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Musk commenting on their goals for Starship V4
Stretch goal for Starship V4 is 300 tons of thrust per engine with 33 engines, so 10,000 tons of total thrust. That is 3 times the power of the Saturn V Moon rocket. |
The numbers involved in rocketry are astonishing. 10,000 tons to lift 200.
No way is this a direct comparison of course but at that ratio a 747-400 would be able to carry a total load of about 20 pax with baggage... |
Yeah, but the Starship, once in orbit, will be able to carry its its payload for a few million miles at over 17000mph without refuelling….. ;)
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NEWS: Elon Musk has announced that @SpaceX's next Starship launch will happen in 6 weeks (early March).
This will be the first launch of Starship version 3, including the debut of the Raptor V3 engine: . • Almost 2x the thrust of Raptor 1, • Costs 4x less, • Much lighter. Will save 2,425 lbs of weight per engine, or 94,575 lbs (42.9 metric tons) per launch, • No heat shield, • Optimized for manufacturability. |
Essentially a new vehicle - gong to be very exciting to watch!
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Originally Posted by ORAC
(Post 12026923)
Yeah, but the Starship, once in orbit, will be able to carry its its payload for a few million miles at over 17000mph without refuelling….. ;)
it travelled: 4006 million miles which makes a fuel (RP1) efficiency of: 31795 MPG :8 source: https://www.whereisroadster.com/ |
VideoUp close with Booster 19 rolling out to Massey's test site tonight for initial pressure and cryo proof testing in preparation for Starship test flight
12. 2/1/26 |
FAA SAFO re: Airspace Management with respect to Space Launch Activities
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SpaceX has completed a partial cryogenic proof test of Super Heavy Booster 19 at its Massey's test site near Starbase, Texas. Engineers rolled the booster out from production just two days earlier. The successful test now allows preparations to shift toward static fire testing. |
VideoBooster 19 venting today during day 4 of cryogenic proof testing.
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Booster 19 is returning to megabay 1 tonight after finishing cryogenic pressure and proof testing at Starbase Masseys test site over the past week.
Booster 19 will be inspected and have Raptor 3 engines and grid fins installed before rolling out to the new pad 2 for static fire testing. |
The entire Starbase pad 2 water deluge system including the top deck was tested for the first time today.
Videos…. |
Getting close....
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ElonStarship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability.
Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8ef62490c.jpeg |
Video
Several views of Starship 39 during a 3rd night of cryogenic proof testing in preparation for upcoming Starship test flight 12. |
Road closures have been posted closing Boca Chica beach and Hwy 4 for potential Booster 19 static fire testing. If so, this will be the first static fire testing from the new Starbase pad 2 and first Version 3 booster static fire with 33 new Raptor 3 engines.
https://www.starbase.texas.gov/beach-road-access |
Cryotesting complete, first V3 flight within a month.
Does seem a long time since the last flight, hopefully the tempo will pick up quickly this year. Ship 39 cryoproof operations complete, the first campaign with a next generation Starship V3. Across several days, engineers tested the vehicle’s redesigned propellant system and its structural strength, including squeeze tests to mimic the forces of future ship catches. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....02e119d9c.jpeg |
Videos
Super Heavy B19 rolling to pad ahead of first V3 static fire. Starship Flight 12: Booster 19 rollout to Pad 2 for Static Fire testing. It has Raptor 3's, if not the full set of 33. |
It’s incredible to see how much has changed since that first Falcon 9 landing 5 years ago. What SpaceX is doing in Boca Chica is a fascinating case study for anyone interested in Safety Management Systems (SMS).
Traditional aviation safety is built on 'Preservation'—preventing any failure at all costs. SpaceX, however, uses an 'Iterative Failure' model. From an SRM perspective, they aren't ignoring risks; they are simply moving the 'Acceptable Level of Safety' (ALoS) boundary. They treat a prototype explosion not as a safety breach, but as a high-speed data collection event. The real challenge for the industry moving forward will be: how do we integrate this kind of 'Rapid Prototyping' safety culture into traditional operations without compromising public safety? The data they are gathering on structural resilience and engine reliability under extreme stress is going to rewrite the textbooks on 'Machine' factors in the 5M framework. |
Originally Posted by srm.dashboard
(Post 12050093)
Traditional aviation safety is built on 'Preservation'—preventing any failure at all costs. SpaceX, however, uses an 'Iterative Failure' model. From an SRM perspective, they aren't ignoring risks; they are simply moving the 'Acceptable Level of Safety' (ALoS) boundary. They treat a prototype explosion not as a safety breach, but as a high-speed data collection event.
The real challenge for the industry moving forward will be: how do we integrate this kind of 'Rapid Prototyping' safety culture into traditional operations without compromising public safety? The data they are gathering on structural resilience and engine reliability under extreme stress is going to rewrite the textbooks on 'Machine' factors in the 5M framework. I didn't know this at the time, but the failure rate of the Atlas booster during the 4 manned Mercury-Atlas launches was still ~33%. Those astronauts really did have 'The Right Stuff'... |
Surprised it's that long, seeing as they've done their cryo-testing and the pyros have been delivered for the FTS. Still, nice to get a date.
Musk: Next flight of Starship and first flight of V3 ship & booster is 4 to 6 weeks away. |
In 'Elon time' that's about 3 months.
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tarship V3 has a very new look! Docking aerocovers, nice ablative coating below the forward flaps, new square tiles patches on the leeward side, tiles on the leeward side of the aft flips, and a bunch more https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....52065282a6.png https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2c3aabcd3b.png https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0651edceaf.png |
Starship and Super Heavy move out to continue preflight testing Less than 24 hours after Ship 39 made its way to Massey's it performed what looked to be a possible Spin Prime test. Video Booster 19 is alive! Booster 19 was stacked earlier today and is already performing tests, here you can see the 4 vents at the very top of the booster venting. There is a beach closure tomorrow morning at 8AM untill 8PM for possible Static fire testing!! |
Starship 39 and Booster 19 both underwent cryogenic testing today in preparation for full static fire testing in the coming days. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a4ae551343.png Video SpaceX just tested the top deck deluge with the booster on the launch mount. |
Video
Starship 39 performed a long duration static fire test at the Starbase Massey's test site today firing 6 Raptor 3 engines in preparation for upcoming Starship test flight 12. Awesome! |
Full-duration static fire for the first time on Starship V3.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0b3415e6c.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....13693beea.jpeg |
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First 33-engine static fire for Super Heavy V3 Video Booster 19 has been static fired for the second time! This oneis much, much more powerful than the last! |
The pad, booster and ship looking so much more "Finished" than even the late model V2s. Anyone heard any rumbles of what the flight plan is yet?
Going to be good... |
The pad, booster and ship looking so much more "Finished" than even the late model V2s. Anyone heard any rumbles of what the flight plan is yet? Doesn’t actually say the Starships will achieve orbit, but they have to if they want to RTLS. Previous word was that they would to do at least two Starship water landings to test systems and accuracy before going for a catch, so I expect planned catches for the boosters with off-shore diversion if there are issues and water landings for the Starships. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....13e133e75.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0e880cb7e.jpeg |
BREAKING: Starship Flight 12 NET May 12, 22:30 UTC / 17:30 CDT An advisory has appeared on the CADENA Operational Information System. - NEW Trajectory - Afternoon Launch Window The window spans 22:30 - 00:43 UTC, which is 17:30 - 19:43 Starbase local time. Instead of flying the corridor between Florida and Cuba, Starship Flight 12 appears to be targeting a more inclined corridor, threading the needle between Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Despite this change in launch trajectory, splashdown remains in the Indian Ocean, with a corridor running through Madagascan, Mauritian, and Australian airspace. CADENA Operational Information System Credit to @NeedPizza42 for spotting https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....81e75c0f4.jpeg |
Video
Up close with Starship 40 rolling out to Starbase Massey's test site tonight for initial cryo proof testing. |
Originally Posted by ORAC
(Post 12079967)
Video
Starship looks ominous. :) |
Depending on the level of damage the opinion is that this could cause a 1-2 week delay to the next launch.
Videos During a deluge test today, what seems to be an explosive event was observed in the deluge farm followed by the deluge shutting down. An additional 2 views. |
Now that is a pity for me. I will be in South Africa the next weeks and hoped I could see this ship sailing overhead in the african early morning. While not yet deep enough in the atmosphere to cause some plasma shine, it might be already glistering in the sunshine. May 12th would have fit nicely, but well, patiently waiting for official statements...
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Instead of gravity feed SpaceX now has a deluge system powered by nine Methane-LOX gas generators for greater water volume. It looks like one of the gas generators blew it's top off and the took the roof overhead with it.
No apparent damage to the other pumps or surroundings, so seems simple to replace (if they have a spare). What does have to be considered are the ramifications if one blows it's top during a launch with any debris hitting the booster and starship...... https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9b2fb06c26.png https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4476ba4de7.png |
Videos:
My goodness that was incredible!! Booster 19 performed a ~14 second static fire test. That looked much better and the deluge system seems to have lasted for the full duration. Great progress! |
A simple question from a simple mind:
When they do a full burn, especially the booster and all 33 of its Raptor 3 engines - how do they hold the craft down? One assumes it has 'holding clamps', but 33 engines going full blast. Doesn't the whole thing (with starship), weigh 5000tons, so the engines have to - at least - be able to move 5000tons. So the holding clamps can handle 5001 tons...? |
They have to be able to handle the difference between the weight and the thrust at the moment of release.
You will not the initial slow acceleration of the Statship/booster as opposed to those with side solid fuel boosters. |
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