from the Break-Things-and-Iterate-Past-the-Failures dept.
Starship chilled. Starship pressurized. And for the first time, it didn't explode:
This marks an important moment in the Starship program. Since November 2019, the company has lost three full-scale Starship prototypes during cryogenic and pressure tests. The most recent failure came on April 3. This is the first time a vehicle has survived pressure testing to advance to further work. Such tests are designed to ensure the integrity of a rocket's fueling system prior to lighting an engine.
SN4 passed cryo proof! pic.twitter.com/EJakThZRGF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2020
Now, Musk said, SpaceX engineers will attach a single Raptor engine to this vehicle and conduct a static fire test. The company hopes to move forward with this test later in the week.
Should the static fire test be successful, Musk has said the SN4 vehicle will make a 150-meter "hop" test, much as the "Starhopper" prototype performed in August 2019. The company has yet to receive regulatory approval for this test, so it may not happen for several weeks.
SpaceX already has fabricated most of the parts for its SN5 vehicle, which may be the first prototype to attempt a higher flight. Musk said, if all goes well with SN4, the plan is to attach three Raptors to SN5 for a higher flight test later this spring.
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SpaceX completes static fire of Starship prototype, will hop next:
After scrubbing several attempts for weather concerns, technical issues, and even a range violation due to a nearby boat, SpaceX succeeded in static-fire testing the latest prototype of its Starship vehicle on Thursday.
At 3:02pm local time in South Texas, the single Raptor engine attached to the Starship prototype dubbed Serial Number 5, or SN5, roared to life for a few seconds. In video shared by NASASpaceflight.com, the test appeared to be nominal, evidently providing SpaceX engineers with the confidence they need in the latest iteration of Starship.
Starship SN5 just completed full duration static fire. 150m hop soon.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2020
Shortly after the test, the founder and chief engineer of SpaceX, Elon Musk, confirmed that the static fire meant the company now plans to move forward with a short test flight of the vehicle. Based upon a notification from the US Federal Aviation Administration, this 150-meter flight test could take place as soon as Sunday, with a launch window opening at 8am local time (13:00 UTC).
Previously:
(2020-04-28) Starship Chilled. Starship Pressurized. and for the First Time, It Didn't Explode
(2020-04-03) SpaceX Almost Ready to Start Testing SN3 -- The Third Starship Prototype
(2019-11-21) Starship Prototype Mk1 Fails During Propellant Tank Loading Test: Onwards to Mk3
(2019-08-28) SpaceX's Starhopper Completes 150 Meter Test Hop
(Score: 4, Funny) by Sulla on Wednesday April 29 2020, @03:13AM (2 children)
Father: One day, lad, all this will be yours!
PRINCE HERBERT: What, the curtains?
FATHER: No. Not the curtains, lad. All that you can see, stretched out over the hills and valleys of this land! This'll be your kingdom, lad.
HERBERT: But Mother--
FATHER: Father, lad. Father.
HERBERT: B-- b-- but Father, I don't want any of that.
FATHER: Listen, lad. I built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. Other kings said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up! And that's what you're gonna get, lad: the strongest castle in these islands.
HERBERT: But I don't want any of that. I'd rather--
FATHER: Rather what?!
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2020, @05:01AM
I mod up the mighty Sulla, for his knightly singing skills! If only, he could find a woman, with HUGe tracts of land.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2020, @12:48PM
HERBERT: I'd rather SING...
*Music Swells*
FATHER: Stop that! Stop that!
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday April 29 2020, @03:52AM
This one is only ever going to get a single Raptor engine and make a 150 meter hop, same as Starhopper. It is much larger, so a structural weakness could be exposed by the test launch.
The good news is that SN5 is being built rapidly:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48895.msg2074490#msg2074490 [nasaspaceflight.com]
https://youtu.be/pEmFs_kg6kQ [youtu.be]
The pace of construction is much faster right now:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_development_history#List_of_vehicles [wikipedia.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday April 29 2020, @05:06AM (1 child)
it wasn't supposed to explode
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2020, @10:57PM
Yet
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2020, @05:21AM
Looks like takyon has a taky-on! Go, private sector! Now if only we could do this with whores, to put the program on a paying basis! McGrew? You are summoned!
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday April 29 2020, @04:37PM
Thanks for everything TPTB do, but you all missed a good article title opportunity something like "Space-X and Chill"
(Score: 1) by leon_the_cat on Wednesday April 29 2020, @05:58PM (1 child)
if a spaceship explodes you get a do-over and go back in time to prevent it happening. So God only knows how many times this thing has exploded.
(Score: 2) by Kitsune008 on Wednesday April 29 2020, @08:07PM
Yeah, but what's going on under the hood when you do the time travel bit, it's just reloading that instance of your rocket in Kerbal Space Program. Basically just reloading a save point.
I know this is true, because I met a dude when I was in the Army, that looked just like a kerbal. Freaked me out the first time I loaded KSP, and saw his whole damn family!