SpaceX retires old Starship vehicles, puts new ones to the test

Date:
Wed, 06 Apr 2022 13:12:07 +0000

Description:
SpaceX is continuing to make progress with its prototype Starship vehicles, with Booster 7 undergoing The post SpaceX retires old Starship vehicles, puts new ones to the test appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

SpaceX is continuing to make progress with its prototype Starship vehicles, with Booster 7 undergoing a full cryoproofing test on Monday night.

The move to the latest iteration of Super Heavy marks the end of service for Booster 4 and Ship 20, which has conducted numerous ground test objectives. Ship 24 likely to pair up with Booster 7 is also being prepared at the Production site, along with multiple additional vehicles, such as Booster 8, which is being stacked inside the High Bay.

Booster 4s last test SpaceX moves on to Booster 7

See Also SpaceX Super Heavy/Starship Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2

Following full-stack propellant loading tests with liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid nitrogen (LN2), the SpaceX teams destacked Ship 20 from Booster 4 on March 19 . However, those wouldnt be the final tests performed on Booster 4.

A methane loading densification test was performed on March 21 when, for the very first time, the methane recondenser on the Orbital Launch Site (OLS)
tank farm was activated. This test primarily aimed to prove that the ground systems could subcool and load methane onto a booster sitting on the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM).

Booster 4 and Ship 20, having served as articles to test the ground systems and verify the major design outlines of booster and ship, have now been
phased out, with Elon Musk confirming on Twitter that these wouldnt perform the long-awaited orbital velocity test flight.

Instead, it is now expected that Booster 7 and Ship 24 will be the duo performing this duty. For that same reason, SpaceX cleared the way for
Booster 7 by removing Booster 4 from the OLM on March 24.

Booster 7, along with Ship 24, is part of a new block upgrade to the family of Starship and Super Heavy vehicles that SpaceX is building. This new breed of vehicles sports several improvements over Ship 20 and Booster 4, a sign of lessons learned applied to the build and test of vehicles. Sunrise over Booster 4, 7, and Ship 20 via Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF/L2



We went over all the changes from one pair of vehicles to the other in a recent video on our YouTube channel .

Booster 7s first steps outside of the High Bay began the next day on March 25, with the booster seemingly getting ready for a rollout to the launch site . However, this would be canceled, and the vehicle returned to the building.

Booster 7 finally rolled out to the pad first thing on March 31.



While it initially appeared to be going to the booster structural test stand which was rolled out to the launch site earlier in the month it was later moved over to the OLM and installed there on April 2.

SpaceX didnt waste any time, and on April 4, just a few hours after disconnecting their LR 11000 crane from the booster, they performed a full cryogenic proof test of the booster .



This was the first time any Super Heavy booster had been fully loaded with cryogenic fluids, with previous tests on Booster 4 seeing only partially filled tanks.

It is expected that Booster 7 will continue to be tested over the following days and perhaps weeks as SpaceX stockpiles the next set of Raptor 2 flight engines for both the booster and the ship.



Weve seen a recent delivery of Raptor 2 engines, as pictured here by Nic Ansuini, and more are expected to come in the next few weeks.

Booster 8 and future vehicles await on the heels of Booster 7 and Ship 24

Booster 8 build-up continues in the High Bay, with the methane tank section completely stacked and the LOX tank section halfway through stacking.

Ship 24, although not even halfway through stacking, is getting a lot of
work done on its payload bay section and nosecone. The payload bay section
has been seen recently getting heatshield tiles with clear views of its mailbox-shaped aperture on the leeward side likely for deploying Starlink satellites.

The nosecone received its flaps, and its thermal protection system tiles look almost complete, with only minor work remaining to be done in some places.



In an intriguing move, on the early morning of April 5, the SpaceX teams at the production site used Ship 24s aft section to perform fit checks on
Booster 8s forward dome section.

This action was performed for the first time several weeks ago when both parts were still largely incomplete and still fresh out of the tent, so to speak . A repeat of this indicates a desire from SpaceX to thoroughly fit check the new ship and booster connections.

Ongoing this week is the mating of Ship 24s aft section to the mid LOX and common dome sections inside the High Bay. It is unknown why this is being
done in the High Bay, but it was likely to use the bays robotic welder. Its also worth mentioning that Ship 24 is the first ship stacked this way. Ship
24 is out of the mid bay!

@NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/3zsmPNt0BI

Mary (@BocaChicaGal) April 5, 2022



Previous ships have seen their sections mated first to form the tank from
the common dome down to the aft section. Then the nosecone barrel and
nosecone would be mated together to then be stacked on top of the tank section.

Ship 24 started with the common dome and mid LOX sections being mated first, and now the aft section is coming in last. Any attempt at welding the forward dome section on top of the common dome section of Ship 24 would necessitate the use of hand welding as there are currently no robots that can weld ring stacks that high up. This process will be monitored as teams get ready to fully build Ship 24.

Parts for the next ships are also being aligned at the production site, with Ship 25 barrels and domes being prepared around the main tents.



In addition, the recent delivery of a methane transfer tube and anti-vortex device , likely for the upcoming ships, has also been observed.

While major sections for later boosters and ships beyond B8 and S25 havent been identified yet, the surplus of barrels and domes around the production site indicates that there is hardware being set up for the next pair of vehicles, which are likely B9 and S26. Booster 9 thrust dome spotted by Mary (@bocachicagal) on Tuesday for NSF/L2 Click image for video footage.



It is understood that these vehicles will include a minor block upgrade, as
it is standard at Starbase these days. Some of these improvements are aimed
at simplifying the design of the Booster as well as improving the payload bay systems on the Ship.

McGregor site welcomes more Raptors, SpaceX remodels test bays

Over at SpaceX McGregor, the engine test site is undergoing several upgrades to its engine bays. The twin vertical test bays saw the removal of the water-cooled flame trench deflectors , likely due to the upgraded Raptor 2s needing a revamp of the flame trench systems. The Twin Raptor Stand via Gary Blair for NSF/L2

While the above aerial views are provided via NSFs Gary Blair during his latest flybys for L2 McGregor . Ground photos from NSFs Reagan Beck noted SpaceX upgrades to the horizontal test bays with a water suppression system.

This system shoots a jet of water in front of the engine, suppressing the sounds from the engine while it is being tested. The suppression system via Reagan Beck for NSF/L2

These improvements are likely aimed at improving the cadence of tests with the upgraded Raptor 2 engines as well as avoiding complaints from residents a few miles down the road in the town of McGregor.

SpaceX will need to test these engines several times a day at a rate
probably never seen before at this test site to meet the demanding deadline imposed by Elon of having a ready-to-launch full-stack by May.



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The post SpaceX retires old Starship vehicles, puts new ones to the test appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/04/spacex-retires-vehicles-new-test/


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