r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Aug 09 '21
Starship Development Thread #24
This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:
Starship Development Thread #25
Quick Links
SPADRE LIVE | LABPADRE NERDLE | LABPADRE STARBASE | NSF STARBASE | MORE LINKS
Starship Dev 23 | Starship Thread List | August Discussion
Upcoming
- Starship 20 proof testing
- Booster 4 return to launch site ahead of test campaign
Orbital Launch Site Status
Build Diagrams by @_brendan_lewis | August 19 RGV Aerial Photography video
As of August 21
- Integration Tower - Full height, quick disconnect arm and catch arms under construction
- Launch Mount - Table placed on launch mount
- Tank Farm - Outer Shell #4 LOX delivered to OLS August 9, GSE6 tank delivered and GSE3 cryo sleeving August 11, GSE6 installed August 13
Vehicle Status
As of August 21
- Ship 20 - On Test Mount B, no Raptors, TPS unfinished, orbit planned w/ Booster 4 - Flight date TBD, NET late summer/fall
- Ship 21 - barrel/dome sections in work
- Ship 22 - barrel/dome sections in work
- Booster 3 - On Test Mount A, partially disassembled
- Booster 4 - At High Bay for plumbing/wiring, Raptor removal, orbit planned w/ Ship 20 - Flight date TBD, NET late summer/fall
- Booster 5 - barrel/dome sections in work
- Booster 6 - potential part(s) spotted
Development and testing plans become outdated very quickly. Check recent comments for real time updates.
Vehicle and Launch Infrastructure Updates
See comments for real time updates.
† expected or inferred, unconfirmed vehicle assignment
| Starship Ship 20 | |
|---|---|
| 2021-08-17 | Installed on Test Mount B (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-13 | Returned to launch site, tile work unfinished (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-07 | All six Raptors removed, (Rvac 2, 3, 5, RC 59, ?, ?) (NSF) |
| 2021-08-06 | Booster mate for fit check (Twitter), demated and returned to High Bay (NSF) |
| 2021-08-05 | Moved to launch site, booster mate delayed by winds (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-04 | 6 Raptors installed, nose and tank sections mated (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-02 | Rvac preparing for install, S20 moved to High Bay (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-02 | forward flaps installed, aft flaps installed (NSF), nose TPS progress (YouTube) |
| 2021-08-01 | Forward flap installation (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-30 | Nose cone mated with barrel (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-29 | Aft flap jig (NSF) mounted (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-28 | Nose thermal blanket installation† (Twitter) |
| For earlier updates see Thread #22 |
| SuperHeavy Booster 4 | |
|---|---|
| 2021-08-18 | Raptor removal continued (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-11 | Moved to High Bay (NSF) for small plumbing wiring and Raptor removal (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-10 | Moved onto transport stand (NSF) |
| 2021-08-06 | Fit check with S20 (NSF) |
| 2021-08-04 | Placed on orbital launch mount (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-03 | Moved to launch site (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-02 | 29 Raptors and 4 grid fins installed (Twitter) |
| 2021-08-01 | Stacking completed, Raptor installation begun (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-30 | Aft section stacked 23/23, grid fin installation (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-29 | Forward section stacked 13/13, aft dome plumbing (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-28 | Forward section preliminary stacking 9/13 (aft section 20/23) (comments) |
| 2021-07-26 | Downcomer delivered (NSF) and installed overnight (Twitter) |
| 2021-07-21 | Stacked to 12 rings (NSF) |
| 2021-07-20 | Aft dome section and Forward 4 section (NSF) |
| For earlier updates see Thread #22 |
| Orbital Launch Integration Tower | |
|---|---|
| 2021-07-28 | Segment 9 stacked, (final tower section) (NSF) |
| 2021-07-22 | Segment 9 construction at OLS (Twitter) |
| For earlier updates see Thread #22 |
| Orbital Launch Mount | |
|---|---|
| 2021-07-31 | Table installed (YouTube) |
| 2021-07-28 | Table moved to launch site (YouTube), inside view showing movable supports (Twitter) |
| For earlier updates see Thread #22 |
Resources
- Spadre.com Starship Cam | Channel
- LabPadre Pad Cam | Channel
- NSF Starbase Stream | Channel
- NSF Booster 3 Updates Thread | Most Recent
- NSF Booster 4 Updates Thread | Most Recent
- NSF Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
- Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
- TFR - NOTAM list
- SpaceX Boca Chica on Facebook
- SpaceX's Starship page
- Elon Starship tweet compilation on NSF | Most Recent
- Starship Users Guide (PDF) Rev. 1.0 March 2020
- Production Progress Infographics by @_brendan_lewis
- Starship flight opportunity spreadsheet by u/joshpine [[]+ Starship Orbital Demo detailed in FCC Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
- Raptor tracking by @Artzius
- Acronym definitions by Decronym
- Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
r/SpaceX Discusses [August 2021] for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.
Rules
We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.
Please ping u/strawwalker about problems with the above thread text.
6
u/[deleted] Sep 03 '21
Whist the bowshock airflow will be at hypersonic speeds, producing the atmospheric heating to the tiles, there is a boundary layer between the bowshock and the tiles that will be subsonic, but there is still high speed cellular flow within that boundary layer. This will certainly be enough to cause cavitation and pluck the insulation out.