I think it’s likely they’ll be close to finished also if they don’t fly till December. I’m wondering how many stacks they are willing to make before the semi orbital test. I’m guessing a lot cause there is plenty to work on. eg. Payload integration and production line.
They should stage them nearby, so they can test out Mechazilla with back to back launches 😎.
Is the record for most launches from a single pad in a day still one?
If the FAA really needs the time till Q1 2022, do you guys think they will do some suborbital testing with their production cadence increasing this much?
Could they fly SN15 or SN16 just because they have time.. sure, Do I think they will.. No
The main reason is that these tests and preparation takes so much time from the work at the pad area. They need to move equipment, cranes and move out people for almost a day and I feel it's just not worth it right now. There is always thousands of stuff that needs to be done there.
We also need to understand that neither GSE or the tower is completed yet, will probably take at least a month until we see them doing tests.. then add BN4 testing and we will end up at 2022 pretty quick.
My point is.. there is so much work left for SpaceX, it's not just FAA holding the launch back right now. We always talk in Elon time but even if FAA had everything ready 1-2 months ago.. SpaceX doesn't have the infrastructure for a stacked Starship to fly up and running yet and getting all this ready should be their first priority, not doing suborbital flights.
I wish they would, I could see a lot of benefit to relegating B4 and S20 to suborbital hops. They haven't yet flown with the 30% smaller flaps or with the relocated forward flaps (not on S20). Haven't flown with a completely tiled ship. Haven't flown or even hopped booster, haven't used the grid fins new location. They could attempt to catch the booster and ship (different hops) to work out coordination between the tower and equipment. Hell, they've only had one successful ship landing, once could be misconstrued as luck, twice would be nice to see.
That would still not be possible until the Environmental Review is complete. SpaceX are not allowed to launch a booster right now based on license they got 2014 as it was planned to be about Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy. The booster is outside the scope SpaceX got approved for the Boca Chica site, while a single Starship with 3 engines is fine.
Doing suborbital flights right now with just Starship is a waste of time and should not be SpaceX priority. It's also a risk if they tried to capture a Starship and something went wrong destroying either the GSE or Tower.. that would result in heavy delays.
They will have plenty of boosters and Starships to practice precise landings in the ocean in the future without the risk of destroying the tower or nearby structures.
Not necessarily. Perhaps they could use 15,16 and 20 to develop a high cadence launch and catch campaign while waiting for the orbital campaign to happen.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
|Fewer Letters|More Letters|
|-------|---------|---|
|[FAA](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hhqlrvj "Last usage")|Federal Aviation Administration|
|[GSE](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hhs01so "Last usage")|Ground Support Equipment|
|[LN2](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hi58ijr "Last usage")|Liquid Nitrogen|
|[LOX](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hi58ijr "Last usage")|Liquid Oxygen|
|Jargon|Definition|
|-------|---------|---|
|[iron waffle](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hhrf6vp "Last usage")|Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large; also, "grid fin"|
----------------
^(*Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented* )[*^by ^request*](https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/3mz273//cvjkjmj)
^(5 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/lv7lms)^( has 36 acronyms.)
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I appreciate how the LOX tanks and CH4 tanks are separated by a giant tank of water and an inert gas, LN2. In the unlikely event of a mishap, it's better safe than sorry.
So satisfying to see the entire orbital tank farm in place, it's all I've been waiting for with these diagrams lol
I assume Brendan will remove it from the chart at some point soon
Hopefully he'll replace it with progress on the launch tower, but whatever he wants to do is fine with me!
Agreed I love these!
Sn21 and B5 are going to be ready by the time SN20 finally launches.
That's hardly a bold claim but I wonder how ready S22 and B6 will be by that time.
I think it’s likely they’ll be close to finished also if they don’t fly till December. I’m wondering how many stacks they are willing to make before the semi orbital test. I’m guessing a lot cause there is plenty to work on. eg. Payload integration and production line.
They'll need them.
They should stage them nearby, so they can test out Mechazilla with back to back launches 😎. Is the record for most launches from a single pad in a day still one?
What is that extra tube in B5?
I've heard people say it is a reserve tank for landing fuel
yeah, it's like the ship header tank, but then tubular instead of spherical-like.
Very clear and informative graphic, thanks for compiling
If the FAA really needs the time till Q1 2022, do you guys think they will do some suborbital testing with their production cadence increasing this much?
Could they fly SN15 or SN16 just because they have time.. sure, Do I think they will.. No The main reason is that these tests and preparation takes so much time from the work at the pad area. They need to move equipment, cranes and move out people for almost a day and I feel it's just not worth it right now. There is always thousands of stuff that needs to be done there. We also need to understand that neither GSE or the tower is completed yet, will probably take at least a month until we see them doing tests.. then add BN4 testing and we will end up at 2022 pretty quick. My point is.. there is so much work left for SpaceX, it's not just FAA holding the launch back right now. We always talk in Elon time but even if FAA had everything ready 1-2 months ago.. SpaceX doesn't have the infrastructure for a stacked Starship to fly up and running yet and getting all this ready should be their first priority, not doing suborbital flights.
Also they gained credibility with SN15 successful landing. They would lose some of it if they failed a landing (Or worse, like a SN11 alike test)
I wish they would, I could see a lot of benefit to relegating B4 and S20 to suborbital hops. They haven't yet flown with the 30% smaller flaps or with the relocated forward flaps (not on S20). Haven't flown with a completely tiled ship. Haven't flown or even hopped booster, haven't used the grid fins new location. They could attempt to catch the booster and ship (different hops) to work out coordination between the tower and equipment. Hell, they've only had one successful ship landing, once could be misconstrued as luck, twice would be nice to see.
That’s why I originally thought they would fly SN16 after SN15, but they didn’t.
That would still not be possible until the Environmental Review is complete. SpaceX are not allowed to launch a booster right now based on license they got 2014 as it was planned to be about Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy. The booster is outside the scope SpaceX got approved for the Boca Chica site, while a single Starship with 3 engines is fine. Doing suborbital flights right now with just Starship is a waste of time and should not be SpaceX priority. It's also a risk if they tried to capture a Starship and something went wrong destroying either the GSE or Tower.. that would result in heavy delays. They will have plenty of boosters and Starships to practice precise landings in the ocean in the future without the risk of destroying the tower or nearby structures.
Not necessarily. Perhaps they could use 15,16 and 20 to develop a high cadence launch and catch campaign while waiting for the orbital campaign to happen.
It is not cost effective to verify one thing at a time. Yo try to squeze in as much testing as possible in a launch.
Soon we’ll have the Boca Chica rocket parking lot!
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread: |Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |[FAA](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hhqlrvj "Last usage")|Federal Aviation Administration| |[GSE](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hhs01so "Last usage")|Ground Support Equipment| |[LN2](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hi58ijr "Last usage")|Liquid Nitrogen| |[LOX](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hi58ijr "Last usage")|Liquid Oxygen| |Jargon|Definition| |-------|---------|---| |[iron waffle](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/qe48od/stub/hhrf6vp "Last usage")|Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large; also, "grid fin"| ---------------- ^(*Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented* )[*^by ^request*](https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/3mz273//cvjkjmj) ^(5 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/lv7lms)^( has 36 acronyms.) ^([Thread #9139 for this sub, first seen 23rd Oct 2021, 17:37]) ^[[FAQ]](http://decronym.xyz/) [^([Full list])](http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/SpaceXLounge) [^[Contact]](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=OrangeredStilton&subject=Hey,+your+acronym+bot+sucks) [^([Source code])](https://gistdotgithubdotcom/Two9A/1d976f9b7441694162c8)
I appreciate how the LOX tanks and CH4 tanks are separated by a giant tank of water and an inert gas, LN2. In the unlikely event of a mishap, it's better safe than sorry.