Toby Li – The Muskette https://themuskette.com Wed, 05 Aug 2020 03:15:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://themuskette.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cropped-elon-fav-32x32.png Toby Li – The Muskette https://themuskette.com 32 32 Starship Takes One Giant Leap https://themuskette.com/starship-takes-one-giant-leap/ https://themuskette.com/starship-takes-one-giant-leap/#respond Wed, 05 Aug 2020 03:15:43 +0000 https://muskette.com/?p=2192 After months of testing, booms, and scrubs, a giant grain silo-looking rocket took its first leap from the beaches of South Texas, and it was done by none other than Starship. This 150-meter hop took place 11 months after Starhopper’s experimental flight and was vital to test the technology of Starship, more specifically the methane-powered Raptor Engine.


Starhopper 150 meter launch, August 27, 2019.

Starship is SpaceX’s golden egg rocket, being capable of sending more than one hundred tons to low Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars, and one hundred people to Mars. The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, claims that the cost per launch of Starship will “be like $2 million.” Due to the rocket’s high capability to orbit and low cost, it’s expected that Starship will ultimately replace SpaceX’s current fleet of rockets and capsules, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon.


Starship Mark 1 suffers a pressurizing failure during testing. Credit: Labpadre (Youtube)

On November 20, 2019, the first prototype of Starship, Mark 1, suffered a terrible anomaly during a pressurization test, releasing liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Since then, SpaceX has built more iterations of the vehicle, but SN5 is the sole Starship to have completed all of the tests required for a low altitude flight. And on August 4, 2020, SN5 completed a pivotal test to one-day landing humans on Mars, a 150-meter hop, similar to its old predecessor, Starhopper.


Starship SN5 150-meter hop. August 4, 2020. Credit: Labpadre (Youtube)

Viewers online were on the edge of their seats waiting for the rocket’s first flight, and it went flawlessly! After hitting the 150-meter apogee, its little landing legs extended from the skirt and made an excellent landing on a landing pad nearby.


Render of Starship SN5’s landing legs. Credit: Kimi Talvitie

The stubby landing legs that SN5 used for its first 150-meter hop won’t cut it for uneven surfaces on the Moon or Mars. Musk proposes that the next iterations of the landing legs will be similar to the Falcon 9 and have capable of auto-leveling capabilities for stability.

Furthermore, after SN5’s hop, Musk confirmed that SpaceX would perform more short hops before eventually moving to a 20km hop with a nose cone and aero flaps.

This is only the beginning of humanity’s journey to Mars, allowing us to become a multiplanetary species. The future sure is exhilarating.

You can watch Starship SN5’s exciting launch below:

]]> https://themuskette.com/starship-takes-one-giant-leap/feed/ 0 Starlink Beta Testing Begins https://themuskette.com/starlink-beta-testing-begins/ https://themuskette.com/starlink-beta-testing-begins/#respond Sun, 19 Jul 2020 03:04:25 +0000 https://muskette.com/?p=2166 These last few weeks may have been uneventful for SpaceX fans as satellite launches and Starship testing kept getting postponed. Thankfully to cheer us up, plenty of Starlink news has recently been revealed.

Over the course of July 13 and 14, SpaceX sent out emails to those who applied for Starlink public beta testing, asking for home addresses. Currently, there is no exact date for when the public beta will begin, other than the summer of 2020. However, these emails are a clear indication that we will not have to wait much longer.

Furthermore, official Starlink terminal renders have been released. As Elon Musk mentioned, the design is similar to “a UFO on a stick.” Musk goes on to specify that the terminal will be self-oriented by electric motors to always have the optimal connection with the Starlink satellites. This may sound complicated, but the installation process is quite simple. Just plug in and go!

As a bonus, below is an exclusive look of the Starlink terminal boxes. This video affirms that Starlink private beta testing has begun for SpaceX employees.

]]> https://themuskette.com/starlink-beta-testing-begins/feed/ 0 Starlink Testing Goes Live https://themuskette.com/starlink-testing-goes-live/ https://themuskette.com/starlink-testing-goes-live/#respond Mon, 15 Jun 2020 02:20:22 +0000 https://muskette.com/?p=1512 On the beautiful morning of June 13, SpaceX sends yet another batch of their in-house satellites, Starlink. This mission was the company’s third launch in just two weeks and its 10th launch this year. However, this launch had multiple firsts for SpaceX. First of all, yesterday’s launch did not perform a static fire beforehand. The purpose of a static fire is to run the propellant through the engines as a wet test to confirm the rocket is performing nominally before launch. The Falcon 9 is the United States is the most flown and active rocket currently, therefore if SpaceX is confident in the vehicle, they may slowly phase out static fires in future missions. This would speed up the turnaround time of a Falcon 9 and beat the current record of 62 days.

Starlink satellites with Planet Skysats

Furthermore, the Starlink satellites from yesterday’s launch had a friend. Three of Planetlabs’ Planet Skysats were launched into orbit apart of SpaceX’s Smallsat Rideshare Program. The program is meant to provide launches for smallsat manufacturers as low as “$1 million,” and yesterday was SpaceX’s first demonstration of this capability.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk revealed that the Starlink internet router would look like a “UFO on a stick,” but no further information or images have been released. Musk has frequently emphasized that the router will be a simple, two-step installation.

Starlink has begun private beta testing in the SpaceX facilities, and public beta testing is expected to start later this summer. And just recently, the public can enroll in such trials on Starlink.com and be notified when service is available in the customer’s location.

SpaceX is certainly not slowing down with their Starlink launches, with yesterday’s mission being the seventh Starlink launch this year. The next Starlink launch is scheduled for June 22, at 3:20 pm PST or 6:20 pm EST.

]]> https://themuskette.com/starlink-testing-goes-live/feed/ 0 Starship Development Goes Ludicrous https://themuskette.com/starship-development-goes-ludicrous/ https://themuskette.com/starship-development-goes-ludicrous/#respond Mon, 08 Jun 2020 21:59:23 +0000 https://muskette.com/?p=1473 Although Starship SN4 suffered a dramatic explosion during testing a week ago, SpaceX does not have any intentions of slowing Starship development with SN5 and SN6 in its final stages of development and parts of SN7 have also been spotted at the SpaceX Boca Chica facility.

It’s incredible how much the Boca Chica facility has grown in just a little over two years. The immense development can be confirmed with the sight of cleaner and more precise welds of Starship’s hull, and more advanced nosecones with integrated reaction control thrusters to help orientate Starship during flight.

On June 6, the SpaceX CEO revealed that the Boca Chica facility would be expanding with a new “giant high bay” standing at 81 meters tall for stacking and development of the Starship booster, Super Heavy. During a flyover of the Boca Chica facility by Labpadre, a large rectangle was spotted that is perhaps the foundation of the Super Heavy high bay. The foundation can be seen in the image below.

Credit: Labpadre (Youtube)

In 2017, at the International Astronautical Conference, Elon Musk revealed detailed plans of the Starship rocket (formally known as BFR) and SpaceX’s plans of colonizing Mars; including a very ambitious goal of sending two uncrewed cargo Starships to the surface of Mars in 2022 and two crewed Starships and two cargo Starships to the surface of Mars in 2024. Musk confirmed that the 2022 and 2024 goal is still the target as of June 2020.

With SpaceX’s Starship being chosen as a contestant for NASA’s Artemis lunar landers, SpaceX must accelerate their development to compete with the landers proposed by National Team and Dynetics, the other companies that are competing.

Current dates for Boca Chica Highway 4 road closures are June 11 and June 12, respectively. These dates will most likely be for SN5 rollout and testing.

]]> https://themuskette.com/starship-development-goes-ludicrous/feed/ 0 DM-2 Launch Success https://themuskette.com/dm-2-launch-success/ https://themuskette.com/dm-2-launch-success/#respond Sun, 31 May 2020 01:21:54 +0000 https://muskette.com/?p=1411 A decade of work with the Commercial Crew Program just culminated today. For the first time since the Space Shuttle retirement, American Astronauts lifted off from an American rocket from American soil. Today’s mission proved that a private company cannot only send humans to space but also that reusable rockets are viable. This is truly a historic moment for not only the United States but the entire world.

After the scrub of the mission on Wednesday, May 27, due to weather, space enthusiasts were on the edge of their seats to see if today’s mission attempt will occur. However, at 3:22 pm EST, twenty two minutes past the hour, SpaceX had a flawless mission after putting their first crew into orbit, a dream come true since the beginning of the company. To top it off, the company successfully landed its Falcon 9 booster onto droneship Of Course I Still Love You several hundred kilometers in the Atlantic Ocean.

For the next fourteen hours, astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will ride on Crew Dragon in the darkness of space as it will dock with the International Space Station. Also, just for fun, the astronauts revealed the name of their capsule, Endeavour. As a tribute to Space Shuttle Endeavour, which both astronauts had their maiden spaceflight on. Bob and Doug also brought with them a special payload, a toy stuffed dinosaur, for both their sons.

You can rewatch the historic mission and follow Bob and Doug’s journey on SpaceX’s webcast below:

]]> https://themuskette.com/dm-2-launch-success/feed/ 0 Release the Dragon! https://themuskette.com/release-the-dragon/ https://themuskette.com/release-the-dragon/#respond Sat, 23 May 2020 00:24:04 +0000 http://muskette.com/?p=1180 As nine years of work boils down to next Wednesday, May 27, space enthusiasts from all around the world start to prepare for the most important launch in the past decade. SpaceX will demonstrate their Crew Dragon capability by launching American astronauts, Douglas Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station as a partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This launch is important because it is the first time that NASA has launched American astronauts from an American rocket from American soil since the Space Shuttle program! But also, if this launch succeeds, it will prove that commercial space companies and reusable rockets have the capability to truly change human spaceflight forever.

On May 20, both astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center in preparations for the big day. Just a day later, May 21, Falcon 9 and Dragon were mated and raised vertical on Launch Complex 39A for an upcoming static fire.

NASA and SpaceX will conduct a Flight Readiness Review to resolve any final issues before launch day. On May 25, NASA will host a press conference to discuss the results of the Flight Readiness Review.

SpaceX is closely watching weather conditions for the 27th. According to Benji Reed, the SpaceX Director of Crew Management, says there is a “very high chance of scrub due to the weather.” If the mission is in fact delayed, the next available date is presumably three days later, May 30th. It is clear that SpaceX will be taking all of the precautions necessary for their first crewed launch.

In preparations for the launch, SpaceX also released some new infographics for the mission layout. It is similar to SpaceX’s Commercial Resupply Service missions.

You can watch the historic SpaceX launch on spacex.com and nasa.gov/live

]]> https://themuskette.com/release-the-dragon/feed/ 0 Starship SN4 Cryo Test Success https://themuskette.com/starship-sn4-cryo-test-success/ https://themuskette.com/starship-sn4-cryo-test-success/#respond Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:31:16 +0000 http://muskette.com/?p=1156 On Sunday, April 26, SpaceX proved that four is the company’s lucky number as the long-awaited cryogenic proof test for Starship SN4 occurred, and for the first time in the Starship history, the test resulted in success.

 

The cryogenic proof test is a key assessment for SpaceX to hurdle over, and for Starship to be a success. For SN4’s predecessors, Mark 1, SN1, and SN3, all suffered a catastrophic anomaly during this test.

Starship SN3 destroyed in its cryogenic proof test. (Labpadre)

After the success of SN4, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, tweeted that SN4 will perform a static fire “later this week” and a short 150 meter hop in May after regulatory approval. SpaceX was aiming for Wednesday, April 29 to conduct the static fire, however, the date was pushed back to Friday, May 1. What is interesting, however, Musk confirmed that the SN4 will conduct the static fire and 150 meter hop with only one raptor engine, when previously speculated to have three raptor engines installed. Not to worry though, Musk later confirmed that Starship SN5, SN4’s successor, will be fitted with three raptor engines.

Raptor Engine spotted heading to Boca Chica launchpad to be installed onto Starship SN4. (Labpadre)

In addition to the triple raptor engines, Starship SN5 will be fitted with aero flaps for the much anticipated 20 kilometer hop. The aero flaps will possibly look similar to Starship Mark 1.

Starship Mark 1 (Darrell Etherington)

You can watch Starship SN4’s cryogenic proof test below.

]]> https://themuskette.com/starship-sn4-cryo-test-success/feed/ 0 Starship SN4 Launch Quickly Approaching https://themuskette.com/starship-sn4-launch-quickly-approaching/ https://themuskette.com/starship-sn4-launch-quickly-approaching/#respond Mon, 20 Apr 2020 06:39:56 +0000 http://muskette.com/?p=1111 After SN3 suffered a testing anomaly a week ago, SpaceX immediately began preparing the next iteration of Starship, SN4. In just over a week, the SpaceX Boca Chica facility fully stacked the rings for the propellant section of SN4, while SN3’s nose cone remains sitting on the facility grounds, which may or may not be installed on SN4, it has yet to be confirmed. The rapid progress SpaceX is making with their Starship development makes Musk’s goal of producing one Starship per week very achievable.

SpaceX enthusiasts spotted multiple heat shield tiles bolted onto the hull of the rocket. If SN4 takes off, the heatshield will undergo extensive thermal and acoustic tests. This would be similar to the heat shield tests SpaceX conducted when Starhopper took its flight in August.

Starship SN4’s propellant section inside the vehicle assembly building with heat shield tiles installed on the hull.

In a tweetstorm from Musk on April 15, the CEO revealed that the flaps and aero actuators of Starship are in the process of a mass reduction and simplicity redesign. However, he mentioned no aero surfaces will be installed on SN4, but “SN5 or SN6 will get flaps.”

In other Starship news, the raptor engine production is progressing as fast as Starship itself. SpaceX is currently on SN26 of their raptor iteration. This information comes two weeks after Musk released a photo of three raptor engines that were supposedly meant to be installed on SN3 before its anomaly. The raptor engines in the image below will likely be fitted onto SN4 if it succeeds in its pressure testing. It is also interesting to note that a Super Heavy booster would require 37 raptor engines. For SpaceX to meet Musk’s goal of producing one Starship per week, SpaceX must increase their rate of raptor engine production even faster than it already is.

SpaceX enthusiasts could expect to see testing of SN4 as early as next week. Cameron County recently added road closure dates for pressure testing and a potential short flight. The dates currently issued are April 20, April 23, and April 26. With backup dates of April 27 and April 28, respectively.

 

]]> https://themuskette.com/starship-sn4-launch-quickly-approaching/feed/ 0 Starship SN3 in Final Preparations Before Test Flight https://themuskette.com/starship-sn3-in-final-preparations-before-test-flight/ https://themuskette.com/starship-sn3-in-final-preparations-before-test-flight/#respond Tue, 31 Mar 2020 05:27:50 +0000 http://muskette.com/?p=1085 On a foggy day on the beaches of Texas, SpaceX rolls out its much-awaited new and third Starship test article, SN3. With only its propellant tanks and engine bay stacked, SN3 was hoisted onto its launch mount in preparation for pressure tests and a potential short flight.

Starship (formally known as BFR) is SpaceX’s in-development rocket that is supposedly Mars capable. Producing more than two times the thrust of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket ever built, Starship will be the most powerful rocket ever built and be able to send 100 people or 100 metric tons to Earth orbit or the surface of Mars. However, this is all thanks to its fully-reusable design. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has emphasized the importance of reusable rockets many times and compares them with aviation technology. He stated during the 67th International Astronautical Congress that “with air travel when you fly a plane, you fly that plane many times. Any mode of transport, whether it’s a plane, a horse, a bicycle, is reusable. You use that mode of transport many times. And if you had to get a new plane every time you flew somewhere, and even have two planes for a return journey, very few people could afford to fly.”

However, before a 6-month journey to Mars, SpaceX needs to verify that Starship can complete its required pressure tests. The predecessors to SN3, mark 1, and SN1, both failed its pressure tests and resulted in an explosion and a rapid unscheduled disassembly. However, SN2, a stripped-down version of Starship, did complete the required criteria, which was later confirmed by Musk on twitter. Stating, “SN2 (with thrust puck) passed cryo pressure & engine thrust load tests late last night.”

With the success of SN2, a favorable outcome for Starship SN3 does seem promising. If the tests are indeed successful with SN3, this would verify the strength of the welds of its tank section and further confirm that SN3 would be able to take the thrust loads of the powerful raptor engines.

SpaceX enthusiasts can expect to see tests occur in just a matter of a few days. Cameron Country, Texas, has already placed multiple road closures on Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach in preparation for the upcoming tests. Road closures are placed for April 1st and April 6th with their backup dates, respectively. April 1st is scheduled for a static fire and April 6th for a 150-meter hop. Both tests will be firsts for Starship.

Musk aims to eventually produce one Starship per week and is certainly keeping his promise. The SpaceX Boca Chica site has seen unprecedented rapid progress in the development of their Starship construction site. The company managed to assemble Starship SN3 in less than a month after SN1 suffered an unfortunate anomaly. The stainless steel rings and bulkheads for the next iteration of the Starship prototype, SN4, has already been spotted by local SpaceX enthusiasts and is most likely already being assembled. The future for SpaceX seems very promising and thrilling.

Watch SN3 being rolled out to its launchpad in the video below.

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