Welcome back and thanks for tuning in to episode 19 of LabPadre's SpaceX and Starbase weekly
updates. We've got a lot of progress to report on so let's dig in!
Starting off this week at Starbase Friday morning the e-dome test tank was relocated to a new spot on the former landing
pad at the launch site. Over at the launch mount work continued on preparing for the first orbital
flight including the addition of an access hatch cover on the rear booster quick disconnect hood.
Meanwhile at the build site a telehandler was used to collapse one of booster 5's ring sections
as scrapping of the obsolete vehicle progressed. That afternoon several sections of raptor heat
shielding were delivered to the launch site on a flatbed truck. A few hours later we saw
the chopsticks raise above booster 7. Open, close, and return to the base of the tower.
Early the next morning the chopsticks were again lifted up the tower. This time however
the arms were lowered with one on either side of the booster. Chain hoists were spotted by
each of the new brackets on the bottom of the launch mount likely for the new work platform.
On Sunday morning crews were busy rigging one of the chopstick hydraulic actuators used to open
and close the arms for removal ahead of being replaced. What appears to be two sections of a
ring transport stand passed by rover cam few hours later and appeared to be headed towards the
Sanchez site. Around the same time the replacement hydraulic actuator also arrived at Starbase.
A short time later LabCam caught one of SpaceX's grove cranes unloading the new actuator.
That afternoon at the launch site with rigging finished the old hydraulic piston was finally
removed from the chopsticks. In the early hours of Monday morning crews tested the new
raptor maintenance platform unfolding and folding one of the side panels. Later that
morning six protective awnings for the orbital launch mount were delivered to the launch site.
A short time later a second load of launch mount covers were delivered by the same truck.
As the deliveries continued a new rack of hydraulic accumulators for the chopsticks
arrived and were offloaded to the production site. As seen by LabCam, the new building by the crane
yard now has its overhead doors installed. As spacex prepared for a day of testing the
raptor maintenance stand was moved from the launch mount and parked near the guard shack.
That afternoon with the road closed and the pad cleared it was time for another round of booster testing.
The testing looked a little bit different though with more activity from booster 7's raptors
before a spin prime test led to a large fireball exploding from underneath the launch mount.
During a spin prime test high pressure gases are fed into the turbo pumps
spinning them up to full speed simulating engine startup but stopping short of ignition.
SpaceX has performed this test on raptors many times before but this was the first time on the
launch mount with all 33 engines together. The unintended result of this seems to have been
a buildup of gaseous methane under the launch mount that managed to find an ignition source.
Later, after an apparent LOX dump from the booster a fire broke out near the base of the
launch tower. The fire burned through a trailer and some equipment before burning itself out.
Over at the build site RoverCam caught the candid reactions to the explosion
from some of the Starbase employees as the sound of the blast reached them. Several employees turned
and ran towards the road to get a better line of sight as to what had happened at the launch pad.
One employee hurried to his nearby truck and took off to speak with security guards
and sheriff deputies at the roadblock. You can also see a group looking down at something.
Maybe using their phones to catch the LabPadre footage of the anomaly?
Moving over to Florida, Monday saw the return of falcon 9 booster B1058 from
the starlink 4-21 mission, as SpaceX drone ship Just Read The Instructions was towed into port.
Shortly after the drone ship was secured to the dock the crane with the falcon 9 lifting
attachment swung out and attached itself to the top of the booster.
Not wasting any time the crane then lifted the booster and placed it onto the dock for processing.
A few hours later Doug towed A Short Fall Of Gravitas out to sea for the CRS-25 mission.
That afternoon, after less than a day in the port Just Read The Instructions was towed
out to sea for the next starlink launch. At Starbase, as crews began to assess the
damage the raptor maintenance stand was moved back underneath the launch mount.
At the build site the scrapping of booster 5 continued as the three ring common dome section
was removed from Mega Bay. Late that night the new hydraulic actuator that had recently been
delivered was moved to the launch site arriving slung underneath the forks of the telehandler.
Around the same time a small group including what looked to be Elon climbed onto the raptor
maintenance stand to inspect the damage of booster 7's raptors and engine bay.
Even while cleaning and assessing the damage from Monday's anomaly SpaceX continued to move
forward working to prepare ship 24 for upcoming testing. Early Wednesday morning a self-propelled
modular transport left the build site with the booster transport connectors.
Later that morning the new hydraulic actuator was lifted for installation on the chopsticks.
Getting this installed quickly was crucial because the chopsticks were unable to lift the
booster without it. Within a few short hours the actuator was installed and released from the crane.
Meanwhile two of SpaceX's self-propelled modular transporters arrived at the launch site as
preparations for booster 7's return to the build site began in earnest. A few hours later a third
SPMT arrived carrying the counterweights and connector plate needed for transport.
Some new electrical boxes were delivered to the pad, possibly as replacements for damaged ones.
Back at Port Canaveral SpaceX recovery vessel Bob returned from the fairing recovery training
offshore. Late Wednesday night, using the raptor maintenance stand, crews worked to remove a single
raptor boost engine from booster 7. Having delivered its load and counterweights and
transport connectors the single SPMT left the launch site. Meanwhile a ship payload section
likely for ship 26 was lifted out of the windbreak. Just a couple of hours
after removing a raptor from booster 7 a new one was lifted and installed in its place.
Later, VR Cam caught the removed raptor leaving the launch site on the flatbed trailer.
Early Thursday morning the left chopstick was seen undergoing some pivotal testing
as SpaceX tried out a newly installed actuator. Meanwhile at the build site the new hydraulic
accumulator rack was prepared for transport to the launch site. Less than an hour later
it arrived at the build site and was parked on the former landing pad. Later that morning
what appeared to be some of the shielding for the outer raptors left the launch site.
The alignment pins on the booster transport stand were tested during final preparations for removing
the booster from the mount. At Port Canaveral, since crews had finished folding the legs up on B1058
two cranes worked together in a tandem lift to move the booster onto the transporter.
As the launch site was clearing for Thursday's scheduled closure the booster quick disconnect
on the launch mount was retracted from booster 7. A short time later the ship QD arm was swung away
from the tower and the arms were raised and closed in and around the top of the booster.
With the booster secured to the chopsticks and released from the mount
the chopsticks lifted booster 7 from the launch mount and lowered it towards a transport stand.
The alignment pins on the stand connected the booster and guided it onto the stand.
Later, the arms were lowered from the booster lifting points and moved away.
That night one of the dishes at the tracking station was seen following the just launched
cargo dragon on its way to the international space station. Once all the preparations were
complete booster 7 was rolled out from between the chopsticks and moved away from the launch tower.
It negotiated its way around all the equipment on the former landing pad and snuck under the boom
of spacex's LR11000 crane as it turned out the gate and rolled onto highway 4. For the second
time in the last several months booster 7 began its journey back to the build site for inspections
and repairs following a testing anomaly. Hopefully it will soon return for additional testing.
A little over an hour later the booster reached the build site and made its way back to Mega Bay.
Back at the launch site SpaceX seemed to perform some testing on ship 24 which was later seen venting.
This week we are proud to bring you an update on SpaceX's progress at pad 39a
thanks to amazing ground shots from Greg Scott While the tower and launch mount legs appear the
same as last week's flyover it sure is exciting to be able to see them from a new perspective.
At the top of the concrete base of the tower we can see one of the changes between the Starbase
tower and this new tower. At Starbase the first steel section was mounted directly to the top of
the concrete. Here however, short extensions were added to the tower base and the first section
was mounted to these new pieces. This was likely to allow the first section to have bottom connections
identical to other tower sections which allowed it to be pre-assembled using the existing tower jigs.
We can also clearly see the scaffolding that is installed at all the connection points between
the tower sections. This scaffolding gives the workers a safe platform to work from
as they secure the sections together. There are bolts to secure on the bottom plates
of the diagonal beams as well as on the two temporary bolt plates on each corner column.
At the corners the scaffolding will likely remain in place longer as once the section is secure
workers will weld the leg columns together removing the temporary plates as they go.
There hasn't been any noticeable changes in the legs for the launch mount since they were installed.
If construction continues similarly to what we saw at Starbase we should see a temporary steel structure
installed between the legs to help secure them in place while they fill it with concrete.
And last, but certainly not least we have a great shot of the famous pad 39a mystery structure.
We can see the internal steel beams to be fairly substantial and the entire structure is surrounded by
scaffolding. This week we can see that a concrete base has been poured on top of the structure
and there are extensions coming up from it. Could these extensions be guides to help install the
ring sections they have been building nearby onto this new structure or could they be straps to help
secure these rings to the base. Let us know your latest thoughts in the comments. It is starting
to appear that something like a water tank seems more likely than a test stand but time will tell...
And there you have it another Spacex and Starbase weekly update brought to you by LabPadre.
Make sure you hit the subscribe button and hit the alert bell for new video
and live stream notifications. We'll see you next week and thanks for watching...LabPadre out!