Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
the critical crossroads that shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The
Boring Company, and Neurolink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
Spacex's Starship program underwent a transformative year
in 2024, with advancement spanning test flights,
infrastructure, and also spacecraft development.
Now, SpaceX conducted 4 major Starship flights, achieved a
successful booster catch, introduced the next generation
Starship Block 2, and significantly enhanced their
production capabilities to the completion of Star Factory and
Mega Bay 2. These milestones marked critical
steps in refining the Starship system, which aims to
revolutionize space travel by sending people back to the Moon
and on to Mars and cargo even further than that.
Now, at the beginning of the year, the Massey's testing site
about a mile away from Starbase, was still under development,
with foundational infrastructure just taking shape.
And while the booster and ship cryogenic proof stands were
operational, the construction of the Ship Static Fire Stand was
still ongoing. But by summer, the Ship Static
Fire Stand became fully functional, and Ship 26 was the
first to test the bad systems. Now this achievement set the
tone for subsequent progress at Massey's throughout the year,
and there's still work to be done there.
Now the further improve efficiency.
SpaceX expanded Massey's tank farm by adding four new liquid
oxygen tanks. The upgrade allows for
simultaneous ship and booster cryogenic proof testing while
retaining the ability to static fire a ship without requiring
refueling. Importantly, these upgrades
reduce disruptions to the local community as testing no longer
necessitates closures of Hwy. 4, but rather only the road leading
to Massey's, which is about a mile long.
And it's a long dirt Rd. You really don't want to drive
on it anyway, so there's no reason to be down there now.
SpaceX completed the Star factory to a state-of-the-art
facility designed to accelerate Starship production.
Most of the Starship Star factory is completed.
I should say, they didn't completely complete it, but
they're really close. And the factory encompasses over
1,000,000 square feet of floor space dedicated to manufacturing
and inventory storage. The centralized facility enables
engineers and managers to work alongside production lines,
enhancing coordination inefficiency.
And notably, the factory's tallest section is designated
for nose cone assembly, as visible through its glass
frontage. You can see it from the road you
can drive by, and you can see them assembling nose cones right
there at Star Factory. Now, Mega Bay 2, another major
addition to Star Base, replace the older High Bay as the
primary ship assembly site. Mega Bay 2 boasts 3 advanced
work stands equipped with integrated work platforms that
provide full vertical access to ships without the need for
scaffolding. This upgrade has streamlined
assembly processes, enabling faster and safer construction of
starships now to minimize risk of foreign object debris or FOD
contamination. Clean room cubicles have also
been added near the ship. Access hatches now, while High
Bay play the diminished role this year and remained active
for specific tasks such as retiling operations on Ship 30
and dismantling older ships like Ship 26.
However, as Block 2 Starships enter production, SpaceX
anticipates dismantling the high Bay and replacing it with a
larger giga Bay to further expedite stacking operations,
addressing a potential bottleneck in vehicle assembly.
Now, if you're a really big fan of Starship, you're a fan of
SpaceX or Elon Musk or any of his companies.
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SpaceX began clearing land for a second Star factory, which is
expected to surpass the size of the one at Star Base by a lot.
The facility will support production for Starships
launching from Kennedy Space Center, and the new Star factory
is designed to include integrated high bays allowing
complete vehicle assembly indoors, thus avoiding exposure
to outdoor conditions. And once operational, the
facility will significantly boost the pace of Starship
roduction and enhance launch caabilities at PADS LC39A in the
Perspective L or SLC 37. Now the launch site.
Yes, Starbase saw substantial upgrades in 2024 as well.
An orbital launchpad, a SpaceX replace vertical cryogenic tanks
with 12 horizontal liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen tanks.
While the horizontal configuration occupies more
ground space, it reduces wear from exhaust exposure during
launches, improving durability. These changes are being
replicated over at LC39A in Florida.
SpaceX also reinforced the chopsticks and launch tower to
facilitate booster catches during landing attempts.
Additionally, the sub orbital launch site previously used for
test hops and early flights was replaced by the construction of
Orbital Launchpad B. Now, this new pad features a
bidirectional flame trench, a redesigned orbital launch mount
with water cooled deck, and compact chopsticks similar to
those at LC39A. And with these improvements, Pad
B is expected to enable quicker turn around times between
launches. However, they still have to go
through regulatory hurdles and SpaceX must complete a tiered
environmental assessment to secure approval for Pad B, as
the original 2022 assessment had envisioned a different
configuration for the second pad.
This process, along with ongoing environmental impact statements
are EIS for LC39A and SLC 37 could possibly delay full
utilization of these upgraded facilities until later 2025,
possibly into 2026 now. SpaceX conducted 4 ship flights
or Starship flights in 2024, each providing valuable insights
into the system's performance and areas for improvement.
The year began with Flight 3 on March 14th, featuring Ship 28
and Booster 10. This mission demonstrated a
stable ascent with no engine failures, but Booster 10 was
lost shortly after completing its boost back burn.
Ship 28 suffered roll control issues during the coast phase,
leading to the cancellation of a planned Raptor engine relight
test and the vehicle ultimately reenter the atmosphere
uncontrollably and disintegrated.
Now Flight 4 launched on June 6th paired Ship 29 and Booster
11.1. Despite losing 1 engine during
ascent, the booster managed a controlled splashdown in the
Gulf of Mexico. Ship 29 achieved a controlled re
entry but faced challenges with its heat shield, nearly losing a
flap and missing its intended landing zone.
The Flight 5 on October 13th marked a pretty big milestone.
With Spacex's first successful booster catch, Booster 12
executed a flawless return to the launch site where it was
caught by the chopsticks. Ship 30, equipped with an
upgraded Block 2 heat shield, successfully completed its
mission and landed on target in the Indian Ocean.
Now the final Test slate of the year, Flight 6 on November 19th,
featured Ship 31 and Booster 133113.
Although the booster opted for a splashdown rather than a catch,
Ship 31 successfully demonstrated the durability of a
partially stripped heat shield by re entering and landing in
the Indian Ocean. Now, the lessons from these
fights were instrumental in the design of Starship Block 2,
which incorporates significant upgrades.
These include extended tanks, reposition flaps for improve
aerodynamics, enhanced structural integrity, and the
next generation heat shield. Block 2 ships are expected to
take on more ambitious mentions, such as propellant transfer
demonstrations and payload deployments.
Possibly the first Starlink deployment, hopefully that would
be great. Could be on block three, though.
We'll have to see now. Looking ahead, SpaceX is laying
the groundwork for an even busier year in 2025.
With expanded production capacity, the debut of new
launch pads, and refined spacecrafts, the program is
poised to push the boundaries even more than they already
have. Now.
As this year ends though, SpaceX is focused on achieving its next
goals, catching a ship demonstrating full large scale
propellant transfer and reusing Starship vehicles for subsequent
flights. And the next flight is in
January, so we may actually see another catch of a booster in a
few weeks. Now the Starship program in 2024
has advanced the design of a reusable mega rocket, and we're
looking forward to the future of Block 2 and Block 3 in the near
future. Like I said before, if you are a
fan of Elon Musk, make sure to join the Doge pack hit the link
in our description or our show notes, wherever you are,
wherever you get your podcasts and join us there.
We're getting people every single day to join up and we're
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to everybody. All right.
That's about it for today, everybody.
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