Ship 33 prepares for engine testing, Booster 14 Completes Static Fire

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Three weeks after Flight 6, SpaceX has static fired Booster 14 and is preparing to roll Ship 33 to Masseys to complete its own engine testing. Once both vehicles are tested, SpaceX will begin the final drive to Flight 7, potentially launching in January.

Booster 14

On Dec. 5, just over two weeks after Flight 6, SpaceX rolled out Booster 14 to the launch site. It was then lifted onto Orbital Launch Mount A (OLM) early in the morning on Dec. 6. Teams then proceeded to perform a Tanking test and a Spin Prime simultaneously on Dec. 7.

A tanking test involves SpaceX loading Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Methane (LCH4) onto the vehicle for testing purposes. Internal changes may have been made since Booster 14 completed its cryogenic proof test on Oct. 4 and 5. SpaceX has conducted two flight tests since then.

Then, on Dec. 9, teams loaded up Booster 14 again, this time performing a 33-engine static fire. With this out of the way, SpaceX rolled Booster 14 back to Mega Bay 1 for final modifications and checkouts before Flight 7, which is no earlier than early to mid-January.

Booster 14 is more or less identical to Booster 13 on the outside except for the ship engine chill pipe extensions on previous boosters. These are no longer needed as Block 2 of the Ship has its engine chill pipes running through the aft flap fairing with a flare outward at the bottom. This helps simplify the connection between the Ship and the Booster and reduces mass.

Booster 14 rolling to Launch Site (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)

Ship 33

SpaceX moved the Static fire stand back from Masseys and has since parked it in the old ring yard next to the Starfactory. This suggests that Ship 33 is slated to roll out soon for engine testing at Masseys. However, SpaceX had two nighttime closures that appeared to be for Ship 33 to Masseys but were instead used to bring new Orbital Tank Farm (OTF) horizontal tanks from the port.

Ship 33 at Masseys for Cryo in October(Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)

After only starting stacking operations just five months ago, the first Block 2 ship of the Starship program should static fire within the next week or two. This timeline of stacking, cryogenic proof testing, and engine testing is a new record for SpaceX regarding an orbital class Starship.

In the past, with Block 1 ships, it could take eight months or more to reach this point in the building and testing flow. This shows the significant strides SpaceX is making in refining the design of Starships.

Block 2 Changes

Ship 33 has many changes compared to Ship 31 and past ships, as it is the first Block 2 ship. First and foremost for Block 2 are the extended propellant tanks. SpaceX added a ring on the ship, making it 21 rings tall, and moved around the common and forward domes to be able to load 300 more tons of propellant into the ship. This addition will allow SpaceX to increase its payload to orbit with Block 2.

The sacrifice was a smaller payload bay section, which went from five rings to three rings. However, SpaceX retained most of its usable payload space, as the nose cone on Block 2 was completely redesigned. SpaceX kept the payload volume high by compacting and simplifying the header tank package in the nose cone and significantly reducing the size of the flap frame inside the nose cone, thus giving space for cargo.

Ship 33 Payload Bay (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)

The Block 2 pez dispenser for Starlink satellites is now larger than the previous Block 1 design, increasing the number of Version 3 Starlinks from around 40 to 54.

The other noticeable change is that the forward flaps have become thinner and are being moved slightly up and leeward or away from the heat shield side of the ship.

On Block 1 ships, the flaps were 180 degrees apart, and as seen on the past few flights, SpaceX has had heating issues on the flap hinges. Block 2 solves this issue by moving the base of the flaps, the flap hinges, and the fairing to 140 degrees apart and out of the main plasma stream for reentry. This will help prevent the heat buildup and burn through seen on the last three ships that have flown.

Ship 33 Nose Cone and Flaps(Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF)

The next significant change is the heat shield. SpaceX has eliminated most of the adhesive tiles across the entire ship. In the past, the section and dome welds would have glued tiles, as would the forward flaps. On Block 2, SpaceX replaced these with smaller pinned tiles. These will stay attached to the vehicle much better, allowing for less of a gap between the tiles.

Now, as SpaceX prepares to try to catch a ship, possibly as early as Flight 8, the lifting points need to move down in preparation for attaching the actual catch hardware to the ship. SpaceX cannot catch with the current chopstick hardware that is onboard ships.  To that end, SpaceX has moved the chopstick lift points down to the payload bay rather than under the forward flaps as with Block 1. This also means the chopstick stabilization points have moved to the common dome.

Ship 33 Heat Shield Changes (Credit: Jack Beyer for NSF)

With this move, SpaceX also had to redesign the two-point lifter to lift Block 1 ships. This resulted in the four-point lifter, which attaches to the chopstick lift points and a stabilizer point in the nose cone. With four points of contact and a bumper, this system is far more stable, and SpaceX even uses it to stack the ship after the nose cone and payload sections are joined.

As for internal changes, Block 2 has four transfer tubes going from the common dome to the engines rather than one like in Block 1. The three extra transfer tubes are for each Raptor Vacuum engine, while the center one is for the three center engines. This change will help improve propellant flow to all the engines.

In addition, Block 2 now has elliptical domes for both the forward and common domes. This change helps with manufacturing and keeps the design simplified.

Overall, the Block 2 ship is built much more like a booster than Block 1 ships, as more stringers have been added in the engine section and the methane tank. This ship is the culmination of many lessons learned during the past five years at Starbase.

So far, only Ship 33 has gotten engines, which are Raptor 2s. However, once Raptor 3 becomes a more mature design, Block 2 of the ship should also get them.

Stay tuned for a video from NSF detailing even more changes made via the Block 2 design of Ship.

Orbital Tank Farm

Heading into Flight 7, SpaceX is beginning to increase the capacity of the Orbital tank farm with at least two new Liquid Methane Tanks and two new Liquid Oxygen Tanks. This will help recycle times after a launch attempt and upgrade the capacity for when Pad B comes online.

It is unclear if these will be installed and piped in for Flight 7 or later, but if installed before Flight 7, expect SpaceX to perform a Wet Dress Rehearsal to test the new tanks, piping, and, of course, the new Ship design.

Featured Image: Booster 14 Static Fire (Credit: BocaChicaGal for NSF)

L2 includes full res full collection of all photos taken by NSF photographers.)

The post Ship 33 prepares for engine testing, Booster 14 Completes Static Fire appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.



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