| Author | Message | ||
     Panhead_dan |
I did a search and even replied to an existing thread but it is apparently too old to post up on the front page. Just wondering if anyone has been following the progress of Space X and Starship. Their goal is to build 1000 Starships and colonize Mars. I have no idea why. Mars is toxic and uninhabitable. It is very entertaining to watch, however. Here is a quick video of the first test launch of Starship. The flying missiles are mostly concrete from under the elevated launch pad; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thA8jlgcJ-8 It flew to about forty kilometers high. Launch #2 is not far away. This stuff is fun to watch! https://multistream.whataboutit.space/ I have been keeping tabs on the Starship project for nearly three years. There have been several flights of stage two without the booster stage. One successfully soft landed. The others were quite a spectacle! | ||
| Hughlysses |
Dan, I have been following it pretty closely since about 2020. I pretty much watched every test or move live feed during the pandemic. 2 years ago, my wife and I took a long trip out west and swung by Boca Chica on our way back just to check things out. The launch tower was only about two thirds complete at the time but it was still an impressive site.  I cannot wait to see the next orbital flight attempt! | ||
| Hootowl |
I never miss a launch. Watching the booster land never gets old. They have landed two of them 16 times! Design was 10. I remember the head of ULA saying that reusability was not worth the additional cost because you would have to reuse it three times before it became cheaper to operate than an expendable. Lack of vision is endemic in the legacy aerospace industry. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Hootowl, you have the Falcon nine rocket in mind. While it is very impressive, it is not the Starship rocket. It has little in common with Starship. If you are not familiar with Starship, you may want to check it out. By the way, there is a launch of Falcon Heavy scheduled for tomorrow that will be worth watching. Falcon Heavy is three Falcon nines attached together as one rocket. Do not miss the landing. It's spectacular! All of these launches are live on youtube. | ||
| Hootowl |
Yeah, I follow all the spacex programs. I cannot see how one could know about one and not the other. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
There's so much going on these days that some people simply will not admit to it's existence! I'm serious! I know folks who, when I bring up the subject will say "I don't want to hear about it." When asked about that they say that the entire subject makes them uncomfortable. Translation: they are scared of it all. They will not watch a launch or a landing. I'll bet the news this morning freaks them right the hell out. (David Grush got his congressional hearing. Soon there will be UFO's and alien remains shown on the news!). More to the subject- They loaded a booster on to the newly refurbished launch stand recently and placed the chopsticks in the position to snatch up a ship, which just happens to be standing by and fully tested. Soon we will see another full stack! All we need is some static fire testing of the booster and all will be ready for launch number two. I saw what appeared to be installation of FTS in both the booster and the ship on Tuesday. There are three more boosters and three more ships completed and beginning testing now. The near future is going to be exciting! I will stick my neck out and say that if the launch stand holds up, they could launch all of them before the end of the year. (Message edited by panhead_dan on July 27, 2023) (Message edited by panhead_dan on July 27, 2023) | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Hughlysses, That's a great pic! It might be time to consider another trip down there..... I would love to watch a Starship launch live! How about you? | ||
| Hootowl |
Sure is exciting. Hope stage zero holds up this time  I am fairly close to Boca Chica, but I hesitate to try to witness a launch. The likelihood that the first few attempts will be scrubbed is high. Besides, I have a better view on youtube. Will be interesting to see how the new separation method works out. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Dan- Yes, we have talked about going back for a launch. There is a lot more info available about visiting the site now, too. One thing is for sure: Boca Chica is at the absolute end of the Earth! | ||
| Hootowl |
Were I to go, I would plan on staying on, and viewing the launch from, South Padre island. Plenty of hotels, and the best view, most likely. Cannot get much closer due to road closures. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Mexico. | ||
| Hootowl |
Haha. Padre is the closest habitation. That part of Mexico is desolate. And Padre is not much farther away than the border. The drive and risk are not worth getting a smidge closer. | ||
| Hughlysses |
They just tested the new shower head under the pad. Pretty impressive! https://www.youtube.com/live/bJwQTFsezJI?feature=s hare Water flow starts at about 1 hour 10 minutes. Make sure your sound in up! | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Thanks for posting that Hughlysses, it was most impressive! I keep telling myself it's going to do the job but having seen like 30 raptors cranked up, it just doesn't look substantial enough to me. If rocket blast clears enough water off the metal surface it will make steam inside. Steam is bad. Maybe the nitrogen gas will kill the flame near the base making that un possible. I hope it works perfectly. At some point in the not too distant future, they will be lifting a payload and will need 100% throttle on all 33 engines. Aint nobody ever seen hell's fury like that before. | ||
| Hootowl |
After seeing the first one bore a hole in the ground, even with all that pesky concrete in the way, what they are building does not seem adequate. I am thinking flame trench or a massive conical diverter. Something to deflect the energy to the side. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Successful static fire of Booster 9 and test of new water deluge system today: https://youtu.be/A-zgmwCyLmk | ||
| Hootowl |
I remain skeptical. They did static fires on the old one without issue. A short duration burn is not a valid test. I hope they plan on longer tests before the next launch attempt. Perhaps they should apply for a permit for a flame diverter. My understanding is that they don't have a permit for the water deluge system either. | ||
| Oldog |
I started following space X, I wish I could go to a launch, as a child my family went to south padre island. I clearly remember dads warning about the man o wars, I admire the progress and relentless way spacex is proceeding, In many ways Musk reminds me of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. same drive, same efficent way of doing thing. Star link is genious! | ||
| Tpehak |
Russian starship landing on the Moon stream | ||
| Tpehak |
The starship is crashed. | ||
| Hootowl |
That is unfortunate. The Russians have a proud history of space exploration. I wish all peoples success in pushing the boundaries of space. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Booster 9 has been refitted with the new staging system and is back out on the launch pad again. Testing will resume soon.  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Booster 9 static fire today! https://www.youtube.com/live/vSDS93-WiB0?si=p6pjg074T9flKV2H (Message edited by Hughlysses on August 25, 2023) | ||
| Hughlysses |
Booster 9 static fire just completed! Appeared to be all 33 engines and at least full 5 second duration. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Successful full duration static fire of all engines completed 2 minutes ago! Just learned that 2 engines shut down shortly after ignition. (Message edited by panhead_dan on August 25, 2023) | ||
| Panhead_dan |
https://youtu.be/ENxZS6PUDuI?t=482 | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Booster and ship are fully tested, fully stacked and fully connected to umbilicals, ready for fueling and launch. FAA has not issued a launch permit. Yesterday they brought out ship 26 for testing. It has no wings or heat shielding. Rumor is that it is a prototype for a new crewed ship or possibly a fuel barge prototype that stays in space without returning to Earth. Any guesses when they will light the fuse? | ||
| Hootowl |
26 might be the lunar lander prototype. | ||
| Tpehak |
We can't leave it in space, the space is already full of garbage. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
The world is flat. There is a dome that prevents us from getting to "space". And we are surrounded by a 300 foot ice wall.  |
