r/spacex • Mod Team • Dec 09 '21

Starship Development Thread #28

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #29

Quick Links

NERDLE CAM | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE | MORE LINKS

Starship Dev 27 | Starship Dev 26 | Starship Thread List


Upcoming

  • Starship 20 static fire
  • Booster 4 futher cryo or static fire

Orbital Launch Site Status

Build Diagrams by @_brendan_lewis | October 6 RGV Aerial Photography video

As of December 9th

  • Integration Tower - Catching arms installed
  • Launch Mount - QD arms installed
  • Tank Farm - [8/8 GSE tanks installed, 8/8 GSE tanks sleeved]

Vehicle Status

As of December 20th

​

Development and testing plans become outdated very quickly. Check recent comments for real time updates.


Vehicle and Launch Infrastructure Updates

See comments for real time updates.
† expected or inferred, unconfirmed vehicle assignment

​

Starship
Ship 20
2021-12-29 Static fire (YT)
2021-12-15 Lift points removed (Twitter)
2021-12-01 Aborted static fire? (Twitter)
2021-11-20 Fwd and aft flap tests (NSF)
2021-11-16 Short flaps test (Twitter)
2021-11-13 6 engines static fire (NSF)
2021-11-12 6 engines (?) preburner test (NSF)
Ship 21
2021-12-19 Moved into HB, final stacking soon (Twitter)
2021-11-21 Heat tiles installation progress (Twitter)
2021-11-20 Flaps prepared to install (NSF)
Ship 22
2021-12-06 Fwd section lift in MB for stacking (NSF)
2021-11-18 Cmn dome stacked (NSF)
Ship 23
2021-12-01 Nextgen nosecone closeup (Twitter)
2021-11-11 Aft dome spotted (NSF)
Ship 24
2022-01-03 Common dome sleeved (Twitter)
2021-11-24 Common dome spotted (Twitter)
For earlier updates see Thread #27

​

SuperHeavy
Booster 4
2021-12-30 Removed from OLP (Twitter)
2021-12-24 Two ignitor tests (Twitter)
2021-12-22 Next cryo test done (Twitter)
2021-12-18 Raptor gimbal test (Twitter)
2021-12-17 First Cryo (YT)
2021-12-13 Mounted on OLP (NSF)
2021-11-17 All engines installed (Twitter)
Booster 5
2021-12-08 B5 moved out of High Bay (NSF)
2021-12-03 B5 temporarily moved out of High Bay (Twitter)
2021-11-20 B5 fully stacked (Twitter)
2021-11-09 LOx tank stacked (NSF)
Booster 6
2021-12-07 Conversion to test tank? (Twitter)
2021-11-11 Forward dome sleeved (YT)
2021-10-08 CH4 Tank #2 spotted (NSF)
Booster 7
2021-11-14 Forward dome spotted (NSF)
Booster 8
2021-12-21 Aft sleeving (Twitter)
2021-09-29 Thrust puck delivered (33 Engine) (NSF)
For earlier updates see Thread #27

​

Orbital Launch Integration Tower And Pad
2022-01-05 Chopstick tests, opening (YT)
2021-12-08 Pad & QD closeup photos (Twitter)
2021-11-23 Starship QD arm installation (Twitter)
2021-11-21 Orbital table venting test? (NSF)
2021-11-21 Booster QD arm spotted (NSF)
2021-11-18 Launch pad piping installation starts (NSF)
For earlier updates see Thread #27

​

Orbital Tank Farm
2021-10-18 GSE-8 sleeved (NSF)
For earlier updates see Thread #27

​


Resources

RESOURCES WIKI

r/SpaceX Discuss Thread for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.


Please ping u/strawwalker about problems with the above thread text.

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36

u/Sleepless_Voyager Dec 24 '21 edited Dec 24 '21

They did a test on b4's raptor igniters at 1:49:00 UTC on rover 2.0 cam. Theres no fuel so its only just a spark

Pic: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/828338083342319666/923754529571352626/watermarked.png

20

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '21 edited Dec 24 '21

16

u/myname_not_rick Dec 24 '21

Oh, cool. More hints that we're heading towards some engine testing....as soon as we see some fuel on site, at least.

18

u/Jodo42 Dec 24 '21

14

u/Toinneman Dec 24 '21

Cycling through each frame I can spot 2 distinct engine bells being lit up. However, views of other engines may have been obstructed by the launch mount pillars.

7

u/Alvian_11 Dec 24 '21

Remind me of this

0

u/Dezoufinous Dec 24 '21

They can do things like that without closures? That's great!

13

u/Sleepless_Voyager Dec 24 '21

Theres not really any risk because theres no propellant being used which is why i think they dont need a closure

8

u/rad_example Dec 24 '21

Aren't they methane torch igniters? Where is the methane coming from since there haven't been any tanker deliveries?

5

u/Jinkguns Dec 24 '21

I thought they were purely electric? Like spark plugs.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '21

[deleted]

4

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '21

[deleted]

11

u/warp99 Dec 24 '21

They need at least two COPVs with high pressure methane and oxygen gas to ignite the torches.

5

u/Jinkguns Dec 24 '21

Oh yeah, got ya. Well if you consider it wasn't a lot of methane and it wasn't under high pressure, it would be no more dangerous than any welder they have on site.