As SpaceX completed its first static fire test of the Starship with only 14 raptor engines
on November 14th, the stage zero launchpad which suffers a heavy blast as concrete particles
from the beam of the stage zero launch pad was seen flying all over starbase.
Think about this for a moment – the company tested only 14 raptor engines leaving 19 behind,
and the stage zero launch pad almost got damaged, and as a result of the engine blast – what
would happen to stage zero if all 33 raptor 2 engines were blasted.
Let's iron out this viewpoint in today's episode.
Now, if you would stand by nature, you'll agree that higher noise alone is a disaster
for human well-being.
SpaceX fans that wanted to witness the fun of seeing the 14-raptor engines roar stayed
far always from the scene.
Even SpaceX launch engineers had to use ear muffs to reduce the high intensity of noise
from the 14-blasted raptor 2 engines.
Research shows that decibels are used to measure sound, a whisper is about 30 dB, and a normal
conversation is about 60 dB.
The sound of a running motorcycle engine is about 95 dB.
Listening to noise above 70 dB for a long time could wear down your hearing.
Loud sounds above 120 dB can damage your ear drum right away.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that a siren is about 120
decibels and jet engines are about 140 decibels.
When they take off., 170 decibels are the same as the sound of 10 airplane engines.
Hence, high noise is not friendly to our hearing.
SpaceX is indebted to find a solution to develop soundproof to the base of the super heavy
booster that will cover up the 33 noisy raptors 2 engines.
For safety, people watching the Saturn V launch were kept three and a half miles or four kilometers
away from the pad.
The sound isn't loud enough to melt concrete or start grass fires more than a mile away,
so the team thinks that radiative heat from the plume or debris, would have caused the
disaster at the base of the launch pad.
Even though the SLS rocket will be bigger and louder than the Saturn V, NASA has added
a system to its SLS launch pads to keep the noise down.
About 2 million liters, or 450,000 gallons, of water will rush onto the pad during the
launch.
This will lower the noise level of the rocket and protect both people's ears and the launch
pad.
Let's talk about what this has to do with the stage zero launch pad for starships.
The Starship launch pad can't be as good as NASA's SLS launch pad.
The super heavy booster has 33 Raptor 2 engines and a total thrust of 75,315 kilonewtons.
This is the largest payload ever launched by a rocket.
Saturn V carried the 90-ton spaceship Skylab to Leo using 10 engines and a total thrust
of 40,000 kilonewtons.
This means the Starship booster is almost twice as powerful as the entire Saturn V rocket.
So, is it still safe to use the Starship launch pad?
Many people are worried about the concrete of the launch pad.
Once those pieces of cement break, they will shoot out with incredible force and hit other
parts of the launch pad, which could cause many other things to fall down, such as tank
Farms pipes and Olt.
Because of this, the SpaceX team is trying to find ways to reduce the risk.
For instance, they have been putting shielding on the legs of the orbital launch mount and
testing the fire suppression system.
The fire suppression system was tested twice during the spin Prime test on November 10th.
The first time, just the nitrogen pressure system was used to remove methane gas from
the air, thereby reducing the possibility of explosion.
The second came later in the test window as a test of the entire system.
But we can be sure that SpaceX will pay the most attention to safety because the company
just signed a deal with NASA, making Starship another big part of NASA.
NASA just gave SpaceX a 1.15 billion-dollar contract for option b of the human Landing
system or hls.
Option b covers upgrades to the Starship Lander that NASA chose for hls in April 2021 for
$2.9 billion.
A second rough demonstration Landing Mission is also part of the option.
As preparing for the first orbital launch is ongoing, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted after
the test that the company would do a 27-second engine test, possibly one more static fire,
and then try to launch into orbit at a meeting of the NASA advisory Council human exploration
and operations committee on October 31st.
Mark Karasik, Nasa's Deputy Associate Administrator for Artemis Campaign Development, said that
the first attempt to launch Starship into orbit could happen as early as early December
or as late as the end of 2022, depending on how well the vehicle is tested and how quickly
SpaceX gets launch licenses from the FAA.
Because the FAA has to be certain that lives and properties around the launch site will
be safe during the Starship's first orbital test.
Hence, until SpaceX gets everything right.
In all honesty, the stage zero concrete isn't ready for what's about to happen because nothing
has ever been fired or launched like this before.
The water suppression system seems to need to be stronger, and the fact that damage is
quickly fixed after tests makes us think we may not see the whole picture.
The whole site is piecemeal, which can be seen by how close the tank farm is to the
launch site.
If there is a problem, this is obviously at risk, but the size of the dust cloud is a
bigger problem that no one talks about.
This is huge and poses a severe danger to many things, like properties, the environment,
concrete dust in the water?).
Elon Musk and SpaceX might put only some of their focus on how to clean all of these up.
More money must be spent on preparations without sacrificing efficiency and cost for obvious
local safety.
After all, if it works, it will help the local economy; if it doesn't, we don't need to talk
about the damage.
SpaceX can still do what NASA did by building a pool under the rocket, but instead of putting
cold or room-temperature water under the launch pad, they spray high pressure flow of water
as the launch kick-starts.
Then, the rocket engines' high-pressure steam buildup should make an upwards force that
keeps the concrete from falling apart.
If the math is right, the high-pressure steam should work like a shock absorber.
Stage zero needs to be stronger to do quick turns, as Elon suggests.
After every test, it needed to be fixed, and it has yet to have a 33-engine test, and this
will not encourage reusability.
SpaceX should launch the booster with the Starship from a hung position.
No damage or melting will happen at that time because there will be no launch table.
Also, the bottom of the rocket should be a little farther from the ground, and instead
of concrete, it should be made of steel plates that have been cooled by water.
It could take more than a year to build.
Many of us have had doubts about stage zero from the start, but Musk chose to try this
design for a reason.
The problem is that a whole ship has never landed and been taken off from a space surface.
So, if you want to send a rocket back into space from the moon or Mars, you don't have
to build a complicated launch facility in space.
Musk wants to be able to land and take off right on the surface of the moon or mars,
but it may sound cool to say that SpaceX can do it.
Anyway, the whole process is at least keeping us interested as we watch how SpaceX handles
problems and gets the project done as planned.
Some people may even take it personal if they think Elon Musk acted on a dream instead of
a well-thought-out plan.
Well, Elon Musk is not stupid, so he probably knows very well what he's doing, and this
is the first time to test so many engines.
So let's bet if this will be a danger for the booster/engines or surrounding infrastructure.
He Will do tweaks on it.
But the be honest, Musk is definitely in no way going to risk a fully stacked rocket to
flames.
So, let us be rest assured that he Will address it if it's necessary.
A launch is less powerful than a static fire, as the rocket ascends.
But yeah, it will be interesting to see how or if they address this.
Go SpaceX, Go Elon Musk, you rock.
Thanks for making the world a better place with an awesome push toward the future.
What can spacex do to keep the stage zero launch pad safe from damage during lift off?
In the other hand SpaceX and Musk has found a Genius Solution To Save The 33 Engines,
click on the video to know more about this.