SpaceX

Very exciting! Elin Musk tweeted SpaceX trying to do 20 km flight and first attempt landing Starship prototype maybe next month. This would be the current bare bones starship with 3 raptor engines and with drag fins. The way it will fall and land will be an amazing test in technology.

A quick update.... Static fire test of the first starship using it's 3 sea level raptor engines. There was already a static fire test using the main fuel tanks before the nose cone section was added to the base.

This static fire test will use the smaller fuel tanks which are used in the reentry and landing burns....

It is scheduled for Sunday night.

If successful the first attempt at a 15km flight and landing will occur Monday or Tuesday. This will be to test the tech needed to air brake (belly flop) the ship in freefall, like a sky diver, to shed speed, then rather crazy repositioning and firing of engines for a controlled landing.

Elon has stated he's about 50%-60% on the chances of it being successful the first time. If things don't look good it will be allowed to land/crash into the gulf.

Some great YouTube channels to watch are...

Nasa spaceflight
bocachicagal
Everyday Astronaut
Marcus House

These are all public sector enthusiasts who put out content on SpaceX. Bocachicagal is a local Boca Chica, TX resident who does all day time lapse videos and photos of the site from the public road. Amazing dedication. Other channels use her images in their videos. There are a few other folks who have 24hr video feeds from different vantage points including one with a thermal camera. Also there is a pilot who does occasional fly-overs of the facility.

I am excited to see their first flight/landing attempt..... Knowing that it may result in a spectacular crash. This is the method of SpaceX and what makes them different from other companies and the historic path for engines and rockets. They continually design, build, and test engines, starship components, and completed ships as a part of their design vetting and manufacturing process...since they plan on mass producing it all. The current starship that will take the first sub-orbital flight is serial number 8, or SN8. The previous two 150m hop flights were accomplished by SN6 and SN7. Currently at the site there are components, in various degrees of completion, for SN8, SN9, SN10, SN11, and SN12. The current raptor sea level engines on SN8 are in the SN30 series . SpaceX test facility is already past version 49 of the engine.

Amazing stuff.

SpaceX just completed what should be the final engine test for the 15km flight and landing attempt of its SN8 prototype Starship. This test used the smaller 'header' tanks that will be used for the landing instead of the mains used for departure. No official word but it appears to have been successful.

Hoping for the test flight in the next week.... Probably no earlier than this Saturdays planned flight of Crew Dragon to the ISS. Maybe next week.

It might well be a very spectacular fail as this has never been attempted by anyone on planet earth. Elon gave it barely a 50% chance of success..... Just like the first few SpaceX Falcon flights ended in explosions. Part of the build and go attitude that has pushed the company way ahead of everyone else.

Doubt the everyday person knows how much we have received from the space program. So many things developed that help our daily lives and health.

Sadly the ISS scheduled to be decommissioned in 2024.

Hopefully the Artemis project becomes a much more advanced version around the moon... Obviously takes about a week extra time round trip though.....

SpaceX ran their third static fire test on SN8 of the Starship last night in Boca Chica. Two raptors were fired for a few seconds. Apparently one of the engines melted either the pre-burner or hot gas manifold or something as molten slag was seen dripping from the base for a bit after shutdown. They lost pneumatics from it and because of that they couldn't vent the fuel tanks. As the cryogenic fuel warms and changes to gas it builds pressure in the tanks. Luckily a rupture disc popped to relieve the pressure.

They will have to replace the affected engine and obviously design out the issue.

Not sure how long now to 15km flight test. After engine replacement they may go through the static fire tests again, but maybe not all 3 as they were really testing the header tanks more than just the engines.

Landing on land... At the end. This is the whole flight a bit compressed.

Waiting to see if SpaceX published better photos.