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SpaceX Starship - Integrated Flight Test #2 - Starbase TX - Including Post Launch Dissection
- Thread starter Grendal
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dhanson865
Well-Known Member
I can't see how else they'd start the engines. I'm envisioning that restart, burn, shutdown, flip, then reentry, lots of deceleration and heating that affects the propellants in the header tanks. If the header feed lines are on the tile side then the descent angle should ensure that the remaining propellants in the header tanks should want to fill the feed lines (eliminating any voids). With all that reentry heating, they have an easy way to pressurize the tanks.
Hmmm. The orbital flip should be done such that the header tanks should again want to push remaining propellant into the feed lines. That would be a flip away from the tile side.
Just some blue sky thoughts.
So... if the Ship RUD was due to LOX bleed-off in order to lose mass, it would seem a very easy fix... mass simulator being the obvious one.
But... assuming that a normal ship would have had both LOX and cargo, doesn't that imply it was lighter than would be typically expected anyway?
If so, then it would seem that some of our earlier speculation about ship thrust impacting and affecting the booster may not be as manageable with reducing ship thrust, as it may need it for separation...
But... assuming that a normal ship would have had both LOX and cargo, doesn't that imply it was lighter than would be typically expected anyway?
If so, then it would seem that some of our earlier speculation about ship thrust impacting and affecting the booster may not be as manageable with reducing ship thrust, as it may need it for separation...
Ship + propellant is 1300 tons
With payload is 1400 tons, only 8% more
So fairly minimal impact at separation
Fooey. My speculation was to double booster thrust. Keep the energies at staging as high as possible without breaking anything. I think SpaceX was just emphatic about that second bit for their first hot staging attempt.
Note the WB-57 footage in the top left. Interestingly, all video feeds except SpaceX's turns to "redacted" just before staging.
My only thought is that SpaceX didn't want any other angles of staging shown through the government site. One of those trade secret things. I was really looking forward to seeing the WB-57 angle of staging and boostback, so going to REDACTED was pretty disappointing.
Here's each video at full resolution, starting with the WB-57 footage. Folks in the comments point out that the Starship lost a lot of tiles. You can see "lines" and "dots" of white appear on the Starship as it rises, showing the underlayment. By the 45 second mark, it's pretty obvious. I guess that's why SpaceX is going with the smaller tiles; they give more attachment points per surface area.
MrFixit1094
Member
I think these launches are MUCH more violent then people can appreciate. Unless you have been fortunate enough to attend a launch up close and personal (or actually ridden in one !!) it is hard to appreciate the forces involved.
Nah. Liquid propellant rockets give a very smooth ride. Shuttle astronauts invariably comment on how different the ride is before and after staging the SRBs.
Here's a statement by Akihiko Hoshide to Kyoto News about his ride in a Dragon capsule:
For vehicles with more engines, I expect an even smoother ride because a glitch in one engine has a smaller overall effect. At an extreme, if one engine instantly shut down, you'd only lose 3% of your thrust. I wonder if the astronauts would even notice. Do that on Falcon 9 and you lose 11%. Saturn V and you lose 20%.
I attribute the loss of tiles to aerodynamic forces. Each barrel section has its tiles applied by machine, and the alignment of the tile surfaces is very uniform. The hand-installed tiles that fill in all the gaps are much less uniform. I assume air gets in there and tears them off.
I’m a bit stunned by the number of lost tiles revealed in that video. The TPS team must be under tremendous pressure to figure out a solution.
Speaking only for myself, I’m not riding Starship to LEO until there have been multiple missions with ZERO lost tiles!
Once there is a gap it gets harder to keep them on.
Super Done vs hurricane...
Well, it depends how you're getting back from LEO.Speaking only for myself, I’m not riding Starship to LEO until there have been multiple missions with ZERO lost tiles!
If Spacex gets me there, is it feasible to come back by parachute?
(I know I will have to hold my breath for the first part of the descent)
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