is getting rid of another dirt patch. The long ramp
leading from highway 4 to the test stand foundation is finally being paved.
On top of the foundation next to the launch control center fleece is being put on the ground.
An indicator for another concrete foundation to be created. The whole site rapidly turns from a dirt hill into a sophisticated
launch complex ready to accommodate SpaceX’s next milestones.
Super Heavy and Starship launches will not be done from Test stands in the future.
They will be done from here. The orbital launch mount. A very unique installation to say the least.
It just doesn’t look like a normal Launch complex at all. As always, Mary was on site as well, taking pictures For NASASpaceflight.com.
Only two days after Mauricio’s aerial photo, the last pillar was sleeved. Now
we should finally see, how this construction will be continued.
One possible reason for SpaceX creating the orbital launch mount in Boca Chica as they are,
could be that they’re building something similar to one of the test stands at their engine testing range in McGregor Texas.
It has a larger diameter though and a large flame diverter underneath, which wouldn’t really be possible with a much smaller sized stand.
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In the end we’ll have to wait and see again which shouldn’t take much longer though.
Now that the pillars are almost done,
the next construction steps should reveal a few more clues as to what they’re actually planning. Super Heavy Construction
Next, I want to talk about Super Heavy Design with you.
It’s not long anymore until we should see first prototype segments and it is one of the most important steps to get Starships into orbit.
Without Super Heavy,
there are no reentry tests for Starships. As so often in a development process, things tend to change over time.
--SpaceX showed the same behavior in their Starship development process and Super Heavy of course is subject to change as well.
When commenting a render done by Neopork on twitter on August
29th, Musk gave a bit of insight into what we can expect for the soon to start Super Heavy construction process.
The main focus here is on the thrust structure and the legs, as the rest of the Super Heavy booster will be
surprisingly easy considering its size.
It’s just a large tank section as can be found on current Starship prototypes.
Even the engine count in the beginning will likely be much lower than the final design.
The legs though are important from the beginning on, as testing out
the landing will be the main focus here. Musk said that the design has shifted to four legs with a wider stance to avoid
engine plume impingement in vacuum. For those who do not know, plume impingement just means that to have
optimal thrust, there should not be any part of the rocket interfering with the plume’s expansion.
The original 6 fin design though seems to do just that. What would be some possible solutions here
and what could they look like? There are two possible ways of constructing legs for Super Heavy. Here
you can see static legs that do not actuate.
The design is changed to accommodate Musk’s tweet. A much wider stance.
The leg count is reduced to 4 down from 6 and the fins are basically gone. A slim construction to not produce too much
aerodynamic resistance on the way up and not too much turbulence on the way down
to not reduce the grid fin efficiency as they likely need
turbulencefree airflow around them.
This would fit SpaceX’s approach of going the minimalistic way as they do it on almost every part of the Starship program.
Another possible option would be so-called falcon style legs. A flip out design that can already be seen on Falcon 9 and Heavy Rockets.
It would fit Musk’s requirement in every regard and arguably have a few more advantages compared to fixed legs.
Flip out legs should weigh less, be more
aerodynamic due to the fact that they are folded in on ascend And in theory should be able to be as strong as static legs.
There are downsides too though. A flip out leg is more complex and has more parts.
This does mean, that there are more potential opportunities for failures. A static leg does not have a failed deployment.
It does not need to be retracted either, which on Falcon 9 boosters is a rather timely operation.
There are pros and cons Musk recently also stated, that Super Heavy will have les engines and no big fins.
So, the legs won’t need to act as a sort of stabilizer and the extended skirt will most likely be gone
too. Less engines free up space inside the skirt for more gimbal room and get rid of the need to extend the hull on the bottom.
If SpaceX does consider flip out legs, a straight hull would be very helpful.
Reducing the leg count down to four, no matter if flip out or static, also has the big advantage,
that the legs can be placed
so they do not interfere with the grid fins above. Better air flow towards the grid fins means improved steering on descend.
Erik and Nick Henning have done a stellar job of working with me again and turning speculation into pictures.
Please make sure to check out their Twitter accounts and leave them a follow! What do you think? Do both options make sense?
Which one do you think will SpaceX pursue and why? As always, tell me in the comments!
This is the core of prototyping when you’re not relying on proven technology.
When you’re trying something brand new. SpaceX is facing decision after decision, rapidly going through different iterations to find the sweet spot.
The final design.
All this sometimes sounds like Science Fiction, but it isn’t. It’s real life development and research being done somewhere on the planet
right now. There are so many things happening out there right now, that I couldn’t possibly cover it all.
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