SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested

Date:
Fri, 25 Oct 2024 22:24:45 +0000

Description:
SpaceX completed a significant milestone in the Starship program with Flight
5 and is set The post SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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

SpaceX completed a significant milestone in the Starship program with Flight
5 and is set to try to repeat it for Flight 6. Both vehicles are now Static-Fired and ready for integrated testing ahead of a potential November launch.

Flight 5



Ship 30 and Booster 12 lifted off at 7:25 am Central Time on October 13. The liftoff and ascent were flawless, with all 33 engines running on Booster 12 all the way to hot-staging. Ship 30 then ignited its six engines and went on its way to the Indian Ocean.

So far, out of the five flight tests, only two flights, Flight 1 and Flight 4, have had engine outs on ascent. In fact, during all phases of flight for Flight 4, not a single Raptor shut down prematurely. Flight 5 Hot Staging (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)

After hot staging, Booster 12 performed its 13-engine boost backburn. However, this time, it was not aiming for the Gulf of Mexico but rather back to the launch site for a catch. With the boost backburn completed, Booster 12 then reoriented itself for its glide back to the launch site.

As the booster came back through the atmosphere, the engine section started to glow due to the aerodynamic forces causing heat to build up on the cork of the engine shielding. Once at 1 km or so, the 13 center engines started up
and performed the initial landing burn to bleed off most of the velocity. Booster 12 Returning (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)

Booster 12 then quickly switched to the three-center engines only and began translating itself over towards the tower while still slowly descending. SpaceX may have been targeting the wetlands to the east of the tower as a precaution.

Interestingly, on Friday night, Elon Musk-likely inadvertently-posted audio
of a Flight 5 review meeting with SpaceX officials while gaming . The three-minute clip included notes that Booster 12 was one second away from trigging an abort away from the Tower into the launch site.

We had a misconfigured spin gas support that didnt have quite the right ramp-up time for bringing up spin pressure and we were one second away from that tripping and telling the rocket to abort and try to crash into the
ground next to the tower instead of the tower, noted the unidentified SpaceX manager on the call, in reference to a large amount of abort modes that can
be triggered by the rocket.

I knew we had a whole bunch of new aborts and commit criteria that we tried
to double-check really well, but I think our concern was well placed, and one of these came very close to biting us. The chine on Booster 12, via Mary for NSF

Just before engines started up, one of the chine covers ripped off, which is something we were worried about. These spot weld margins on chine skin before flight, we wouldnt have predicted the exact right place, but this cover that ripped off was right on top of a bunch of the single point failure valves
that must work during the landing burn, the meeting added.

So thankfully, none of those or the harnessing got damaged, but we were just trying to cover up over some really critical equipment right as landing burn was starting.

The call noted that they have plans to address this issue.

Thankfully, none of the scary sh as the manager called it, occurred during Booster 12s return, as it then translated over before angling into the chopsticks, which were closing at this moment in preparation to catch. Just before the common dome was past the sticks, they began to close rapidly, and then grabbed the booster just above the chopstick stabilization points. Tower view of the first Super Heavy booster catch pic.twitter.com/Bgjeyuw7Hf

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2024



The arms bounced on the booster as it made its final descent into the
waiting arms of the tower, which fully closed in. The lifting pins then
landed on the landing rails. As the engines were shut off, the landing rails compressed down, taking the full weight of the booster.

See Also SpaceX Starship Section L2 SpaceX Click here to Join L2

And just like that, SpaceX caught a Super Heavy Booster on the first try.

While SpaceX caught a rocket booster, Ship 30 completed its burn, placing it into space and on its way to the Indian Ocean. SpaceX debuted new flap
cameras for this, which look directly at the flaps and their hinges.

Ship 30 then coasted with full control through reentry, this time around
with the upgraded heat shield. Ship 30 fared better than Ship 29; however, there was still some burn-through on the forward flaps.

Despite this, Ship 30 completed its flip and burn maneuver and successfully landed in the Indian Ocean on target, which was caught by buoys that SpaceX had out at the projected landing zone. After the engine shutdown, Ship 30 tipped over and exploded after a transfer tube most likely snapped and mixed Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Methane. Starship flip maneuver and landing burn on its fifth flight test. Vehicle improvements ensured flaps were protected from high heating, resulting in a controlled entry and high accuracy splashdown at the targeted area in the Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/nLIQLLVMv1

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2024



Aftermath

After launch, Booster 12 stayed in the sticks while a fire from the methane prepress port was extinguished. Once the booster was in a better state,
SpaceX had to translate the booster away from the tower a bit as it landed closer to the tower. This will be required in the future with the shorter chopsticks.

After lining it up with the stabilization arms, SpaceX lowered Booster 12 into the Launch mount later in the day for full safety. The road stayed
closed until the morning of the next day to ensure the boosters safety for
the public. Booster 12 Engine section after flight (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)

Once safe, the booster transport stand, which had been at the roadblock shortly after the catch, was rolled next to the Orbital Launch Mount, and SpaceX then removed Booster 12 before rolling it back to Mega Bay 1. Once rolled back, it was placed on the work stand it had left only three weeks before launch.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that engines off of Booster 12 would go to McGregor for testing. SpaceX even recovered the hot stage ring from the
bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, although the dome got turned inside out. HOS Ridgewind has recovered the Hot Staging Ring that was jettisoned during
Flight 5. https://t.co/e3xbqPnwZ5 pic.twitter.com/OqT8nigIKG

Chris Bergin NSF (@NASASpaceflight) October 22, 2024



What this means for the Starship Program

Flight 5 passed several milestones, including catching a booster and a ship hitting its landing target after reentry. With the catch of a booster, SpaceX can now refine this during each flight and eventually refly these boosters, which will help raise the launch cadence.

This cadence is needed for the Artemis programs refueling missions and for getting to Mars. Booster 13 will likely have a refined landing burn and be caught. It is unclear which booster will be the first to refly. Currently, SpaceX has some issues to solve, such as warping some of the outer ring
engine bells due to heating and aerodynamic forces. Tower view at liftoff of Starship's fifth flight test pic.twitter.com/BAtcod2EVD

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2024



It is possible that SpaceX doesnt refly a booster until Block 2 of the booster starts flying.

Regarding Starship, SpaceX will continue to land Ships into the ocean until the hardware required to catch them is figured out. Currently, SpaceX cant catch a ship with the pin and socket system on the ships.

It is also unclear when SpaceX will test things like an in-space relight or the payload bay door. Since trying to do both on Ship 28, SpaceX has not attempted to complete either again and may not do them until Block 2 debuts.

Flight 6

SpaceX is wasting no time getting into operations for the next flight. Only nine days after Flight 5, Booster 13 has rolled out to the Launch Site and been placed on the Orbital Launch Mount. This comes only nine days after the last flight, a record turnaround for this pad. Booster 13 being lifted onto the OLM (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)

SpaceX then completed a 33-engine static fire on Thursday, Oct. 24.

While SpaceX has yet to post its usual set of cool drone photos to confirm a good test, the Booster appeared to complete the test without issue. Flight 6 is coming up soon!

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2024



Booster 13 was then removed from the launch mount, raised to catch height as
a free test of the chopsticks and set to roll back to the production site.

If SpaceX can complete the refurb on the launch mount and finish up Ship 31s heat shield mods, Flight 6 may be only a few weeks away.

Lead Image: Booster 13 Static Fire via NSF Stream.

L2 includes full res full collection of all photos taken by NSF photographers.)



The post SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/10/spacex-aces-flight-5-flight-6/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100)

Date:
Fri, 25 Oct 2024 22:24:45 +0000

Description:
SpaceX completed a significant milestone in the Starship program with Flight
5 and is set The post SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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

SpaceX completed a significant milestone in the Starship program with Flight
5 and is set to try to repeat it for Flight 6. Both vehicles are now Static-Fired and ready for integrated testing ahead of a potential November launch.

Flight 5



Ship 30 and Booster 12 lifted off at 7:25 am Central Time on October 13. The liftoff and ascent were flawless, with all 33 engines running on Booster 12 all the way to hot-staging. Ship 30 then ignited its six engines and went on its way to the Indian Ocean.

So far, out of the five flight tests, only two flights, Flight 1 and Flight 4, have had engine outs on ascent. In fact, during all phases of flight for Flight 4, not a single Raptor shut down prematurely. Flight 5 Hot Staging (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)

After hot staging, Booster 12 performed its 13-engine boost backburn. However, this time, it was not aiming for the Gulf of Mexico but rather back to the launch site for a catch. With the boost backburn completed, Booster 12 then reoriented itself for its glide back to the launch site.

As the booster came back through the atmosphere, the engine section started to glow due to the aerodynamic forces causing heat to build up on the cork of the engine shielding. Once at 1 km or so, the 13 center engines started up
and performed the initial landing burn to bleed off most of the velocity. Booster 12 Returning (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)

Booster 12 then quickly switched to the three-center engines only and began translating itself over towards the tower while still slowly descending. SpaceX may have been targeting the wetlands to the east of the tower as a precaution.

Interestingly, on Friday night, Elon Musk-likely inadvertently-posted audio
of a Flight 5 review meeting with SpaceX officials while gaming . The three-minute clip included notes that Booster 12 was one second away from trigging an abort away from the Tower into the launch site.

We had a misconfigured spin gas support that didnt have quite the right ramp-up time for bringing up spin pressure and we were one second away from that tripping and telling the rocket to abort and try to crash into the
ground next to the tower instead of the tower, noted the unidentified SpaceX manager on the call, in reference to a large amount of abort modes that can
be triggered by the rocket.

I knew we had a whole bunch of new aborts and commit criteria that we tried
to double-check really well, but I think our concern was well placed, and one of these came very close to biting us. The chine on Booster 12, via Mary for NSF

Just before engines started up, one of the chine covers ripped off, which is something we were worried about. These spot weld margins on chine skin before flight, we wouldnt have predicted the exact right place, but this cover that ripped off was right on top of a bunch of the single point failure valves
that must work during the landing burn, the meeting added.

So thankfully, none of those or the harnessing got damaged, but we were just trying to cover up over some really critical equipment right as landing burn was starting.

The call noted that they have plans to address this issue.

Thankfully, none of the scary sh as the manager called it, occurred during Booster 12s return, as it then translated over before angling into the chopsticks, which were closing at this moment in preparation to catch. Just before the common dome was past the sticks, they began to close rapidly, and then grabbed the booster just above the chopstick stabilization points. Tower view of the first Super Heavy booster catch pic.twitter.com/Bgjeyuw7Hf

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2024



The arms bounced on the booster as it made its final descent into the
waiting arms of the tower, which fully closed in. The lifting pins then
landed on the landing rails. As the engines were shut off, the landing rails compressed down, taking the full weight of the booster.

See Also SpaceX Starship Section L2 SpaceX Click here to Join L2

And just like that, SpaceX caught a Super Heavy Booster on the first try.

While SpaceX caught a rocket booster, Ship 30 completed its burn, placing it into space and on its way to the Indian Ocean. SpaceX debuted new flap
cameras for this, which look directly at the flaps and their hinges.

Ship 30 then coasted with full control through reentry, this time around
with the upgraded heat shield. Ship 30 fared better than Ship 29; however, there was still some burn-through on the forward flaps.

Despite this, Ship 30 completed its flip and burn maneuver and successfully landed in the Indian Ocean on target, which was caught by buoys that SpaceX had out at the projected landing zone. After the engine shutdown, Ship 30 tipped over and exploded after a transfer tube most likely snapped and mixed Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Methane. Starship flip maneuver and landing burn on its fifth flight test. Vehicle improvements ensured flaps were protected from high heating, resulting in a controlled entry and high accuracy splashdown at the targeted area in the Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/nLIQLLVMv1

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2024



Aftermath

After launch, Booster 12 stayed in the sticks while a fire from the methane prepress port was extinguished. Once the booster was in a better state,
SpaceX had to translate the booster away from the tower a bit as it landed closer to the tower. This will be required in the future with the shorter chopsticks.

After lining it up with the stabilization arms, SpaceX lowered Booster 12 into the Launch mount later in the day for full safety. The road stayed
closed until the morning of the next day to ensure the boosters safety for
the public. Booster 12 Engine section after flight (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)

Once safe, the booster transport stand, which had been at the roadblock shortly after the catch, was rolled next to the Orbital Launch Mount, and SpaceX then removed Booster 12 before rolling it back to Mega Bay 1. Once rolled back, it was placed on the work stand it had left only three weeks before launch.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that engines off of Booster 12 would go to McGregor for testing. SpaceX even recovered the hot stage ring from the
bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, although the dome got turned inside out. HOS Ridgewind has recovered the Hot Staging Ring that was jettisoned during
Flight 5. https://t.co/e3xbqPnwZ5 pic.twitter.com/OqT8nigIKG

Chris Bergin NSF (@NASASpaceflight) October 22, 2024



What this means for the Starship Program

Flight 5 passed several milestones, including catching a booster and a ship hitting its landing target after reentry. With the catch of a booster, SpaceX can now refine this during each flight and eventually refly these boosters, which will help raise the launch cadence.

This cadence is needed for the Artemis programs refueling missions and for getting to Mars. Booster 13 will likely have a refined landing burn and be caught. It is unclear which booster will be the first to refly. Currently, SpaceX has some issues to solve, such as warping some of the outer ring
engine bells due to heating and aerodynamic forces. Tower view at liftoff of Starship's fifth flight test pic.twitter.com/BAtcod2EVD

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2024



It is possible that SpaceX doesnt refly a booster until Block 2 of the booster starts flying.

Regarding Starship, SpaceX will continue to land Ships into the ocean until the hardware required to catch them is figured out. Currently, SpaceX cant catch a ship with the pin and socket system on the ships.

It is also unclear when SpaceX will test things like an in-space relight or the payload bay door. Since trying to do both on Ship 28, SpaceX has not attempted to complete either again and may not do them until Block 2 debuts.

Flight 6

SpaceX is wasting no time getting into operations for the next flight. Only nine days after Flight 5, Booster 13 has rolled out to the Launch Site and been placed on the Orbital Launch Mount. This comes only nine days after the last flight, a record turnaround for this pad. Booster 13 being lifted onto the OLM (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)

SpaceX then completed a 33-engine static fire on Thursday, Oct. 24.

While SpaceX has yet to post its usual set of cool drone photos to confirm a good test, the Booster appeared to complete the test without issue. Flight 6 is coming up soon!

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2024



Booster 13 was then removed from the launch mount, raised to catch height as
a free test of the chopsticks and set to roll back to the production site.

If SpaceX can complete the refurb on the launch mount and finish up Ship 31s heat shield mods, Flight 6 may be only a few weeks away.

Lead Image: Booster 13 Static Fire via NSF Stream.

L2 includes full res full collection of all photos taken by NSF photographers.)



The post SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/10/spacex-aces-flight-5-flight-6/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100)

Date:
Fri, 25 Oct 2024 22:24:45 +0000

Description:
SpaceX completed a significant milestone in the Starship program with Flight
5 and is set The post SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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

SpaceX completed a significant milestone in the Starship program with Flight
5 and is set to try to repeat it for Flight 6. Both vehicles are now Static-Fired and ready for integrated testing ahead of a potential November launch.

Flight 5



Ship 30 and Booster 12 lifted off at 7:25 am Central Time on October 13. The liftoff and ascent were flawless, with all 33 engines running on Booster 12 all the way to hot-staging. Ship 30 then ignited its six engines and went on its way to the Indian Ocean.

So far, out of the five flight tests, only two flights, Flight 1 and Flight 4, have had engine outs on ascent. In fact, during all phases of flight for Flight 4, not a single Raptor shut down prematurely. Flight 5 Hot Staging (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)

After hot staging, Booster 12 performed its 13-engine boost backburn. However, this time, it was not aiming for the Gulf of Mexico but rather back to the launch site for a catch. With the boost backburn completed, Booster 12 then reoriented itself for its glide back to the launch site.

As the booster came back through the atmosphere, the engine section started to glow due to the aerodynamic forces causing heat to build up on the cork of the engine shielding. Once at 1 km or so, the 13 center engines started up
and performed the initial landing burn to bleed off most of the velocity. Booster 12 Returning (Credit: Max Evans for NSF/L2)

Booster 12 then quickly switched to the three-center engines only and began translating itself over towards the tower while still slowly descending. SpaceX may have been targeting the wetlands to the east of the tower as a precaution.

Interestingly, on Friday night, Elon Musk-likely inadvertently-posted audio
of a Flight 5 review meeting with SpaceX officials while gaming . The three-minute clip included notes that Booster 12 was one second away from trigging an abort away from the Tower into the launch site.

We had a misconfigured spin gas support that didnt have quite the right ramp-up time for bringing up spin pressure and we were one second away from that tripping and telling the rocket to abort and try to crash into the
ground next to the tower instead of the tower, noted the unidentified SpaceX manager on the call, in reference to a large amount of abort modes that can
be triggered by the rocket.

I knew we had a whole bunch of new aborts and commit criteria that we tried
to double-check really well, but I think our concern was well placed, and one of these came very close to biting us. The chine on Booster 12, via Mary for NSF

Just before engines started up, one of the chine covers ripped off, which is something we were worried about. These spot weld margins on chine skin before flight, we wouldnt have predicted the exact right place, but this cover that ripped off was right on top of a bunch of the single point failure valves
that must work during the landing burn, the meeting added.

So thankfully, none of those or the harnessing got damaged, but we were just trying to cover up over some really critical equipment right as landing burn was starting.

The call noted that they have plans to address this issue.

Thankfully, none of the scary sh as the manager called it, occurred during Booster 12s return, as it then translated over before angling into the chopsticks, which were closing at this moment in preparation to catch. Just before the common dome was past the sticks, they began to close rapidly, and then grabbed the booster just above the chopstick stabilization points. Tower view of the first Super Heavy booster catch pic.twitter.com/Bgjeyuw7Hf

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2024



The arms bounced on the booster as it made its final descent into the
waiting arms of the tower, which fully closed in. The lifting pins then
landed on the landing rails. As the engines were shut off, the landing rails compressed down, taking the full weight of the booster.

See Also SpaceX Starship Section L2 SpaceX Click here to Join L2

And just like that, SpaceX caught a Super Heavy Booster on the first try.

While SpaceX caught a rocket booster, Ship 30 completed its burn, placing it into space and on its way to the Indian Ocean. SpaceX debuted new flap
cameras for this, which look directly at the flaps and their hinges.

Ship 30 then coasted with full control through reentry, this time around
with the upgraded heat shield. Ship 30 fared better than Ship 29; however, there was still some burn-through on the forward flaps.

Despite this, Ship 30 completed its flip and burn maneuver and successfully landed in the Indian Ocean on target, which was caught by buoys that SpaceX had out at the projected landing zone. After the engine shutdown, Ship 30 tipped over and exploded after a transfer tube most likely snapped and mixed Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Methane. Starship flip maneuver and landing burn on its fifth flight test. Vehicle improvements ensured flaps were protected from high heating, resulting in a controlled entry and high accuracy splashdown at the targeted area in the Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/nLIQLLVMv1

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2024



Aftermath

After launch, Booster 12 stayed in the sticks while a fire from the methane prepress port was extinguished. Once the booster was in a better state,
SpaceX had to translate the booster away from the tower a bit as it landed closer to the tower. This will be required in the future with the shorter chopsticks.

After lining it up with the stabilization arms, SpaceX lowered Booster 12 into the Launch mount later in the day for full safety. The road stayed
closed until the morning of the next day to ensure the boosters safety for
the public. Booster 12 Engine section after flight (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)

Once safe, the booster transport stand, which had been at the roadblock shortly after the catch, was rolled next to the Orbital Launch Mount, and SpaceX then removed Booster 12 before rolling it back to Mega Bay 1. Once rolled back, it was placed on the work stand it had left only three weeks before launch.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that engines off of Booster 12 would go to McGregor for testing. SpaceX even recovered the hot stage ring from the
bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, although the dome got turned inside out. HOS Ridgewind has recovered the Hot Staging Ring that was jettisoned during
Flight 5. https://t.co/e3xbqPnwZ5 pic.twitter.com/OqT8nigIKG

Chris Bergin NSF (@NASASpaceflight) October 22, 2024



What this means for the Starship Program

Flight 5 passed several milestones, including catching a booster and a ship hitting its landing target after reentry. With the catch of a booster, SpaceX can now refine this during each flight and eventually refly these boosters, which will help raise the launch cadence.

This cadence is needed for the Artemis programs refueling missions and for getting to Mars. Booster 13 will likely have a refined landing burn and be caught. It is unclear which booster will be the first to refly. Currently, SpaceX has some issues to solve, such as warping some of the outer ring
engine bells due to heating and aerodynamic forces. Tower view at liftoff of Starship's fifth flight test pic.twitter.com/BAtcod2EVD

SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 14, 2024



It is possible that SpaceX doesnt refly a booster until Block 2 of the booster starts flying.

Regarding Starship, SpaceX will continue to land Ships into the ocean until the hardware required to catch them is figured out. Currently, SpaceX cant catch a ship with the pin and socket system on the ships.

It is also unclear when SpaceX will test things like an in-space relight or the payload bay door. Since trying to do both on Ship 28, SpaceX has not attempted to complete either again and may not do them until Block 2 debuts.

Flight 6

SpaceX is wasting no time getting into operations for the next flight. Only nine days after Flight 5, Booster 13 has rolled out to the Launch Site and been placed on the Orbital Launch Mount. This comes only nine days after the last flight, a record turnaround for this pad. Booster 13 being lifted onto the OLM (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF/L2)

SpaceX then completed a 33-engine static fire on Thursday, Oct. 24.

While SpaceX has yet to post its usual set of cool drone photos to confirm a good test, the Booster appeared to complete the test without issue. Flight 6 is coming up soon!

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2024



Booster 13 was then removed from the launch mount, raised to catch height as
a free test of the chopsticks and set to roll back to the production site.

If SpaceX can complete the refurb on the launch mount and finish up Ship 31s heat shield mods, Flight 6 may be only a few weeks away.

Lead Image: Booster 13 Static Fire via NSF Stream.

L2 includes full res full collection of all photos taken by NSF photographers.)



The post SpaceX success with Flight 5, Flight 6 already tested appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/10/spacex-aces-flight-5-flight-6/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100)