I know someone who’s going to the Moon!
My name is Felix, and I’m your host for today's episode of What about it.
Today’s episode can only be described as epic.
Stay with me as we talk Starship, the Dear Moon announcement, Lunar Lander launches, and an Orion Capsule returning from an incredible mission!
Let’s dive right in!
Starship Updates
We have Stablemates! Booster 7 and booster 9 are inside Mega Bay.
One receives updates and checkouts, and the other….
SpaceX’s high bays are filled to the brim!
This one picture covers Booster 7, booster 9, Ship 25, and ship 26 in one frame,
and booster 9 is receiving finishing touches right now before rolling out to the launch site in the coming days.
It will be SpaceX’s second Super Heavy booster ready for test flights.
For us, this means that once the first orbital launch of Starship 24 and Booster 7 has left the Starbase pad in Boca Chica,
the second one will be close behind it.
It won’t take SpaceX another two years or so to launch the second flight.
And the same is true for Starship 25.
It’s basically finished. Work is still ongoing on the inside of the prototype hull.
From the outside, though, it largely seems done.
And most importantly, it has a functioning Starlink PEZ dispenser payload door.
The uniquely shaped slit-like door right above the ship's main tanks.
It is a highly specialized payload dispenser specifically made to deploy Starlink version 2 satellites.
Chief was able to take pictures of the dispenser loader while it was outside the ground fabrication building.
And there’s something attached to it.
The piece wrapped in blue is a recent add-on.
Likely the slot loader,
which will pass the satellites on a rail system from the loader itself through the narrow payload door and directly into the rack which holds
the satellites in two stacks inside the payload section of a Starship.
These are renders from my friend Owe from SpaceX 3D Creation Eccentric.
A link to his Twitter and YouTube channel can be found in the description.
A follow or subscription goes a long way.
He’s tirelessly working on these kinds of renders to give us a close and detailed look at the mechanics at work at SpaceX’s Starbase.
And this is the PEZ loader. A large white box with a hatch on top, a door on one side, and a slit-like loader door on the other.
It attaches to a Starship like this.
Satellites slide from the loader into the Starship dispenser in pairs of two.
Each time a pair has been moved over, the dispenser frame inside the starship moves one slot up, and the next pair can be loaded in.
It’s a pretty simple system, and that’s exactly what you want for a rocket, intended to be rapidly reusable.
Nothing too complicated. A basic solution that is cheap to build and works reliably.
And it’s a very simple system because dispensing works exactly the same way minus the loader.
Fewer parts and both the loading and the dispensing are solved at the same time.
SpaceX’s solutions need to be simple.
Minimize effort, and maximize the result.
Fun Fact: It works the same way here at What about it.
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On we go with the orbital launch mount.
It is also referred to as stage Zero.
Why? Because it handles so many tasks that would normally be handled by the rocket, it technically becomes a rocket stage of its own.
And this is not at all simple.
Compared to the Payload dispenser, it’s outright crazy how many systems SpaceX was able to fit into it.
Everything from Plumbing to engine startup to hold down to fueling and detanking to FireX system and stacking operations.
All of it fits into this complicated piece of equipment.
Why? It’s a bit counterintuitive, but the more you ramp up complexity on the OLM, the more you can reduce it on the rocket.
All the systems in the OLM are used exactly once on a Starship flight.
Spinup of the outer booster engines, for example.
It needs to be done once per flight as the outer engine ring is not used for a landing.
So, put it in the OLM to reduce the weight and complexity of the rocket itself.
Make sure to give @noah_wtv a follow on Twitter!
His animations helped a lot, and it would surely make his day to have a few more followers.
I mean, 31? Really? Thank you, Noah!
There are a few controversies about the Orbital launch mount.
These pictures, taken by Starship Gazer on December 7th, tell a story.
A story of SpaceX’s hate for concrete.
Literally hate. Blasting it, destroying it, and ripping it apart on countless static fires and launches.
Beating it up so much that it shoots out fragments all over the launch site.
Replacing it with Martyte, which is a heat-resistant coating material, and blasting it again.
Just to replace it over and over again.
This image was taken right after the last 11-engine static fire.
And again, SpaceX had to replace it down to the rebar.
All because they refuse to build a traditional flame diverter.
Likely to make maintenance under the OLM easier, reduce cost, and make it easier to build launch pads in the future.
If they’d find a way to launch Super Heavy, by far the strongest rocket in human history, without a flame diverter,
that would deserve a small Nobel prize.
SpaceX’s next candidate for the Nobel Prize application?
Fondag. It’s a special concrete from Imerys, a global leader in mineral-based special concrete solutions.
Resistant from -180 to +1100 °C.
Exceptional resistance to abrasion, erosion, impact, and sea salt.
Resume operations after only eight hours of curing.
What do you think? Will Fondag do the trick?
Is it even possible to launch Super Heavy with its 33 Raptor engines blasting down without a flame diverter?
As always, let us know in the comments!
Next up, we have an announcement from SpaceX and Yusaku Maezawa.
Do you remember Dear Moon?
Announced on September 17th of, 2018, Dear Moon is a fully privately funded mission to the Moon utilizing SpaceX’s Starship.
Its goal is to take 10 to 12 people on a journey from Earth around the Moon on a free return trajectory.
Yes, we’re living in a time where billionaires can buy a journey around the Moon on a SpaceX Starship.
Originally announced for 2023, the mission is delayed and will very likely not launch for several years to come, but more on that later.
A recent major announcement has made me jump in excitement.
In a December 8th video, Yusaku Maezawa or MZ, a Japanese billionaire, announced the crew lineup for his Dear Moon mission.
My name is Rhiannon Adam and I'm originally from Ireland and I am delighted that I've been selected as a Dear Moon crew member.
Hi I'm Steve Aoki and I've been chosen as a crew for Dear Moon for United States of America.
My name is Yemi Akinyemi Dele.
I was born in Czech Republic. My father is from Nigeria and I've been chosen as a crew member of Dear Moon mission.
My name is Brendan Hall. I am from the United States and I've been selected as a crew member for Dear Moon.
My name is Kareem Ilya. I grew up moving around the world and I live in Iceland.
Hello, my name is Choi Seung-hyun also known as TOP from South Korea.
Hello, I'm Dev D. Joshi from India, and I've been chosen as a crew member for the Dear Moon.
and… drum roll… Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut!!!
My name is Tim Dodd I am from the United States and I've been chosen as a crew member for Dear Moon.
It’s official. There are two alternates in place as well.
Kaitlyn Farrington, an American snowboarder and gold medal winner, and Miyu, a Japanese dancer.
While I am, of course, extremely happy for all of them, Tim is what made my day.
With him on board, we can expect it all.
He perfectly knows how to frame a shot and how to bring excitement not just for us but for everyone down here.
I’ve already had a private chat with him, and it’s needless to say that he’s beyond stoked.
When you’re a Space Content Creator, you occasionally have the chance and honor to meet some of your idols.
Over time you get this little collection of pictures, and the more of those iconic people you meet, the more surreal it feels.
I also happen to have met and talked to and with Tim several times over the cause of the past few years.
And let me tell you, besides me, obviously, he’s the best choice MZ and Musk could have made!
So, when is it going to happen?
When will Tim be over the Moon?
In his own announcement video, Tim said he can’t talk about schedules.
There are a few indicators, though.
It’s obviously delayed by now.
2023 is never going to happen.
They will likely fly a regular Starship and not a NASA-funded Lunar Starship.
Aarti Matthews, director of Starship crew and cargo programs at SpaceX,
said at an October briefing for Polaris dawn that they’re confident that they’ll have the vehicle fully tested out and ready to go by the time
they’ll fly the private missions,
adding that commercial flights like dear Moon and Dennis Tito’s mission would be pretty independent of SpaceX’s work on a lunar lander version
of Starship for NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration campaign.
And when Tito announced his flight with his wife in October,
he also said he predicted there would be “hundreds” of Starship flights before his own and that “This is not going to happen in the near term.”
He did not get specific with schedules either, but we can extrapolate quite a bit from this.
A Starship will need at least one or two refueling flights before it can go on a lunar free return trajectory after launching from Earth.
So, orbital refueling will likely be needed.
So, hundreds of Starship flights sounds very reasonable This likely pushes the mission beyond 2025 or maybe even 2026,
as NASA called dibs on the technology.
So, there is some time before we’ll see the Everyday Astronaut actually fly to the Moon, but it sure is something to look forward to.
Congratulations, Tim and all the others.
This is incredible news!
On we go with a rundown of Launches that have recently happened, and I want to start this one with the OneWeb 1 mission.
Launched on December 8th from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 5:27 pm eastern time,
it marked the beginning of a three-launch contract between SpaceX and OneWeb.
And sometimes, living next to the pads at KSC has its advantages.
We were able to view the launch from our house, and due to the specific lighting,
we were also able to view the booster from its launch all the way back to the pad.
Meco and separation. The second stage continuing on its path to orbit.
The booster controlling its attitude with RCS thrusters in space.
The Boostback burn with some absolutely stunning plume-to-plume interactions between booster and second stage.
The reentry burn. Stefanie and I were standing there with our jaws dropped.
Seeing the booster pierce through the lower atmosphere,
igniting its engines for the final landing burn and disappearing behind the houses of our neighborhood.
Absolutely stunning to see and, again, an absolutely flawless mission from SpaceX!
Next up, on December 11th,
we had Hakuto-R Mission 1 and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Lunar Flashlight launching to a lunar transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex
40 at 2:38 am eastern time. So, very early in the morning for us here in the US.
Not the optimal time to watch a launch.
Nonetheless, a spectacular mission carrying Hakuto-R.
The first privately-led Japanese mission to land on the lunar surface.
And the lander is a marvel of engineering.
2.3 by 2.6 meters in size and only 340 kilograms light it packs everything needed for a lunar mission, including a soft landing,
into an extremely small form factor.
Thermal and radiation control.
30-kilogram payload capacity for rovers, scientific equipment, cameras, etcetera.
Pressurant & propellant tanks.
Thrusters include Main and assist thrusters and RCS thrusters for attitude control.
Solar Panels for energy production.
Electronic components include communication systems, navigation cameras, and flight computers.
The lander has deployable landing gear to make the form factor even smaller while sitting inside a fairing.
It includes a shock absorption system…
I could go on with the list, but I guess it’s apparent by now, how much Ispace was able to cram into such a small lander.
The idea behind it is even more fascinating.
To provide a commercial platform for small payload delivery to the lunar surface.
They want to make this a regular thing.
So far, only the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union have successfully soft-landed on the Moon.
Also on board, this mission was the Lunar Flashlight.
Developed by Georgia Tech and funded by NASA,
it is a small 6U CubeSat that will enter a highly elliptical lunar orbit taking it down to 15 kilometers above the surface.
Its mission is to shine lasers into craters at the lunar south pole to search for evidence of water ice.
It’s just incredible to see so much action in the Space Flight industry.
One week since our last episode, and I have to force myself not to completely drive Stefanie crazy with a 30-minute episode edit on a Sunday.
Sorry honey, there’s one topic left to do.
Artemis I finished the last milestone!
Did you miss it? No problem. Here it is.
The Artemis I Orion splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.
Entering the atmosphere at around 40000 kilometers per hour,
we got some epic views of what the Artemis 2 astronauts will witness in person in a few years.
One thing is for sure. No matter the debates about budgets and delays, it feels great to have a crew-capable capsule return from the Moon.
It feels epic to know that we’re going again, and NASA’s execution of the mission was extremely good.
There was one issue with a tertiary power relay turning off occasionally.
No problem, as a simple software execution could turn it on again.
Investigations will have to tell what exactly caused the problem.
Other than that… there was nothing of concern.
Orion operated great from KSC to the Pacific Ocean.
From Earth to Moon and from Past to Future.
Chute deployment, decent, and splash down.
That’s it. Mission accomplished.
Now comes the long phase of data collection and analysis.
NASA will turn the capsule inside out to see how the hardware performed and especially how the heat shield held up during reentry,
which was the main goal for this first Artemis Mission.
25 days, ten hours, 54 minutes, and 50 seconds of pure NASA glory come to an end.
Orion is humanity's ticket to ride toward the Moon for this decade.
It will work closely together with the Lunar Starship, and it is a testament to our will to return back to the Moon and later to Mars.
I am stocked, and I can’t wait for Artemis 2, hopefully in 2024!
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And if you want to get even smarter about Space and rockets, watch this video next to continue the journey!
Thank you very much for watching, and I’ll see you again in the next episode!