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Today I’ll explain to you,
what a block 3 Starship is and why the tests are feeling so rushed right now and what’s next for Super Heavy Orbital Starships and the next phase of the development program!
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
Do you know, what’s changing in SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas?
They’re secretly transitioning into the next generation of Starships and while everyone is glued to the latest generation of Starship Prototypes
right now, we’ll take a look ahead.
And rightfully so, as here is where the action is right now.
Mary as always right in the middle and providing us with some absolutely stunning pictures.
After the two successful Starship launches in early December and February, SpaceX is already preparing for the next launch.
Starship SN10 has successfully passed a first cryogenic test and we’re just waiting for them to do some static fires.
But why is that? Why is SpaceX seemingly pushing through these prototypes so fast.
It almost looks like they’d be rushing it.
As if the last few Starships were speed builds with little care for details.
As if they could just waste them.
Comments about SpaceX never succeeding with the Starship program are ramping up again after every failed landing attempt.
I feel like back in the early days of the dirt hill and a dented Mark 1 Starship when reading through all those replies to my episodes felt rough
at times. So, I started looking into it.
Why does it seem like SpaceX would be wasting these Starships to so many of us right now?
As so often, there’s some truth to it.
In a sense these comments are correct.
You’re right when feeling that these Starships are being rushed.
It’s part of the plan. Starship Serial Number 8 all the way through to 11 are a batch of prototypes.
All of them fairly similar and all of them built in quick succession.
To understand, what SpaceX’s plan is, we have to look at the bigger picture.
Do you remember these 4 brave prototypes?
Those were Starships SN3 to 6.
All of them fairly similar. All of them for one purpose only.
Quickly built with almost no difference.
And many were wondering, why none of them had a nose cone.
Why none of them received flaps.
That’s because they had a different purpose.
To do that first 150-meter hop.
Two suffered a fatal anomaly in the preflight test campaigns and two made it.
Processes were refined and procedures leading up to a launch were improved until it worked out twice in a row.
And a chapter of prototypes was closed.
Here we are now, with fully built Starships.
Flaps, Nose Cones stumpy legs.
And we’re seeing the same thing all over again.
To understand the concept behind all this and to be one step ahead of the comments saying that SpaceX will never succeed,
we must understand that Starships SN8 through SN11 are not just a continuation of the development, where every prototype gradually changes.
Instead, they’re a family of prototypes inside a larger plan of building operational Starships.
They’re the first batch to try and perform a high-altitude flight test.
If possible, including a landing.
Looking at SpaceX’s Falcon rocket development we can see a similar picture.
They’re divided into generations.
Different Batches.
Falcon 1 being the demonstrator.
Can we get a payload into orbit?
Falcon 9 v.1.0 being the first to have the nine-engine design.
No legs yet and quite a few differences compared to later versions.
Then came v1.1. Legs appeared and grid fins.
First landing attempts were made while also keeping SpaceX alive by serving customers.
V 1.2 improved on it. Full thrust.
To be precise 17% more thrust due to cryogenic cooling of the propellant.
An improved stage separation system.
A stretched upper stage. Then in 2018 came Block 5.
The Falcon 9 we know today. A lot of minor refinements that collectively were very important.
Uprated thrust and improved legs.
If we extrapolate this approach and apply it to the Starship program, where are we at?
What improvements are to come?
When will we see them?
Luckily, we have Mauricio from RGV Aerial Photography.
And luckily, he regularly does a flyover, reporting back the latest pictures from Boca Chica.
Follow him on Twitter and become a flight supporter on Patreon.
He deserves it.
Major upgrades slated for SN15.
Musk has already said it back in late 2020.
Since SN 12 to 14 have been cancelled, this will be the next batch.
The first Starship of a new generation.
Starship Prototype Block 3 so to speak.
If we stick to the blocks idea, what will this next block of Starships do differently?
If you look closer at Mauricio’s footage, you can already see a few things.
In a single picture there are so many indicators for the next generation.
We have the Serial number 16 Thrust section.
The thrust puck is visible from above.
One large o2 inlet in the middle and 3 methane inlets surrounding it.
The current generation of thrust pucks as seen in one of Mary’s wonderful videos shows a crucial difference in the design.
It has 6 inlets surrounding the middle.
3 for methane and 3 for o2 supplying propellant and oxidizer to each of the three Raptor engines.
On the new Thrust puck design, SpaceX took out a lot of complexity.
O2 is being routed through the puck through a central inlet in the middle.
This reduces weight and complexity.
The best part is no part.
We also have Serial Number 16’s aft section including the legs on site.
It’s largely the same design as on Serial Number 8 to 10.
Comparing a shot from Steve Jurvetson of SN9 inside the high bay just before it fell over and gave SN9 the nickname Eileen and a shot from Mary
for NasaSpaceflight of the SN16 leg skirt we can see that they’re 99% identical.
This gives us another valuable clue as to what that next batch of Starships is supposed to do.
It’s not going to be orbital. With the next generation SpaceX will likely attempt the same thing.
High altitude flight tests and perfecting the landings.
SN15 through 18 will likely not go orbital.
On we go with a few other very interesting items in the picture.
We have the forward dome for a Super Heavy booster with that strange hexagonal shape attached.
It’s still unknown as to what it’s purpose will be, but it could be the resting structure for the Starships to be stacked on top.
There will also need to be an attachment interface couplers for fuel and oxidizer and pushers for a separation.
We also have a thrust section of a Super Heavy booster including a 4-engine thrust puck.
A huge hole in the middle and outlets and anchor points for 4 raptor engines.
As seen from the ground,
these super heavy thrust domes also have holes on the dome itself and a massive amount of structural bracing as seen by all the welds surrounding the thrust puck.
Also, a massive ring on the outside of the engine skirt with holes in it of unknown purpose can be seen.
This picture is a treasure trove.
Right in the middle of all this we have a forward dome assembly, but it looks strangely flat.
The jig is about half the height of the standard forward dome next to it.
Musk has stated before that one of his goals is to create a flat forward dome to be able to make more space inside the fairing section usable.
This might be an early prototype.
Right under Serial number 16’s aft section we have some carefully arranged metal structures.
We don’t know for sure, but it looks like a preparation for a stand of some sort.
Its diameter is bigger than that of a Starship or Supetr Heavy booster though.
It reminds me a bit of this strange stand that’s been sitting at the high bay plaza for a while now on its own foundation.
Purpose also unknown, but this might be related to Super Heavy boosters, to give the taller hull a wider stance while construction is being done.
So, what did we learn from analyzing Mauricio’s treasure map?
Starships 15 through 18 will test different thrust pucks,
have the same landing legs as the current generation likely with the same purpose of performing a landing from a high altitude flight and we might
see a test tank with a flat dome in the future.
The upcoming Starship generation is likely not going to go to orbit.
It will be all about weight reduction, reducing complexity and becoming more reliable.
It’s unknown, if the new generation of Starships will utilize the 3-millimeter steel tested with Test tank 7.2 right now,
which would be another major change.
SpaceX is building generations of Starship prototypes rather than single test candidates.
Each generation improving on the last one and each batch of Starships benefiting from the previous one with better build quality and a faster
build cadence. What do you think about the idea of using block numbers to track major Starship evolutions?
Tell me in the comments!
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And at the launch site the next block phase is showing as well.
SpaceX is giving some massive improvement to the landing pad.
SpaceX is learning quickly. After two Starship crashes and two needed repair jobs, SpaceX is stepping up the game.
Each time a Starship crashes on the pad, SpaceX workers are forced to cut out a piece of the pad and replace it with a patch of new concrete.
This is likely due to the fact that cracks form in the pad created by the force of the impact which go all the way through it.
Now the plan seems to be to double the strength to make the pad withstand Starship crashes.
A new layer of concrete is being put on the pad signaled by lots of rebar surrounding the middle.
Moving further up to the orbital launch mount Mauricio’s aerial pictures give us the perfect view on new piling work.
SpaceX is placing 6 more large piles into the ground in a hexagonal shape quite like the orbital launch mount itself.
This time though with less diameter and slightly thinner.
My current bet is that this will be the long-awaited stacking tower, Musk has been talking about.
Or is it a water tower?
And finally looking at the construction between Orbital launch mount and Highway 4,
we can see first signs of proper fuel storage tanks being erected.
Four circular Concrete foundations are going up which can only mean one thing.
SpaceX is erecting four new massive tank foundations in preparation for the Fuel Farm 2.0 directly connected to the orbital launch mount.
SpaceX is getting ready for Super Heavy tests and for the block 4 Starship prototypes to be tested here after Starship Serial Number 18.
There’s always a method behind what SpaceX is doing.
Even though it might seem rushed and without a plan behind it there’s a reason why Starships crash into the landing pad over and over again and
only a look ahead can tell us why.
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