Look at it go!
A Cure for Weldness
SpaceX is pulling out all the stops in preparation for the upcoming test launches of its gigantic Starship spacecraft next year.
Footage shared by NASASpaceflight shows a large robotic arm appearing to weld one of the company’s Starship nosecones inside of its “Starfactory,” a massive facility at the company’s “Starbase” launch complex in South Texas.
According to documents obtained by The Launch Pad Network last month, SpaceX is targeting no earlier than January 11 for its upcoming seventh Starship test.
The launch is expected to involve a new generation of Starship prototypes dubbed “Block 2,” the first of which will be “Ship 33.” (It’s unclear whether the nosecone in the latest footage belongs to it or a different Block 2 Starship.)
The prototype will feature a new forward flap design, a new heatshield layout, increased propellant capacity, and possibly even more thrust than its predecessors, among other changes.
In other words, SpaceX is making some considerable changes to the design of its Moonbound rocket, which could raise the stakes for the upcoming test launch next month.
Looking forward to Starship Flight 7? Well Starbase is already working on vehicles for multiple flights into 2025. Oh and using robots of course.
Full video in reply. pic.twitter.com/x3NknOVxSY
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) December 8, 2024
Acid Test
According to NASASpaceflight, Ship 33 completed early cryogenic testing in late October.
But whether it survives its upcoming test flight unscathed remains unclear. During the previous two launches, SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft splashed down in the ocean after experiencing scorching and metal-melting temperatures during reentry.
To SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, getting to the point of being able to launch again shortly after landing will be the real litmus test for an extremely ambitious, heavy-lift launch platform that NASA is still hoping to use for its first — and recently delayed — human landing on the Moon since the 1970s.
“The biggest technology challenge remaining for Starship is a fully & immediately reusable heat shield,” he tweeted last month. “Being able to land the ship, refill propellant and launch right away with no refurbishment or laborious inspection. That is the acid test.”
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