It's probably safe to say that version 2 of Starship never quite lived up to the things envisioned for it, because we know they've been working on Version 3 for quite some time; a quick search of the blog shows the first mention of version 3 was 18 months ago, in April of '24. This was before the fourth flight of a Starship so two launches before Flight 5 and the first catch of a booster with the chopsticks. Yes, the descriptions of how Ver. 3 will really differ have varied over the last 18 months, and I expect that. Version 3 is going to add a few feet to the overall height of stacked Starship and SuperHeavy booster. I don't consider this number particularly hard and authoritative, but the combined height will go from 400 feet to 410.
Ars Technica celebrates how successful the mission was but seems unabashedly happy that version 2 is over with, saying "SpaceX finally got exactly what it needed from Starship V2." They point out that...
It took a while for Starship V2 to meet SpaceX's expectations. The first three Starship V2 launches in January, March, and May ended prematurely due to problems in the rocket's propulsion and a fuel leak, breaking a string of increasingly successful Starship flights since 2023. Another Starship V2 exploded on a test stand in Texas in June, further marring the second-gen rocket's track record.
As you know, August's FT-10 marked a complete turnaround in performance and went remarkably well. It left several things to be tested on Monday the 13th's FT-11 mission. All of which also went remarkably well. The biggest success was probably the modifications to the heat shielding on Starship.
How would the latest version of SpaceX's ever-changing heat shield design hold up against temperatures of 2,600° Fahrenheit (1,430° Celsius)?
The answer: Apparently quite well. While SpaceX has brought Starships back to Earth in one piece several times, this was the first time the ship made it through reentry relatively unscathed. Live video streaming from cameras onboard Starship showed a blanket of orange and purple plasma enveloping the rocket during reentry. This is now a familiar sight, thanks to connectivity with Starship through SpaceX's Starlink broadband network.
What was different on Monday was the lack of any obvious damage to the heat shield or flaps throughout Starship's descent, a promising sign for SpaceX's chances of reusing the vehicle and its heat shield over and over again, without requiring any refurbishment. This, according to SpaceX's Elon Musk, is the acid test for determining Starship's overall success.
Ship 38 photo literally seconds before the end of its life in the Indian Ocean at the end of the mission. Image credit: SpaceX, from a "short" video on YouTube.
The ship looks like it has been through some torture. Again, to be expected if SpaceX truly wants to test it to find its survival limits.
A side note to Flight Test 11, is that it was widely announced it was the last flight of version 2 Starship, and the big story there is that the Orbital Launch Mount used, OLM #1, won't work for version 3. That means OLM #1 - which has been used for every Starship mission - needs to be taken apart and modified. Consequently, OLM #2 will be pressed into service.
The consensus while reading around is that Flight Test 12 is likely to be after the start of the new year because of the number of things that need to be tested for a new design. Does that mean January 5th (first Monday) or much later? Your guess is as good as anyone's.
I just realized that, for all the success of Starship Version 2, the most important one was no loss of communications. Something that's plagued manned spaceflight since the beginning, even before the beginning (the X-15s had issues high up also) has been successfully overcome.
ReplyDeleteA Starlink antennae strong enough to survive reentry and continue to send not just telemetry but videos and audio.
If for no other reason than that, Version 2 was a smashing success.
As to Version 3, I think the real hold is the OLM V2. How soon will SpaceX have that ready for a test burn to see if whether all that works... or not. And the inevitable inspections and fixings and modifications even from a very successful test.
I'd say mid January.
Beans, the Starship's Starlink antennas are hardened somewhat, but the magic is in the fact that the antenna(s) are on the topside (when re-entering) of the ship, so they can talk to the orbiting Starlink birds. THAT is what makes the magic work, the orbital communications that can look "straight up" and avoid the plasma blackout.
DeleteAin't technology wunnerful?
it is wonderful. And will make for safer spaceflight.
DeleteNobody except SpaceX had or has the balls to do this!
I'm curious. Do they recover, or attempt to recover the starship in whole or part for physical examination?
ReplyDeleteI think the only checks they're doing are to make sure all of the peices sink...
DeleteOn this launch the SpaceX channel people mentioned they didn't plan on recovering it.
DeleteNot yet. You can rest assured that they will go over the Starship with a microscope after the first successful catch!!
DeleteSo far they're doing good, though.
I don't have much to contribute here, but since nobody has mentioned it ... remember that anything they can think to monitor can be added to the data stream. Those Starlink telemetry streams can handle a lot of data.
DeleteYeah, for some small set of issues nothing is as good as a detailed look at a thing in front of you, but most of the time telemetry tells you everything you need to know.
Wild. "Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin".
ReplyDeleteStill, a pity they couldn't land it and examine the internal structure in *detail* after the stress testing.
If you set all of your goals low enough, you'll never achieve anything resembling achievement.
ReplyDelete