Hello, we are TheSpaceXFans and welcome to
TheSpaceXShow, the place where you can stay
up to date with everything SpaceX.
Beginning this video, we will take a look
at some Starlink information including the
latest launch.
Then we have some more views of the latest
infrastructure construction in Boca Chica,
a load of Starships including the SN6 150
metre hop and we even have SN10.
So, let’s head straight in and get up to
date…
As mentioned, SpaceX launched the Starlink-11
batch of 60 satellites into space on Thursday
to join the constellation.
The booster used on the mission, B1060, which
launched for the first time in June landed
for the second time on droneship Of Course
I Still Love You.
Kyle Montgomery captured this great shot of
Go Ms. Tree and Go Ms. Chief returning with
fairings.
At least they used to be, as you can see there
are fairing parts in Ms. Tree’s net.
Ms. Chief’s fairing also returned damaged.
The company tweeted 2 bits of Starlink information
saying “In initial tests of Starlink, the
team has been collecting latency data and
performing standard speed tests of the system.”
Then they said “Results from these tests
have shown super low latency and download
speeds greater than 100 mbps – fast enough
to stream multiple HD movies at once and still
have bandwidth to spare.”
Jonathan McDowell also tweeted about another
Starlink satellite that re-entered the atmosphere
recently.
He said “Starlink 1040, which failed last
December before it could be raised to operational
orbit, has reentered.
I believe it is the first Starlink to reenter
via natural orbital decay after a propulsion
failure.”
On top of this Jonathan McDowell has tweeted
about another 3 Starlink satellites that re-entered
on September 2nd, 4th and 5th.
Moving on and over to Boca Chica, here we
have the latest view of the launch mount construction.
You can see another support structure has
been put together.
Then, by the current launch mount, you can
see some groundwork has been going on.
Over in the construction yard, the usual construction
of the high bay is progressing nicely.
I looked back at some stuff and this building
has only been under construction for around
2 months.
Also in the yard, behind the fabrication tents,
some new pipes were seen being lifted off
a trailer after having arrived recently.
We have some cool Raptor and Starship stuff
to look at now, starting with this amazing
shot of 2 different Raptor engines tweeted
by SpaceX.
The engine on the left is the standard sea-level
engine which is being used to hop the Starships
in Boca Chica.
Then on the right we have the very first Raptor
Vacuum engine and wow is it a beast.
SpaceX’s tweet said “The first Raptor
Vacuum engine (RVac) for Starship has been
shipped from SpaceX’s rocket factory in
Hawthorne, California to our development facility
in McGregor, Texas.”
Elon Musk responded to it and said “Worth
noting that thrust is only slightly higher
with the big bell nozzle version.
Larger bell is primarily for efficiency in
vacuum.
Aiming for 380+ sec Isp for RVac long-term.
Initially likely to be ~372.”
To add to this, Everyday Astronaut asked Musk
what the likelihood of it surviving its first
test is, with Musk responding to say “above
50% likely to make it.”
Looking at some pieces of Starship, we will
start with a new 3 ring stack spotted inside
a fabrication tent.
That build and those welds are looking much
more improved over what we’ve seen before.
We also have a view of what’s over by the
nosecone area.
You can see that they currently have 2 reinforced
5 ring stacks, as well as a tapered nosecone
section.
Then, inside the tent is another new 3 ring
stack.
Now, we can take a look at the Starship Serial
Number prototypes, you can see here we have
SN5 still sitting outside.
Inside the mid bay behind it is SN8 which
was recently stacked and is being worked on.
My guess as to what’s next for this prototype
will be testing.
I’d say that before it gets everything else
needed for flight, they might want to put
it on a test stand.
Talking about test stands, on Thursday, just
hours after the Starlink launch, the road
was closed, pad cleared and SN6 was getting
fuelled up for its 150 metre hop test.
Then, the Raptor engine SN29 fired up to lift
SN6 off the launch mount.
So, SpaceX are now 2 for 2 with Starship launches
and 3 for 3 with 150 metre hops.
I’m hoping we will get to see some more
SN5 and SN6 testing happening in the near
future.
After the prototype had landed, Musk tweeted
a response saying “Starship SN6 flew a similar
hop to SN5, but it was a much smoother & faster
operation.”
Here’s a view of SN6 standing, or more so
leaning on the landing pad after its first
successful hop test.
I’m thinking it will either swap places
with SN5 or they might put it back on the
test stand, although I’d say the former
is more likely.
I also want to show you this great shot of
the legs which are looking very crushed from
that landing.
Looking at other Starship tanks in the works,
here we have SN7.1 which is being prepared
for a pressure test soon.
This test tank is looking near enough ready
for testing which will probably see it destroyed
as they test a variety of things with the
integrity of the build and the materials.
As per last episode, we were expecting testing
today, but with SN7.1 still waiting to be
rolled out, that won’t be happening.
However, here you can see crane weights and
a transport mount moved to the yard, very
likely for SN7.1.
Also in the works in Boca Chica, we have the
SN9 prototype which we’ve seen a bit of
recently.
Here you can see the thrust puck and lower
bulkhead for this tank as SpaceX begins sleeving
parts of SN9.
That also means they’ve got a ring stack
ready as you can see here it was moved around
the yard over to the dome.
Then, as expected, they were sleeved with
one another to form part of the aft section
for SN9.
Here we have the latest build diagram from
Brendan Lewis.
SN9 sections are starting to reveal themselves
and are starting to be put together.
Probably won’t be too long before they start
getting stacked.
Finally for this episode, we also have SN10,
yes Serial Number 10 has already been spotted.
The downcomer for Methane, the thrust puck
and other components arrived on a trailer
recently.
Again, we have a build diagram from Brendan
Lewis of this new tank.
Whilst the components are definitely for this
tank, the ring stack is just an assumption
but I would also assume this to be the case.
As always, none of these insights would be
possible without the time and dedication from
Mary, known more commonly as BocaChicaGal.
So a massive thanks to her, as well as the
rest of the NASASpaceflight team who do an
incredible job behind the scenes.
Thank you all so much.
That’s it for this episode of TheSpaceXShow,
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