Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, says the first high-itude high-altitude starship prototype – known as the SN8 – will be the only “pass cryo-proof” test in South Texas, possibly setting up the ship for 15 km (9.5 miles) flight testing in the near future.
Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Bob Hines recently filled SpaceX’s Boca Chika, Texas Starship Factory with several compatriots, including the starship S.N. Amidst the crucial cryo-proof testing campaign of the 8th, the company presented an excellent aerial view of the bustling facilities.
The Hines T-38 trainer jet managed to capture the moon simultaneously with NASA, used regularly by NASA astronauts for training and travel, serving as a reminder that SpaceX won $ 135 million to build a lunar starship that would probably never land Earth alone. Can return to man. With or without the involvement of NASA, the deep rift between the starship prototype production and the test program SpaceX will directly determine when and where the company visits – and Moon – Mars.
Over the past three days, SpaceX has been slowly launching Starship S.N. 8 put – the first prototype for altitude flight altitude flight testing – by its speed, began with the largely canceled “cryo proof” test on October 5/6. During the first attempt, SpaceX put pressure on the rocket tank section containing cold nitrogen gas and perhaps a small amount of liquid nitrogen before the highway reopened. The starship SN8 also shared its large AFF flips under its own power for the first time on October 4th, and in the days that followed, SpaceX conducted many more performance tests.
24 hours later, SpaceX tried again, this time successfully starship S.N. The liquid oxygen and methane propellant tank of 8 is probably loaded with one thousand metric tons (2.2 million pounds) of liquid nitrogen – used to simulate the ultra-cold temperature of cryogenic propellant without risk. Catastrophic fire or explosion. After loading the crew, SpaceX reportedly tried to push the rocket tank into their range but Starship S.N. 8 The test was shortened when a small leak occurred near the engine mounts after reaching a pressure of 7 bar (100 psi).
Exactly as Musk predicted, SpaceX apparently managed to fix the secondary leak in less than 24 hours and started a third round of starship SN8 crew proof testing at the end of October 7. Once again, the rocket was completely filled with liquid nitrogen and spent about 2-3 hours under cryogenic stress, as SpaceX stresses on the thrust structure (“thrust puck”) by simulating the thrust of the raptor engines with hydraulic ramps. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and Kasturi has not yet commented on the test, indicating that things have largely gone as planned.
Interestingly, SpaceX prepared for the fourth night of cryogenic testing on October 8/9 October. It is not entirely surprising that the company would like to test as much as possible the first Starship, primarily built with new steel alloys. If S.N. If the fourth night of the 8th test produces satisfactory results and alleviates SpaceX-related concerns with leaks found during the second round of testing, the company may be ready to install three engines and try the first multi-raptor static fire test. Never.
Update: Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, says that the starship SN8 “Pass Cryo Proof” test, most likely the first triple-raptor adjusted rocket for static fire test. If S.N. 8 passes the static fire test, it will be mostly equipped with a nozzle and front flips and the other three engines will try a static fire using a small ‘header’ propellant tank, eventually ready to support the Starship’s first-of-its-kind flight test Will. Prototype if all goes according to plan.
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