SpaceX is finishing the NEW Starship Pad Construction!
testing continues [Music] Starship 25 gets extremely Frosty as SpaceX attempts a spin Prime NASA finally wants to help develop a Starship space station rocket lab launches a very secretive sub-orbital Mission and Aryan 5 isn't flight worthy just days before its last flight my name is Felix welcome to what about it let's Dive Right In Starship updates another day another dose of fresh news from Starbase the place that will be known in the future as the origin of the widely used Mars rocket Starship none of that can be achieved without thousands of incredible workers pouring their sweat tears and blood into this incredible Mega project join me as we explore the intricate developments of the past few days together let's kick off our adventure at the launch site where the orbital launch Mount is starting to clean up quite nicely looking as sharp as a whistle trucks loaded with rebar have been rolling in for the past few days and the crews well they've been hard at work crafting the beefed up foundations for the water cooled steel plate the previous base might have not been enough but this new one it definitely won't go anywhere seriously take a look at all those reinforcements it's ridiculous once the rebar jungle is finished the entire structure will get a concrete makeover shuffle a little to the left here just behind the tower where the water supply system leaves the high pressure system has been getting a lot of attention a manifold connecting all the smaller tanks was installed and a parade of white water pipes was moved to the launch site some already getting installed with more and more parts in place it's starting to look like elon's end of June guesstimate for the dilute system installation might not be as outlandish as we initially thought now did you hear what happened recently at the suborbital part of the launch site if you guessed Starship 25 testing then you are right as it's been recently getting chilly during its inaugural tanking since it hits the ride over from Messi's on June 14th the sheriff closed Highway 4 and after the pat announcement speakers announced engine testing operations all workers left the launch site for safety reasons with no heads up about overpressure to the good folks of Boca Chica Village a static fire was unfortunately off the table but hey no over pressure warning doesn't mean no action at all a wee bit of venting from the sub-orbital tank farm hinted at at least a tanking test and just minutes later ship 25 started sporting a frosty look lovely isn't it Feast your eyes on the beautiful footage snagged by ycam operator Chief as a wide viewer you probably already spotted that it wasn't just the liquid oxygen and methane tanks getting topped up it looks like the header tanks were also part of the party take a look at the tip the smudge of frost creeping up from the tip of the nose cone that's where the header tanks are unfortunately after filling up the vehicle it was just emptied again with no evident engine activity it could have been just a simple tanking test but we most likely witnessed a scrub attempt of a procedure known as a spin Prime and if you are scratching your head right now wondering what on Earth a spin Prime is do not worry I got you covered it's another question coming up frequently so what exactly is a spin Prime it's a simple engine test where both Raptor turbo pumps whirl up allowing the fuel and oxidizer to gush through its systems but without actually striking a match so to speak the engine doesn't start up then how do you know that a spin Prime occurred simple again look out for a white cloud making its escape from the Raptor engines nothing but a cold Vapor now you're a spin Prime expert however even if it was an aborted test it's nothing to sweat over as of the recording of this episode The Following road closures were scheduled for June 20th and 21st from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening Texas time so today if you're early for the episode I recommend watching one of the many live cams available after this episode once a spin Prime is complete we will either see a pre-burner test or SpaceX will go straight to what they love the most aesthetic fire now hop in for a quick a cruise with me and you'll touch down at another riveting place the build site the first structure that should grab your attention here is the high Bay here prototype Starships 28 and 29 are parked waiting for their final touches did you know there's something strange happening to Starship 28 all the newest Starship prototypes house a unique mechanism within it operates kind of like a Pez dispenser meant for deploying starlings in the future which is why the ship Sports a cutout that needs shielding when not in use yet recently ship 28's payload bay door has been detached and it's puzzling why it's no secret that this system had thrown a wrench in the works before as both ship 24 and 25 required this section to be welded shot maybe a hiccup occurred during assembly forcing the crew to swap out this part or perhaps they finally analyze what was wrong with ship 24 resulting in an updated design scheduled to be installed old after all SpaceX must find a working solution 200 tons of payload capacity and no means of deploying anything is not good I'll keep an eye on this for you stay tuned time to take a step back and pan to the right as a massive bunch of progress has been made with booster 12. the last time we laid our eyes on it it's Lux tank stood 16 rings out of 24 high now it's tiring at 20 out of 24 with only the F section left to be added additionally its downcomer has been installed this massive pipe allows transferring methane from the upper tank to the engine section while also working as a header tank as it has a considerable internal volume on its own so it's the straw and the co class at the same time on June 15th a forward Dome and a three ring section entered the megabase sparking the construction of b12's methane tank things are going so fast that you'll blink and the whole prototype is done why Omega Bay one is humming along nicely its twin is still a work in progress since our last episode not only the second segment of the second Mega Bay level was already put in place but also the third and fourth one as well can you believe that all of this has happened in the span of just four days crazy right since then the first section of the third level was moved from the Sanchez side to the build complex waiting for its installation if the current rate of progress stays its course the whole building will be up and running by September so in less than three months megabyte 2 isn't the soul structure swiftly rising at the build side though an equally remarkable advancement can be observed with spacex's latest addition intended to accelerate Starship assembly the star Factory not too long ago we were surprised to see all the nose cones relocated from the third manufacturing tent it was initially believed that this tent was said to be torn down to enlarge the factory area however as events unfolded that wasn't exactly the case as you'll see in a moment the incomplete nose Cones were simply scrapped while the almost ready ones were moved to their original positions hardware-rich development this doesn't rule out the possibility of the third production tent eventually being removed but perhaps not at this time the ground fabrication building or what's left of it is gradually being dismantled with very few sections remaining previously I suggested that the building could be carefully deconstructed for reassembly at a different location we now have some hints about the potential new site for this structure from the bird's eye view provided by RGB aerial photography you can see some activity at the end of the Sanchez site the terrain has been graded the foundations are underway and power lines have been installed there is a good chance that the ground fabrication building could indeed be transferred here now you know given the Swift pace of the disassembly if this speculation is right the building could be functional in just a few weeks and off to work we go lastly the new Factory building itself is rapidly expanding this is almost disturbingly fast by now to hasten the construction roof sections are pre-assembled at ground level and then hoisted into place by a crane in one go a bit like playing Lego with slightly larger bricks this facility won't just Aid the development of upcoming prototypes it will also facilitate the creation of Starship variants tailored to customer requirements this is a significant shift not just some more space to work in we've explored concepts of giant Starship telescopes and Martian habitats but the idea of a starship-derived space station is popping up the most I talked about it before now comes the big one for you in an unexpected turn of events this idea just got considerably closer to reality and surprisingly NASA is the catalyst through the second round of the collaborations for commercial space capabilities or csc2 initiative seven companies were selected to collaborate with NASA to accomplish various stunning objectives this list includes some of the finest players out there Sierra space blue origin and vast who aim to construct their own space stations however today we'll concentrate on SpaceX as this one is Big literally big NASA believes that by cooperating with SpaceX they can develop a comprehensive ecosystem revolving around Dragon Starling and Starship how do we get the three together picture this a non-reusable Starship is launched into low earth orbit equipped with everything necessary to operate as a space station a single Starship has more pressurized internal space than the ISS talking about scale at dragon as a reliable crew and cargo transport system Starling for excellent Broadband connectivity and voila you have an ecosystem surpassing every other space station proposal out there let your imagination run wild for a moment Envision 2 Starship stuck together creating an enormous habitable volume reminiscent of a Sci-Fi spaceship who knows maybe it could even start the era of early experiments with artificial gravity systems the first prototype won't be this Advanced but a mere fact that NASA is interested in such a project implies SpaceX is truly serious about it and why shouldn't they be such a station could prove to be a significant Revenue generator for SpaceX elevating space tourism to new heights one suggestion from me please don't call it star station what are your thoughts would you want to see a Starship space station how can this concept be expanded what are your wildest thoughts let me know in the comments I read most of them so don't hesitate to test it out and while you're at it hit that like button share share this video with your friends and consider becoming a wise supporter for as low as a dollar per month you get access to behind the scenes content and much more while providing us with the biggest help there is a stable income stream for the team doesn't matter how much you decide to give everyone gets the same supporter content and access a link to our patreon page can be found in the description a huge Thanks goes out to the thousands of why Watchers who support us every month you rock now wild Starship news is always exciting SpaceX isn't the only company trying to achieve full reusability another such company is Stoke space did you know they recently shared some exciting developments in their test campaign if you're unfamiliar with stokespace they are a washington-based company developing a fully reusable rocket with a unique twist I met with a team in person and had my talk with Andy labsa Stoke CEO and a few others their dedication is hard to put into words and they are making steady progress towards their very unique rocket idea their second stage employs a single engine with a circle of 15 Chambers to create an effect Aiken to an Aero Spike all run through only two turbo pumps but at the same time each nozzle can be individually controlled very important more on that in a bit in addition it features an actively cooled heat shield using transpirational cooling allowing for atmospheric re-entry without the need for any repair work sound familiar at some point SpaceX wanted to do the same on Starships that's what distinguishes it from capsule designs like Apollo Starliner or even crew Dragon which use what's known as an ablative heat shield this means that during re-entry The Shield's material gets eroded to absorb the energy it just flows away while effectives this approach necessitates heat shield replacement after every few flights active cooling however can in theory be reused indefinitely although this might seem like science fiction Stoke space has already conducted round tests of some of these Technologies their engine ring has undergone more than 20 static fire tests and the company has recently offered some fascinating insights into what such a ring can achieve the engine Chambers themselves don't gimbal which would pose a challenge during Landing as a solution Stoke has developed what they call differential throttle thrust vector control while that rolls off the tongue instead of utilizing actuators or Pistons to adjust the nozzle's variable thrust levels in each chamber can produce the same effect with fewer components asymmetric thrust controls the flight path stokespace has also constructed a prototype called the hopper sn1 I wonder where I've heard this name before back in March Andy told me that this prototype was meant to perform a hop using these engines unfortunately after two wet dress rehearsals the vehicle was damaged and can no longer be hopped launched what's the word here in response sn2 is already under construction and it's 10 is planned for the end of the summer the trend towards reusability in the space industry is unmistakable with more and more companies jumping on board rocket lab for example has been forging ahead in reusable technology for some time now initially the plan to recover the electron forced rocket lab CEO Peter Beck to literally eat his hat after previously declaring that he'd do it if they'd ever start building reusable boosters rocket lab then introduced a new rocket Neutron designed to rival Falcon 9. promising both drone ship and return to launch site Landings featuring a reusable fairing that doesn't need to be fished out of the ocean either if you ask me that's enough reusability for a whole hat store all of this for around 50 million dollars undercutting spacex's Falcon 9. recently Neutron development has accelerated remarkably rocket lab has acquired The Long Beach facility and its equipment previously owned by virgin orbit conveniently both facilities are just 800 meters or half a mile apart enabling seamless communication and helping develop Neutron an investor update confirmed that the first stage moles are completed which sets the stage for tank production using a specialized carbon fiber 3D printer this highly Innovative robot will allow them to crank out new tanks rapidly progress is also noticeable in the second stage as its assembly was already in progress in may we can expect that the first prototype will be ready soon this notion is supported by rocket lab's construction of a test stand for a second stage cryogenic testing which gives off some Starbase Vibes hopefully we'll see some tanking action in a not so distant future follow me on Twitter at felixlank to stay updated on Neutron and other space news and the occasional dad joke although Neutron's development is advancing at a swift pays its inaugural launch isn't anticipated until 2024 and we know such timelines can slip however the launch of another rocket lab vehicle remained on schedule introducing haste rocket Labs Hypersonic sub-orbital vehicle looks like electron doesn't it well to an extent it is haste a derivative of electron essentially uses its booster possibly a modified second stage and introduces a new third stage for sub-orbital payloads since it's not intended for orbit it can carry up to 700 kilograms or 1540 pounds on a parabolic trajectory so both the rocket and the payload return to Earth after reaching their Peak altitude who needs that an orbital rocket not going to orbit while there are several intriguing applications for such a capable sub-orbital rocket the regular payloads could be experiments that require a state of weightlessness or the extreme speed of over 7.5 kilometers or 4.5 miles per second upon separation then there are the more exciting uses for instance a reach turn capsule why send it to orbit when it can be launched on a sub-orbital trajectory allowing its re-entry performance to be tested mere minutes after launch it could also be utilized for small shuttle-like Vehicles requiring a gliding capabilities test while evaluating its heat shield there's also little to no limitation on fitting another rocket into the fairing for an air launch from a haste itself there is a myriad of options and Rocket lab is Keen to ensure frequent usage promising that from concept to launch it will take just 12 months to prepare everything the inaugural haste launch occurred successfully on June 18th however that's all the information that we got since the customer was an unspecified Department of Defense entity and the mission was so classified that there was no live stream at all this gives you an essential clue to another use case for a sub-orbital rocket hopefully the next launch won't be shrouded in secrecy allowing us to observe Peter latest launch platform what do you think rocket lab building ballistic missiles good or in or finally let's touch on the largest European launch provider Aryan spass did you know that they're reliable Workhorse the Aryan 5 rocket was set to retire after nearly two decades of service well here's some good news for you Aryan 5 will stick around a bit longer but perhaps not for the reason you're anticipating the final flight of this legendary rocket which was behind missions such as Jews and the James Webb Space Telescope was scheduled for June 16th quick look at the calendar yeah no launch yet just as the rocket was about to be rolled out from the vertical integration building in French Guiana a problem was identified leading to an indefinite launch delay Aryan Spears has indicated that the issue involves three pyrotechnic transmission lines associated with the two massive solid rocket boosters pyrotechnic transmission line by the way is a fancy word for a sealed detonation cord you'll likely agree that safety should always come first particularly when dealing with boosters that can only be ignited once it is always a is a better safe than sorry no exception Engineers are working to resolve the issue so that a new launch date can be announced and Aryan 5 can finally pass the Baton to its successor Aryan 6. assuming of course
that it will stop getting delayed that's it for today remember to smash the like button and subscribe for more awesome content check out our epic new shirt in your favorite space nerd store link is in the description and if you want to get even smarter about space and Rockets watch this video next to continue your journey thank you very much for watching and I'll see you again in the next episode talk alpha papa is that spint yeah come on you can do this that's the plan Sonny Boy on June 15th ah
2023-06-22 02:51
