Space and Astronomy News

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SpaceX has completed initial pre-launch testing of the Flight 5 Starship. However, the launch date currently remains over two months away due to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noting they do not expect to issue the launch license until late November to early December comes around for launch.

Since the beginning of this year, Ship 30 and Booster 12 have undergone a rigorous testing regime to prepare for the fifth launch of the Starship system.

Ship 30 endured numerous tests, including cryogenic proof, spin prime, and static fire operations. These tests ensured the ship’s structural integrity would hold under launch conditions and proved that the raptor engines were ready for flight. 

Booster 12 has been preparing for the launch day by going through many of the same tests as the ship but on a larger scale. On July 15, the booster fired all 33 engines for its only full-duration static fire. 

Booster 12 and its hot staging ring were rolled out of Mega Bay 1 to the launch pad on Sept. 20. The chopsticks lifted Booster 12 to the top of the tower for around twenty minutes, where it was then set onto the orbital launch mount (OLM). This event simulated the booster’s landing on the chopsticks and the stresses they would endure until the vehicle was safed.

Ship 30 was rolled out of the High Bay to the launch site, waiting to be stacked onto Booster 12. While the vehicles have acquired significant upgrades, the launch pad has also significantly improved.  

The chopsticks have continued to gain thousands of worker hours to improve them for the landing attempt. The new bumpers will soften the booster’s impact when it touches down on the sticks. The struts have continued to be stiffened on the chopsticks and areas of the tower to minimize the strain both objects will take. Also, the stops have been added to prevent the chopsticks from closing past their expected catch position.

Flight Five Full Stack

With the launch not expected until later in the year, stacking this early before launch will not make the flight come any faster. However, it should help prove many systems related to flight five’s launch and Booster 12’s landing.

It took SpaceX just over 36 hours to roll out Booster 12 to the pad and stack it, then roll out Ship 30 to the launch site and complete the full stack for the first time since June 6. This increased pace only helps to progress the flight cadence of Starship, which will eventually be needed for a rapidly reusable future. 

On Monday, Sept. 23, during the first road closure of this week, SpaceX partially filled the ship and booster with liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane as a preliminary test to a full WDR. The cryogenic methane and LOX propellant caused frost to form outside the tanks on both vehicles.  SpaceX canceled the rest of the road closures for the week, meaning that the test likely fulfilled SpaceX’s conditions of success.  

Looking to the future, a WDR of the booster and ship in full stack configuration could still occur, not least closer to the launch date, as is usually the case.

The WDR will have to accomplish many tasks, including completely loading the vehicle with flight-worthy propellant, LOX, and Liquid Methane, which will strain the tank farm, the transport pipes, and Starship itself. 

During this loading time, a simulated countdown will run alongside the vehicle until it reaches engine ignition. Then, Starship would halt the countdown and detank, completing the test.

After the WDR is completed, it is uncertain what will happen with the full-stack Starship. There is still more hardware that needs to be added to the vehicles, like the flight termination system, which can not be added when the vehicles are stacked together. Since the launch is not possible until late November at the earliest, it is very unlikely that Starship will stay stacked on the pad for an extended period of time.

Many filings need to be completed to allow for a launch. Marine hazard zones should be expected to be granted around two weeks before launch, and temporary flight restrictions in both the USA and Mexico will come out around two or three days before an expected launch.

Also, filings like road closures are normally expected within the week of launch, and evacuation or overpressurization notices usually come out the day before what would be a booster static fire or Starship launch. There are still two months until any of these will start falling into place due to the main legal document SpaceX still needs, the corrected FAA launch license. 

FAA Update

Thousands of upgrades are on hold for the FAA’s greenlight to launch after SpaceX decided to go all-in on the first-ever attempt to land the booster. SpaceX completed the flight four mission without requiring a mishap investigation, which saw the ship and booster land predominantly intact. Landing the booster is a different level of intensity, bringing it over land near a populated area for the program. 

SpaceX turned in new information in mid-August on the expected path the booster will take and what will happen environmentally with that much power returning to land. This began the renewal process for the FAA to give a new launch license with the updated plans. These changes have given SpaceX a date of no earlier than late November for the launch of flight five. 

While SpaceX has mentioned that flight five Starship is ready for launch and has raised concerns about the long wait times for receiving a renewed launch license, but safety comes first. Although Starship can not fly for another two months, many upgrades have been underway on the Orbital Launch Pad A to prepare for the catch.

These upgrades should only increase the chances of a successful landing, and with a new license on its way and a slightly longer time between launches, it should pave the way for an increase in the rate of flights once SpaceX gets the go-ahead for flight five.

Lead Image: Ship 30 heading to Orbital Launch Pad A to be stacked on Booster 12. (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF/L2)



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Author: Space and Astronomy News

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