Elon Musk says SpaceX wants to reuse its first flight-proven Starship prototype, although the second hop of the rocket might come after the debut of a completely different ship.
On August 4, for the first time ever, a full-size 9-star (30 ft) wide and 30 m (~ 100 ft) tall prototype of Starship was lifted from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, test facility. Just three weeks before the first anniversary of Starhopper’s last flight test, Starship serial number 5 (SN5) essentially repeats the tough prototype’s 150 m (~ 500 ft) hop before (relatively) softly landing on an adjacent concrete slab.
Over the last several days, SpaceX has been gradually working on the unusual task of inspecting, securing and moving a flight-proven Starship. At the same time, the company must control the fixed launch assembly that supports the test flight and provide Starship with power, propulsion and wired communication. While teams work to get both the ship and mount ready for round two, CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to discuss some of SpaceX’s near-term goals and plans for Starship testing – including the role of SN5 in them.
The star-studded debut of Starship SN5 was a spectacular success for SpaceX, proving that steel and radically simple and production techniques could quickly build a cheap control chip capable of control. The flight also confirmed that the next-generation Raptor engine is capable of operating at least ~ 50 seconds uninterrupted, although Starhopper’s 150m hop has proven the same as some 20 engine prototypes and 13 months earlier.
However, although the uniform proved that SpaceX is on the right track, both the reason for the hopscotch of Starship SN5 and the hops themselves indicate that a few kinks have yet to be worked out. Remarkably, in the hope of SN5, it turned out that part of the Raptor engine SN27 came to the ignition fire at some point, producing substantial flames that lasted at least 10 seconds. For each rocket engine, an on-board fire is always a possibility, but most engines are either designed to tolerate the adverse environment they create or are strongly isolated from it.
Raptor prototypes are covered with sensitive wires and harnesses, are probably not intended to experience extended board fire and remain functional, but SN27 did not. At least Starship SN5 will probably need a new Raptor engine before they can prepare for a second hop.
The prototype will also certainly need several new landing gear after destroying at least two during its launch and land debut. It is worth noting that the legs shown above are almost certainly the result of a deliberate design choice, and make sure landings are a little rougher than expected to transfer most of their stress into Starship’s legs instead of his torso. Given just how simple they appear, the current leg design makes them likely to be disposable effectively, allowing SpaceX to focus its efforts on unresolved issues, resulting in a more refined and reusable leg design.
In addition to confirming that SpaceX at least intends to reuse Starship SN5 on future hops, Musk revealed that he wants to refine the launch procedure until the company can easily perform multiple Starship hops per diem. This suggests that the next one or more months may be chock full of Starship hop attempts. Musk also notes that Starship SN6 – a prototype built along SN5 and effectively completed weeks ago – would likely attempt its first flight before SN5 hopes for a second time. SpaceX started stacking the upgraded Starship SN8 prototype just a few days ago, raising the question of whether Starship SN6 would be fired before it could leave the factory itself.
Fortunately, it looks like the ship will be able to work alongside its sister (SN5) instead of helping SpaceX unite and accelerate Starship testing and launch operations. As of now, it’s unclear when SpaceX intends to resume Starship testing, but Musk’s comments point to the next test taking place sooner rather than later.
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