Starship - still a long road ahead

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While the second Integrated Flight Test of Starship was a success and media has been declaring it a failure, Elon fanboys already declared humanity a multiplanetary species.

There are still many difficult tasks ahead for SpaceX to figure out, in order to facilitate frequent travel to Mars and back.

Hurdles already taken:

  • Launch infrastructure survives launch
  • Booster firing until planned engine cutoff
  • Stage separation

Minimum hurdles to solve for each milestone:

Deploy Satellites

  • Reach orbit
  • Deploy satellites – SpaceX has built the so called Pez-Dispenser mechanism. Might be already solved
  • Return booster to launch pad
  • Recover booster (catch with the launchpad arms)
  • Bellyflop maneuver for Starship – has been done up to 10 km altitude, but never from orbital velocity
  • Recover Starship (on a pad, similar to the Starship hop tests or catching it with launchpad arms)

Land on the Moon

  • On orbit refueling
  • Leave low Earth orbit
  • Land on Moon surface – without a prepared pad
  • Launch from Moon

Land on Mars

  • Generate fuel on Mars
  • Life support systems for humans – including radiation shielding.

Progress in Charts

Comparing the most powerful Falcon Heavy (FH 6, May 1st 2023) configuration versus IFT 1 and IFT 2 during the booster phase of the flight until stage separation.

Speed comparison [km/h]

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Altitude comparison [km]

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Starship has now had two tests with the complete system. Each test signified a large step forward.
In comparison to the first version of the Falcon 9 v1.0 it looks worse. The early failures were with recovery of the booster but the missions, deploying payload in orbit, were successful.

The question is: how soon will SpaceX be able to deploy Starlink v2.0 satellites in orbit while figuring out reuse of booster and ship.

More Information

Scott Manley: Starship & Superheavy Become The Biggest Rocket In Space.... Before Exploding

Watch Starship’s second integrated flight test

Marcus House: SpaceX Starbase and Stage Zero! How close are we to Starship Orbital Flight Test? – 23.11.2021

SpaceX Starship | O.F.T (Orbital Flight Test) Animation

CSI Starbase: Why SpaceX Could Be Forced To Abandon Starship Payloads Until 2024!

Starship's First Flight Trajectory Revealed! Where Will it Land? | SpaceX Boca Chica

Marcus House looks into what can happen when the stack explodes during launch:
SpaceX Starship Explosive Potential, and Big Bang Theory

Tim Dodd was lucky enough to get two guided tours around Starbase by Elon Musk:
Tour 2022:

Tour 2021:

Prototype Tests

SpaceX: Starship | SN10 | High-Altitude Flight Test – 04.03.21
SpaceX: Starship | SN10 | High-Altitude Flight Recap
Tim Dodd: Starship SN10 [4k, Clean Audio & Slow Mo Supercut]

Scott Manley recapping what changes happened in previous iterations until the successful SN-15 launch: SpaceX's Starship Prototype Takes To The Skies And Returns Safely
SpaceX: Starship | SN15 | High-Altitude Flight Test – 06.05.22
SpaceX: Starship | SN15 | Flight Test Recap

Cosmic Perspective: Valhalla: Starship Explosion Footage SN8-SN11 - 4K

Tim Dodd: How To Visit STARBASE // A Complete Guide To Seeing Starship!.
NASASpaceflight: A Practical Guide To Starbase | Things You Need To Know To See Starship Launch

Lex Fridman: Starship: The most powerful rocket ever made | Tim Dodd and Lex Fridman

Further information

StarshipGazer.com: Useful Starship links
Background information about previous SpaceX launches: Wikipedia
FAA: SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
FAA: Licensed Launches

Starship OFT flight plan

The Launch Pad Network: tlpnetwork.com

Vote for my witness: @blue-witness

Posted with STEMGeeks

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