Let's dare!
In the last days' news, it was announced that SpaceX could dare a test flight of the Super Heavy with the Starship not earlier than December, but it is the first evidence that the orbital test flight could happen in the year 2022.
The here-now given launch date isn't official; it is TBD. We will adjust the date and time when it will be announced by SpaceX officially.
Of course, there are many hurdles to overcome. Not only talking about the technical challenges ahead, also before SpaceX can undertake a test flight of its system, they also need clarification and a launch permit from the US FAA (Federal Aviation Agency). As of today (November 3, 2022), no such license has been active or announced.
Starship is planned to be a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle designed by SpaceX. Made up of two stages, Starship is intended for satellite deployment, space tourism, and interplanetary spaceflight.
The vehicle will launch on the United States Gulf Coast from Starbase, Boca Chica, Texas. The booster and spacecraft will separate about 170 seconds into the flight. The Super Heavy will partially return and land about 20 miles (32 km) from land in the Gulf of Mexico. After completing a partial orbit, the spacecraft will perform a propulsive landing in the Pacific Ocean, about 62 miles (100 km) northwest of Kauai/Hawaii.
More recent filings suggest that SpaceX wants to keep the possibility of catching the super heavy booster. The mission was expected to launch circa September 2022. Still, during a NASA Advisory Council meeting on October 31st, Mark Kirasich, deputy associate administrator for Artemis campaign development, said, "We track four major Starship flights. The first one here is coming up in December, part of early December."
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively called Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry more than 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit.
Overview:
Height: 120 m / 394 ft
Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Payload to LEO: 100+ t / 220+ klb
Starship is the fully reusable spacecraft and the second stage of the Starship system. It offers an integrated payload section and can carry passengers and cargo to Earth orbit, planetary destinations, and between destinations on Earth.
Height: 120 m / 394 ft
Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Payload to LEO: 100+ t / 220+ klb
Starship is the fully reusable spacecraft and the second stage of the Starship system. It offers an integrated payload section and can carry passengers and cargo to Earth orbit, planetary destinations, and between destinations on Earth.
Starship
Height: 50 m / 164 ft
Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Propellant Capacity: 1200 t / 2.6 Mlb
Thrust: 1500 tf / 3.2Mlbf
Payload Capacity: 100 -150 t orbit dependent
Height: 50 m / 164 ft
Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Propellant Capacity: 1200 t / 2.6 Mlb
Thrust: 1500 tf / 3.2Mlbf
Payload Capacity: 100 -150 t orbit dependent
Super Heavy
Our next-generation launch system's first stage, or booster, has a gross liftoff mass of over 3 million kg and uses sub-cooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen (CH4/LOX) propellants. The booster will return to land at the launch site on its 6 legs.
Our next-generation launch system's first stage, or booster, has a gross liftoff mass of over 3 million kg and uses sub-cooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen (CH4/LOX) propellants. The booster will return to land at the launch site on its 6 legs.
Height: 69 m / 230 ft
Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Propellant Capacity: 3400 t / 6.8 Mlb
Thrust: 7590 tf / 17 Mlbf
Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Propellant Capacity: 3400 t / 6.8 Mlb
Thrust: 7590 tf / 17 Mlbf
Payload
The Starship payload fairing is 9 m in diameter and 18 m high, resulting in any current or in-development launcher's most significant usable payload volume. This payload volume can be configured for both crew and cargo.
The Starship payload fairing is 9 m in diameter and 18 m high, resulting in any current or in-development launcher's most significant usable payload volume. This payload volume can be configured for both crew and cargo.
Payload Volume Height: 8 m / 59 ft
Payload Fairing Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Payload Volume: 100 m3 / 38,800 ft3
Useful Mass: 100+ t / 220+ klb
Payload Fairing Diameter: 9 m / 30 ft
Payload Volume: 100 m3 / 38,800 ft3
Useful Mass: 100+ t / 220+ klb
Starship is designed to deliver satellites further at a lower marginal cost per launch than our current Falcon vehicles. With a payload compartment larger than any fairing currently in operation or development, Starship creates possibilities for new missions, including space telescopes, even more significant than the James Webb.
Landing on Mars
Starship will enter Mars’ atmosphere at 7.5 kilometers per second and decelerate aerodynamically. The vehicle’s heat shield is designed to withstand multiple entries, but given that the vehicle is coming into Mars' atmosphere so hot, we still expect to see some ablation of the heat shield (similar to wear and tear on a brake pad). The engineering video below simulates the physics of Mars entry for Starship.
Here you can see a simulation of the landing on Mars:
Starship will enter Mars’ atmosphere at 7.5 kilometers per second and decelerate aerodynamically. The vehicle’s heat shield is designed to withstand multiple entries, but given that the vehicle is coming into Mars' atmosphere so hot, we still expect to see some ablation of the heat shield (similar to wear and tear on a brake pad). The engineering video below simulates the physics of Mars entry for Starship.
Here you can see a simulation of the landing on Mars:
The now-stacked Starship is expected to undergo many tests before it can be launched on the first flight to suborbital altitudes. A lot of licenses need to be given, including the launching permit by the US FAA.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022 AT 7 PM UTC+02
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