WELCOME BACK AND THANKS FOR TUNING INTO LABPADRE'S SPACEX AND STARBASE WEEKLY UPDATES.
WE'VE GOT ANOTHER GOOD ONE FOR YOU TODAY. SO LET'S DIG IN!
STARTING THINGS OFF IN FLORIDA, A NEW, HEXAGONAL WATER DELUGE SYSTEM LOOP WAS
INSTALLED AT THE BASE OF THE STARSHIP LAUNCH MOUNT AT CAPE CANAVERAL LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A.
FRIDAY WRAPPED UP IN TEXAS WITH THE INTEGRATION
TOWER'S CHOPSTICKS POSITIONED TO PUT BOOSTER 7 ON THE ORBITAL LAUNCH MOUNT.
ON SATURDAY MORNING, A FALCON 9 LIFTED OFF FROM SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX 40 AT THE CAPE,
CARRYING INTELSAT'S GALAXY-33 AND -34 SATELLITES INTO GEOSYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER ORBIT.
DURING THE LAUNCH, DOUG RETURNED TO PORT WITH JUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND
BOOSTER 1077, WHICH LOFTED CREW-5 TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
JUST THREE HOURS LATER, CREWS LIFTED BOOSTER B1077
ONTO THE DOCK FOR TRANSPORT AND REFURBISHMENT AT ROBERTS ROAD.
RETURNING TO BOCA CHICA, STARSHIP 26'S NOSE CONE ASSEMBLY WAS MOVED FROM HIGH BAY
TO THE MID BAY OVERNIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.
THAT AFTERNOON AT THE LAUNCH SITE, A RAPTOR WAS LIFTED BY CRANE ONTO THE RAPTOR
MAINTENANCE PLATFORM FOR LATER INSTALLATION ON THE BOOSTER.
ONCE THE ENGINE WAS DETACHED FROM THE CRANE, IT WAS WRAPPED UP IN A PROTECTIVE
GRAY TARP.
CONTINUING WORK AT THE LAUNCH SITE, WORKERS REMOVED SEVERAL HOLD-DOWN CLAMPS FROM
THE LAUNCH MOUNT BEFORE REPLACING THEM A FEW HOURS LATER.
LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, THE RAPTOR MAINTENANCE TABLE WAS LOWERED FROM UNDER THE
LAUNCH MOUNT AHEAD OF BOOSTER 7'S LIFT.
ON MONDAY MORNING, BOOSTER 10'S METHANE TANK SECTION WAS LIFTED ONTO ONE OF THE
WELDING TURNTABLES IN THE MEGA BAY.
ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, BOOSTER 7 BEGAN TO BE LIFTED FOR PLACEMENT ON THE ORBITAL LAUNCH
MOUNT. OVER THE NEXT HOUR, THE ORBITAL LAUNCH INTEGRATION TOWER CAUTIOUSLY LIFTED THE
VEHICLE OFF THE TRANSPORT STAND AND ABOVE THE LAUNCH MOUNT, BEFORE SWINGING OVER
AND CAREFULLY LOWERING IT INTO PLACE.
LATER IN THE AFTERNOON, THE CHOPSTICKS RELEASED BOOSTER 7 AND RETURNED TO A RESTING
POSITION OVER THE VEHICLE LIFT STAGING AREA.
WITH BOOSTER SEVEN SECURELY IN PLACE, THE RAPTOR CENTER ENGINE ON THE RAPTOR WORK
PLATFORM WAS LIFTED FOR INSTALLATION ON THE VEHICLE.
SEEN HERE IN INFRARED, THE BOOSTER'S QUICK DISCONNECT PANEL WAS CONNECTED TO BOOSTER
7 LATER THAT EVENING.
ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER, THE STARSHIP LIFTING PINS
ON THE CHOPSTICKS WERE READY TO BE ROTATED TO THEIR LIFTING POSITION.
WITH EVERYTHING WITH THE VEHICLES AND LAUNCH FACILITIES SEEMING TO BE IN PLACE, STARSHIP
24 WAS MOVED INTO POSITION FOR A FULL VEHICLE STACK.
OVERNIGHT AT THE CAPE, DOUG AND JUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS LEFT PORT IN SUPPORT OF THE
UPCOMING HOTBIRD 13F MISSION.
EARLY ON TUESDAY MORNING, SHIP 24'S LIFT WAS CALLED OFF AND THE CHOPSTICKS WERE
LOWERED TO THEIR RESTING POSITION.
THE BUMPERS ON THE CHOPSTICK RAILS, WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE BOOSTER DURING
A CATCH, WERE INTERFERING WITH SHIP 24'S HEAT SHIELDS AND NEEDED TO BE REMOVED.
ONCE THE BUMPERS WERE REMOVED, THE CHOPSTICKS WERE
RAISED INTO PLACE AGAIN FOR THE LIFT AND STACKING OF STARSHIP 24.
B6.1, ANOTHER ARTICLE BEING BUILT FOR STRUCTURAL
TESTING, HAD ITS SHIP SKIRT SECTION BROUGHT FROM THE MID BAY TO SANCHEZ.
WHILE THIS WAS TAKING PLACE, A GRID FIN WAS INSTALLED ONTO THE TOP DOME
SECTION OF BOOSTER 9.
FOUR DAYS AFTER BEING BROUGHT TO THE DOCKS AT PORT CANAVERAL, FALCON 9 BOOSTER B1077
WAS LAID DOWN FOR LATER TRANSPORT.
FINALLY, WITH A SETTING SUN, HAVING COMPLETED ALL LAUNCH PAD SYSTEM CHECKOUTS AND
AFTER SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CHOPSTICKS, STARSHIP 24 WAS LIFTED ONTO BOOSTER 7. AS
THE SHIP HUNG OVER THE BOOSTER, THE STARSHIP QUICK DISCONNECT ARM WAS BROUGHT INTO
POSITION BEFORE THE SHIP WAS LOWERED INTO PLACE.
OVER AT THE BUILD SITE, THE COMMON DOME SECTION FOR STARSHIP 26 WAS
MOVED INTO THE HIGH BAY.
STARSHIP 26'S MID-LOX SECTION FOLLOWED THE COMMON DOME INTO THE BAY ABOUT 45
MINUTES LATER.
WITH BOTH SHIP SECTIONS IN PLACE, THE COMMON DOME
AND MID-LOX SECTION WERE LIFTED ONTO A WELDING TURNTABLE TOGETHER.
ASSEMBLY WORK ON BOOSTER 9 CONTINUED IN MEGA BAY WITH THE INSTALLATION OF A
SECOND GRID FIN.
THE LAUNCH TOWER'S QUICK DISCONNECT INTERFACE ARM WAS GUIDED INTO PLACE AND ATTACHED
TO SHIP 24 AROUND 1 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING.
THE QUICK DISCONNECT WAS RETRACTED FROM THE SHIP AT ITS APPARENT FULL SPEED FOR
LAUNCH ABOUT AN HOUR LATER.
AT ROUGHLY 2:40 AM, THE QUICK DISCONNECT WAS REATTACHED TO STARSHIP 24.
THE QUICK DISCONNECT WAS ONCE AGAIN RETRACTED, THIS TIME AT A
MORE SEDATE PACE, EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON.
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, STARSHIP 24 WAS UN-MATED AND LIFTED SLIGHTLY OFF OF BOOSTER 7.
WORKERS PROCEEDED UP TO INSPECT THE SHIP AND BOOSTER ON A BOOM LIFT TO MITIGATE AN
APPARENT ISSUE IN THE STACK.
WITH THEIR WORK COMPLETE, SHIP 24 WAS LOWERED BACK
ONTO BOOSTER 7, WITH NOTICEABLY LESS WOBBLE IN THE PROCESS.
LATE THAT NIGHT AT PORT CANAVERAL, DRAGON RECOVERY SHIP MEGAN HEADED TO SEA IN
SUPPORT OF THE CREW-4 MISSION AND SPLASHDOWN.
EARLY ON THURSDAY MORNING, THE HIGH SPEED QUICK DISCONNECT RETRACTION TEST WAS
REPEATED ON THE RE-SEATED STACK.
BACK AT THE CAPE, BOB AND A SHORTFALL OF GRAVITAS
RETURNED TO PORT WITH THE FAIRING HALVES AND BOOSTER FROM THE GALAXY 33-34 MISSION.
THE LIFTING CAP WAS SOON ATTACHED TO BOOSTER 1060 FOR OFFLOADING FROM THE
LANDING SHIP.
WHILE CREWS WORKED TO PREP THE BOOSTER, THE RECOVERED FAIRING HALVES WERE LIKEWISE
OFFLOADED FROM BOB WITH AN ARTICULATED CRANE.
AFTER TWO HOURS OF PREP, FALCON 9 BOOSTER B1060 WAS LIFTED ONTO THE DOCKS AHEAD OF
FOLD UP AND TRANSPORT.
RETURNING TO BOCA CHICA, ANOTHER PREFABRICATED FLIGHT OF STAIRS, DESTINED FOR THE
FIXED LEVEL WORK PLATFORMS, WAS BROUGHT INTO MEGA BAY.
LATE IN THE EVENING, SOME TEMPORARY SCAFFOLDING
WAS ERECTED ON THE QUICK DISCONNECT ARM AROUND THE SHIP INTERFACE PANEL.
PHOTOGRAPHERS GREG SCOTT AND FARRIELLE MOHAN ONCE AGAIN TOOK TO THE SKIES ON
WEDNESDAY AND BROUGHT US ANOTHER AMAZING SET OF FLYOVER PHOTOS
FROM CAPE CANAVERAL.
LET'S START OFF THIS WEEK WITH THE COMBINED FALCON 9 AND STARSHIP LAUNCH SITE AT LAUNCH
COMPLEX 39A.
AT THE BASE OF THE FALCON 9 TOWER, THE TRANSPORTER ERECTOR SITS AWAITING ITS NEXT
ASSIGNMENT FOLLOWING RECONFIGURATION EARLIER IN THE WEEK TO PREPARE IT FOR A FALCON
HEAVY LAUNCH.
WITH THE USSF-44 MISSION LAUNCHING AS SOON AS THE 31ST, THE TRANSPORTER ERECTOR WILL
SOON ROLL DOWN THE RAMP TO THE HORIZONTAL ASSEMBLY FACILITY WHERE THE JOINED FALCON
9 BOOSTERS B1064, B1065, AND B1066 WILL BE MATED WITH THE PAYLOAD AND
PREPARED FOR LAUNCH.
BETWEEN THE 2 TOWERS, WORK CONTINUES ON THE NEW TANK BEING BUILT NEAR WHAT IS LIKELY
THE LIQUID OXYGEN PART OF THE STARSHIP TANK FARM. THE CONCRETE BASE NOW APPEARS
COMPLETE AND SOME OF THE SCAFFOLDING HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM AROUND THE TANK
SECTIONS, BUT BOTH THE INNER AND OUTER TOP DOMES ARE STILL AWAITING INSTALLATION.
WORK IS STILL PROGRESSING ON THE NEARBY STARSHIP LAUNCH TOWER AS WELL. AFTER BEING
USED LATE LAST WEEK TO INSTALL THE LAUNCH MOUNT DELUGE RING, THE LR11350 WAS SEEN
USING ITS AUXILIARY HOOK TO LIFT SMALLER COMPONENTS DURING THE FLYOVER.
JUST A FEW MILES TO THE SOUTH LIES SPACEX'S OTHER CAPE LAUNCH FACILITY,
SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX 40.
WHILE NO FALCON 9'S WERE VISIBLE ON THE PAD DURING THE FLYOVER, JUST DAYS AFTER THIS
PHOTO WAS TAKEN, THE HOTBIRD 13F MISSION LAUNCHED FROM HERE, THE 23D LAUNCH FROM
THIS BUSY SITE JUST THIS YEAR.
LET'S MOVE ABOUT 5 MILES TO THE SOUTHWEST TO SPACEX'S FACILITIES AT ROBERTS ROAD, WHICH,
LIKE LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A, SERVICES BOTH THE FALCON 9 AND THE STARSHIP PROGRAMS.
HANGAR X, LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE FACILITY IS WHERE SPACEX REFURBISHES THEIR
FALCON 9S BETWEEN FLIGHTS.
THE RECENT EXPANSION OF THE BUILDING APPEARS TO NOW BE COMPLETE.THE NORTHERN
PARKING LOT FINALLY BEING PAVED AND PAINTED APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN THE ONE OF THE
FINISHING TOUCHES FOR THIS HALF OF THE FACILITY.
JUST TO THE WEST OF HANGAR X IS THE STARSHIP LAUNCH TOWER ASSEMBLY AREA.
WHILE WE HAVE BEEN SEEING SIGNS FOR A WHILE THAT SPACEX WAS PREPARING TO BUILD
ANOTHER LAUNCH TOWER HERE, THIS WEEK, CONSTRUCTION OF THE THIRD STARSHIP LAUNCH
TOWER FINALLY STARTED.
THE FIRST MODULE OF THE TOWER IS ALREADY ASSEMBLED, COMPLETE WITH THE HARD STOP FOR
THE CHOPSTICKS. NEXT TO IT, CONSTRUCTION OF THE 2ND MODULE IS WELL UNDERWAY.
NEARBY, THE FOUR COLUMNS AS WELL AS THE INTERCONNECTING STEEL BEAMS ARE STAGED FOR
THE THIRD MODULE. IN THAT SAME AREA, WE CAN ALSO SEE THE CABLE CHAIN FOR THE 39A TOWER
AWAITING TRANSPORT TO ITS TOWER.
CURRENTLY, SPACEX HAS THE JIG BASES INSTALLED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF 6 MODULES, WITH
THE BASES FOR A 7TH ON THE GROUND NEARBY.
INTERESTINGLY, WHILE SPACEX IS MOVING QUICKLY WITH ASSEMBLING THIS NEW TOWER, THERE
HAS NOT BEEN ANY SIGHTINGS OF FOUNDATIONS FOR IT SEEN AROUND THE CAPE. WHERE DO YOU
THINK MECHAZILLA NUMBER 3 WILL GO? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS.
JUST TO THE WEST OF THE TOWER 3 CONSTRUCTION,
WORK IS PROGRESSING ON THE OTHER COMPONENTS NEEDED FOR THE 39A LAUNCH TOWER.
THE GAS SPRINGS AND PISTONS FOR THE LANDING BEAM ON THE CHOPSTICKS HAVE NOW BEEN
ADDED. THE NEARBY CARRIAGE HAS HAD THE FIRST OF ITS CLAW-LIKE EXTENSIONS ADDED WHILE
WORKERS HAVE STARTED TO ADD PIPING AND CONDUIT INTO THE QD ARM.
BEHIND THE CHOPSTICKS, CREWS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE END OF THE QD ARM, AND WE CAN
NOW SEE THE STEEL FOR THE EXTENDABLE WORK PLATFORMS STAGED NEXT TO IT.
JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THIS WORK, THE ROBERTS ROAD STARFACTORY IS
BEING BUILT AT A REMARKABLE PACE.
THE STEELWORK HAS NEARLY CAUGHT UP TO THE CONCRETE SLAB AS ROUGHLY THREE QUARTERS
OF THE BUILDING'S STRUCTURE SEEMS TO BE UP.
WORK IS STILL ONGOING FOR THE UNDERGROUND MECHANICALS AND THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE
FINAL SECTION OF THE BUILDING, WHICH WILL BE THE TALLER NOSECONE END OF THE FACTORY.
PEEKING THROUGH THE DOOR AT THE OTHER END OF THE FACILITY, IT APPEARS THAT CREWS ARE
WORKING TO POUR THE CONCRETE SLAB THAT WAS SKIPPED OVER IN THAT AREA.
ON THE FINAL CORNER OF THE ROBERTS ROAD STARSHIP SITE, PROGRESS ON THE MEGA BAY
SEEMS TO BE AT A BIT OF A STANDSTILL.
WHILE THE BUILDING'S FOUNDATIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETE FOR A WHILE NOW, AND THE STEEL HAS
BEEN STAGED, NO STEEL HAS YET BEEN INSTALLED.
WHILE IT IS NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHY PROGRESS HAS HALTED, IT SEEMS APPARENT THAT
SPACEX IS PREPARING TO WORK QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY AS SOON AS WORK CONTINUES. THE
YELLOW CRANE IS STATIONED INSIDE THE BUILDING'S FOOTPRINT AND LOOKS POISED TO START
ERECTING THE FIRST LAYER OF STEEL ANY DAY.
WHILE OUTSIDE, THE BLACK CRANE SEEMS READY TO START ASSEMBLING THE CORNERS OF THE
OTHER LEVELS ON THE PADS TO LIFT INTO PLACE ONCE THE FIRST LEVEL IS COMPLETE.
MOVING AWAY FROM THE SPACEX SITES, LETS MOVE A FEW
MILES SOUTH TO BLUE ORIGIN'S CAPE CANAVERAL PRODUCTION FACILITY.
LIKE SPACEX, BLUE ORIGINS IS ALSO WORKING ON EXPANSION.
MASSIVE GROUND WORK DOMINATES THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THEIR SITE.
A LARGE, NEWLY GRADED PARKING AREA IS SURROUNDED BY ADDITIONAL
GROUND CLEARING AND GRADING OPERATIONS.
A LARGE TEMPORARY BUILDING HAS ALSO BEEN ASSEMBLED NEARBY.
THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER OF THE SITE IS BEING USED AS A STAGING GROUND FOR THE
EXPANSION OF THE NEARBY WAREHOUSE BUILDING.
STEELWORK ON THAT EXPANSION SEEMS TO BE MOVING ALONG AT A STEADY CLIP NOW WITH MORE
THAN A QUARTER OF THE STEEL NOW IN PLACE.
GREG AND FARRIELLE ALSO CAUGHT SOMETHING NEW AND INTERESTING THIS WEEK JUST NORTH OF
NASA'S VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING.
THIS NEWLY ASSEMBLED LR 1300 CRANE IS SITTING BETWEEN STATIONARY MOUNTING POINTS FOR
SLS'S MOBILE LAUNCH PLATFORMS. GIVEN THE CRANES SIZE AND LOCATION, NOT TO MENTION THAT
CRAWLER TRANSPORTER NUMBER 1 IS SITTING NEARBY, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THEY ARE PREPARING
FOR WORK ON THE SECOND MOBILE LAUNCHER WHICH NASA WILL NEED
FOR FUTURE ARTEMIS MISSIONS.
ANOTHER INTERESTING SPOT THIS WEEK WAS A UNITED STATES MARINES BRANDED MCDONNELL
DOUGLAS DC-9 SITTING NEXT TO THE RUNWAY AT THE SHUTTLE LANDING FACILITY.
WHILE ITS NOT CLEAR EXACTLY WHY THIS PLANE WAS AT KENNEDY, IT APPEARS THAT THE U.S. AIR
FORCE HAS GIVEN THIS RETIRED MARINE CORP AIRCRAFT NEW LIFE AS A SENSOR TESTBED.
LET'S WRAP UP THIS WEEKS FLYOVER WITH A QUICK TOUR THROUGH SOME OF THE OTHER
FACILITIES AT THE CAPE AND PORT CANAVERAL.
UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE'S LAUNCH COMPLEX 41 SITS BETWEEN SPACEX'S TWO LAUNCH SITES AND
RECENTLY LAUNCHED THE ATLAS V SES-20 AND -21 MISSION AND STILL HAS 2 LAUNCHES SCHEDULED
BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
MOVING SIX MILES SOUTH DOWN THE COAST WE COME TO RELATIVITY SPACE'S LAUNCH COMPLEX
16. HAVING ROLLED THEIR FIRST TERRAN 1 FIRST STAGE BACK INSIDE THE HANGAR PRIOR TO THE
RECENT HURRICANE, CEO TIM ELLIS HAS SAID THAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON FINAL
VEHICLE INTEGRATION PRIOR TO ROLLING THE 3D PRINTED ROCKET BACK TO THE PAD FOR A STATIC
FIRE AND THEN THE COMPANIES FIRST ORBITAL LAUNCH ATTEMPT.
A FEW MILES SOUTH IS BLUE ORIGIN'S LAUNCH COMPLEX 36
WHERE THEY HOPE TO LAUNCH THEIR NEW GLENN ROCKET AS SOON AS NEXT YEAR.
SPACE LAUNCH COMPLEX 46 SITS AT THE SOUTH EASTERN TIP OF THE CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE
FORCE STATION AND IS CURRENTLY SITTING DORMANT FOLLOWING ASTRA'S TWO FAILED LAUNCH
ATTEMPTS FROM IT EARLIER THIS YEAR. ASTRA IS NOW REGROUPING AND MOVING ON TO FROM
THEIR ROCKET 3, AND FOCUSING ON THE UPGRADED ROCKET 4.
DRAGON RECOVERY VESSEL MEGAN WAS SPOTTED DOCKED IN PORT CANAVERAL JUST HOURS
BEFORE IT HEADED OUT TO SEA AND LATER SUCCESSFULLY
RECOVERED CREW DRAGON FREEDOM AND THE CREW-4 ASTRONAUTS.
NEARBY, A VERY CLEAN LOOKING FALCON 9 BOOSTER B1077 SAT ON THE DOCK AWAITING
TRANSPORT TO HANGAR X FOR REFURBISHMENT AFTER ITS INAUGURAL LAUNCH LAST WEEK
WHEN IT SENT THE CREW-5 MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. ANOTHER LABPADRE SPACEX AND STARBASE
WEEKLY UPDATE WITH A SPLASH OF BLUE ORGIN, ASTRA AND REALITIVITY SPACE,
AND ULA. WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK AND THANKS FOR WATCHING. LABPADRE -- OUT!