Hello, we are TheSpaceXFans and welcome to TheSpaceXShow, the place where you can stay
up to date with everything SpaceX.
On Sunday or Monday, depending on your timezone, there was the launch of a new shell of constellation
satellites with the Starlink 3-1 mission.
[SpaceX Commentator: “Zero.
Ignition.
And lift off of a Falcon 9, Starlink.
Pitching downrange.
Stage 1 chamber pressure is nominal.”]
The booster which launched this mission, B1063, then landed successfully for the 3rd time
on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You.
[SpaceX Commentator: “Stage 1 landing confirmed.
Alright, as you saw there briefly; as the smoke clears, there we see once again.
Falcon 9 has landed, marking SpaceX’s 55th first stage landing on our droneship Of Course
I Still Love You.”]
We also have some more Falcon 9 launches expected this week.
As you can see on TheSpaceXFans website, the launch of CRS-25 is scheduled to lift off
on Friday 15th at 12:44am UTC or Thursday 14th at 8:44pm EDT.
In addition, we may also be able to expect the Starlink 4-22 mission on Sunday 17th but
there’s no time specified currently.
There was a Tweet posted with a screenshot from Everyday Astronaut’s most recent Starbase
tour video.
It says “so for the super observant of you, you will have noticed something big in the
new EDA Starbase Tour Part 4 video and that big thing is...
Starlink V2 satellites sitting inside tent 1!”
In reference to the Starlink launch that happened on Monday, Musk posted a Tweet.
He said “These polar launches will enable complete coverage of Earth (where approved
by local government).”
Heading to Boca Chica, here’s a view of the orbital launch site.
Crews were seen removing an actuator from the chopstick catching arms.
Crews were seen working at the top of the launch tower as well.
SpaceX’s crane was seen being moved at the launch site.
This new chopstick actuator was seen delivered to the production yard.
The Starfactory production building continues to progress.
The nosecone test structure was moved away from Starbase.
This Ship common dome was placed on the sleeving mount.
Ship 24 continues to be worked on atop suborbital pad B. Work continued on Booster 7 prior to
some planned testing on Monday.
Monday was very interesting because during Booster 7 testing, there was an explosion.
When this very unexpected event happened, Chris Bergin posted a Tweet about it.
After that, somebody captioned a screenshot and Tweeted at Elon Musk asking if it was
intentional.
He responded and confusingly answered with yes; however, a short while later he deleted
the Tweet.
In response to Chris Bergin’s Tweet we just saw, Musk posted a Tweet confirming the actual
reality of what had happened.
He said “Yeah, actually not good.
Team is assessing damage.”
In response to that Tweet, Jonathan McDowell posted “In the big picture still early days
with Raptor 2.
Still learning I guess.
Good luck with the analysis.”
Musk responded to this with “Cryogenic fuel is an added challenge, as it evaporates to
create fuel-air explosion risk in partially oxygen atmosphere like Earth.
That said, we have a lot of sensors to detect this.
More later.”
Then, in response to that, Musk was asked “Elon, would it be possible to maybe burn/evaporate
the leaks caused before ignition?
I guess space shuttle used to do this, they used to setup small sparks under the shuttle's
engine section & burn off all the Hydrogen leaks that may have happened before ignition...”
He responded and said “This one of the things we will be doing going forward.
This particular issue, however, was specific to the engine spin start test (Raptor has
a complex start sequence).
Going forward, we won’t do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once.”
Everyday Astronaut posted a Tweet saying “Very curious how this plays out for B7.
The biggest question is how’re the engines.
What kind of damage was done to them.
I’m teetering between it being catastrophic to the engines & “tis but a scratch”…
can’t wait to hear what the teams determine & what the next steps are!”
Musk responded to that with “Base of the vehicle seems ok by flashlight.
I was just out there about an hour ago.
We shut down the pad for the night for safety.
We will know more in the morning.”
Scott Manley posted a Tweet about this.
He said “So I did a bit of rough math on this event, based on the fact that it was
a 1 atmosphere fuel/air detonation over a volume and there are limits on air/methane
mixture for detonation, the energy release was likely close to a couple of kilos of TNT.”
After the explosion, there were 2 fires that started and went out at the launch site.
So, contrary to what one would expect given what happened on Monday, there are still possible
closures scheduled.
As you can see, the dates are similar to last video with a possible closure tomorrow, Thursday
14th.
Plus, they also have that possible closure for next week with Monday 18th.
However, with the unexpected explosion that happened, I would say that there’s almost
certainly no chance for some testing.
Yesterday, Musk posted a Tweet with a video of the Starbase launch tower as crews examine
how much damage was done by the explosion.
He responded to that and said “Was just up in the booster propulsion section.
Damage appears to be minor, but we need to inspect all the engines.
Best to do this in the High Bay.”
There was an article posted about this event and the FAA.
It says “The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it was in "close contact" with
SpaceX as the company reviewed a fire that occurred as part of its Super Heavy booster
rocket development, but that the agency was barred from investigating the matter.”
Here’s a look at the charred orbital launch mount legs.
Musk was also asked on Twitter “Any updates on how long until orbital flight will happen?”
He responded and said “If testing goes well, as soon as next month.”
As always, I have to say thanks to both Mary, otherwise known as BocaChicaGal, and Nic Ansuini
for being there filming the Boca Chica content.
Also, thanks to the NASASpaceflight team working behind the scenes on their videos, livestreams
and other space content.
That’s it for this episode of TheSpaceXShow, I hope you enjoyed the video, if you did,
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